In This Issue
Wyevale Garden Centres agrees sale of Podington Garden Centre
Ade discusses his fabulous Phoenix!
Zest 4 Leisure now offer over 50 videos – including ‘How-To’ style assembly videos and lifestyle product films.
Clematis wins visitor vote at National Plant Show
Police arrest three as they flee from Sanders GC early-hours break-in
Greenfingers wing walkers set for take-off after technical glitch thwarts first attempt
Bents charity ball raises £11,480 to help bereaved children
Exclusively show attracts more influencers and bloggers
Klondyke’s Three Peaks Challenge raises £12k
‘Adopted Yorkshireman' relocates from Australia for garden centre role
Breast Cancer Now raises £4k at Haskins Roundstone
Wyevale sell 11 more - and British Garden Centres group grows to 24
Capital Gardens buys Sherfield GC from Wyevale
Squires and trading standards join forces for garden revamp at children's home
Retail Lab @ Glee - first stop for inspiration seekers
Rain hits June plant sales
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Aylett Nurseries
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Dobbies Edinburgh
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Groves of Bridport
Garden Centre Photo Tour - In-Excess Ringwood
Garden Centre Photo Tour - N1 Garden Centre
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Notcutts Norwich Houseplants
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Perrywood Houseplants
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Plymouth Garden Centre
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Kings Garden & Leisure Sidmouth
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Squires Badshot Lea
Garden Centre Photo Tour - St Johns Ashford
Garden Centre Photo Tour - St Johns Barnstaple
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Stewarts Christchurch
Garden Centre Photo Tour - Whitehall Lacock
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Vitax area sales manager retires after 37 years
Customers and staff can win prizes in NGGV photo contest
The best of last week's
Eleven more Wyevale centres sold today
Who are the buying teams of 2019?
Mill Race Garden Centre goes up for sale
Rain, rain go away, we’ve got plants and pots to sell
Taupe pots campaign switches focus to kerbside challenge
Agapanthus ‘AMB001’ ‘Fireworks’ takes Best in Show at New Plant Awards
New 5000 sq m Plant Centre opens at RHS Wisley
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
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Greenfingers wing walkers set for take-off after technical glitch thwarts first attempt
You'll be helping Greenfingers charity's efforts to beat last year's £70k record

Three daredevil souls from the garden retail industry have just days to overcome their fears before taking to the skies for an adrenaline-fuelled wing walk in aid of the Greenfingers Charity.

 

The wingwalk, which had been due to take place earlier this month, was postponed after a technical glitch grounded the plane. With a new venue and aircraft secured, the trio plan to get airborne on Saturday, 29 June, in a bid to raise £15,000 for the charity.

 

The delay led to a nerve-wracking wait for GIMA director Vicky Nuttall, SBM LifeScience’s Lowri Walker and Evergreen Garden Care’s Mark Portman – but all three have vowed to take to the skies and raise vital funds for Greenfingers, the charity that builds magical gardens at children’s hospices across the UK.

 

More than £7,560 has already been pledged by 126 supporters, and the wing walkers have appealed to the industry to back their stunt and smash through the £15,000 target.

 

Taking care of the daredevils on Saturday will be expert pilots at AeroSuperBatics, the team behind the Breitling Wingwalkers, a much-loved display act at UK airshows. On arrival at RFC Rendcomb Airfield in the Cotswolds, Vicky, Lowri and Mark will be briefed before being strapped to the top wing of a Boeing Stearman biplane, built in the 1940s and used by American forces to train pilots during World War Two.

 

Wing walkers will then experience the roar of the plane’s 450hp Pratt & Whitney engine – the largest and most powerful engine operated in the UK for wing walking – with the propeller hitting speeds of up to 760mph at full throttle! Once the flight is underway, wingwalkers will only be able to communicate with their pilot via hand signals, as the plane performs daredevil flypasts, zoom climbs, steep dives and banks in front of friends and family. Greenfingers supporters are welcome to come along on the day, too.

 

GIMA’s Vicky Nuttall, a self-confessed “anti-adrenaline junkie,” said: “I won’t lie, I’m terrified of the prospect of the wing walk, but also incredibly excited. I’ve no doubt it’s going to be an afternoon to remember! But no matter how scared I am, I’ll just have to remind myself why I’m doing this. You can’t put a price on what Greenfingers does, so being able to contribute something means a great deal.”

 

Evergreen’s Mark Portman, who admitted he is neither a fan of heights or roller coasters, added: “Greenfingers is a wonderful charity that does lots of positive work at a local level. It is this personal touch that I find so engaging about the charity, and why I am so proud to be able to support it. I hope that my efforts can go some way in assisting the Greenfingers Charity to continue their work both now, and long into the future.”

 

SBM’s Lowri Walker, who completed a skydive in aid of Greenfingers and Rugby for Heroes several years ago, said: “Nerves kick in every time I think ahead to this, for me this will be one hell of a personal challenge and certainly something which will need a lot of mind over matter!” But she added: “Greenfingers is a truly wonderful and worthwhile charity and it’s not surprising our industry supports it in the way it does.”

 

On its website, AeroSuperBatics reassures wing walkers: “It will be the most thrilling thing you have ever done. Once you get over your nerves and are strapped in, the excitement will overtake the fear.”

 

Anyone wanting to donate can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gima-wing-walkers

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