Last week Sir Andrew Motion came to Max Gate to help us launch the Writing Places project. The previous night’s storm had thankfully calmed and the marquee stood strong and square on the lawn, and the Hardy volunteers were out in force, making sure cars were able to park and visitors were able to enjoy tours of the house, and soon the gardens were full of guests.
The house was empty and quiet and as we toured we were able to experience what it must have been like to visit the Hardy family as guests. As Lawrence Roots of the National Trust noted, it was wonderful to see so many National Trust staff, volunteers and partners come together to celebrate the launch of this exciting new project, and a real honour to have both Sir Andrew Motion and Dame Helen Ghosh there.