A MARKET stall holder from Barrow who has travelled to Rampside every Tuesday morning to sell fruit and vegetables to residents at a coffee morning, has been thanked with the Evening Mail's Bouquet of the Week.
Linda Miln, 40, ran The Fruit & Veg Stop in Barrow market for eight years; and every Tuesday morning she would take all of her remaining produce to the rural village of Rampside to sell at a coffee morning.
She said: "It was a complete shock. I was absolutely overwhelmed by this gesture and I am so glad to have received it."
Mrs Miln, who also runs Daddy's cafe in Duke Street with her husband Owain, was told about the coffee morning by Karen Smith, who manages the village hall.
A lot of the residents who live in Rampside are quite elderly and struggle to get to Barrow to do their food shopping so the coffee morning helps them to gain access to their five-a-day.
"A lot of people in the community don't get out an awful lot so that is the whole point of why we do it," said Mrs Miln. "They can't get into town to get their fruit and veg so that's why we go to them.
"It means that they don't have to worry about getting it delivered which can be difficult for a lot of elderly people because they aren't as tech savvy.
"They also look forward to coming because of the social side of things and I enjoy having a chinwag with them."
Mrs Miln has been forced to give up her market stall, but still plans to take the odd bit of pie from her cafe to the coffee meetings.
She added: "I might still try and go down there with bits and pieces from the cafe every other week because I will miss the place too much.
"If more community halls in Walney and Barrow did things like this it would keep them going and stop internet shopping. The Rampside community is a lovely thing to be a part of and the village hall welcomes everybody that comes through their doors regardless of whether you've been there before or not."
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