‘What kind of Muppets are those guys sitting in the middle of a river having a picnic?!???’
I overheard a couple of ladies having a conversation at a conference in Kildare a few weeks ago. I leaned over a grabbed the newspaper to realise I was in fact one of those crazy people. We will do anything to get notice here in Kilkenny and the news was spreading fast. Thomastown had been selected to be the food hub for kilkenny and had secured up to €775,000 worth of funding from Kilkenny Leader partnership to make that a reality.
To be honest I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I heard the news. We in Goatsbridge Trout Farm are very busy people realising our dreams to become a leading trout company across the globe. How on earth would I find time to help bring world attention to Thomastown as a place of excellence in food production, appreciation, and training?
A number of days later as I walked down Market Street in Thomastown a strange man grabbed me and gave me an enormous hug. I am afraid I did not know him but I did remind him I was a happily married woman. What could I say as he rattled on about the joy in hearing the wonderful news and what it could mean for his family? Such is the level of enthusiasm for this project
All we need to do now is make it happen.
Our plans are widespread but the thing that pleases me more than anything is that we have embraced all sectors of society and social inclusion is very much part of our vision . We are talking about Irelands first food station (Mums the word), Chefs training, embracing new food companies, all levels of training including food for wellbeing training which is very much on trend and our amazing community garden with a man in a shed space .
If the man who hugged me the other day in the street is reading this blog could you please come forward? I have a feeling we will all need a lot of hugging before this project is complete.