Watts Gallery has been a part of my life since moving to Guildford. I became familiar with the gallery, calling in to view the pictures and sculptures, alongside the buckets to catch the rainwater that dripped through the leaky roof. The chapel has always been one of my favourite stopping points during my walks from home.

I started working as a volunteer after 46 years of working in the NHS as a nurse and health visitor. Once I was retired Watts Gallery, just down the road from where I live, became an appealing place for volunteering. I’m “Tuesday Alison” working with Chris Sharples our creative gardener. He has a whole team of invaluable volunteers who join him on other days of his working week.

I value working with the estate team, including Steve and Brad, doing whatever is planned for the day. I usually end up getting very grubby by the end of the day, all part of the enjoyment of the job!

Activities include weeding and bed maintenance; saving seeds and sowing them; hedge-laying; gathering foliage for wreath making; and the continuous moving and division of plants. I am the proud creator of the insect hotel that is on top off the beech tree stump by the Foyle Pottery Studio. Mike, another volunteer, made the hotel and I completed it using bamboo, grass and angelica from Chris’s garden.

One aspect of my gardening role that I enjoy is having contact with our visitors as we work in the garden and woodland. Chris is always ready to pass on knowledge about the garden and plants. I’m learning all the time about the plants around us at Watts and pass on whatever information that I can to the visitors who have questions.

I continue to be entertained by Chris each week. We exchange chats about our exploits of the past week and of what we’ve experienced since we last saw each other. Chris nurtures me with cups of tea and coffee and the odd biscuit thrown in for good measure! He also looks after me to ensure that I’m safe and that I feel valued in my role as a volunteer. Feeling valued is important for all of us volunteers.