And then there was 2020.

All was not lost, we did receive funding for two other very different projects, Challenge Askefield and The Toolshed. These were a godsend while we worked out what to do. We had another setback in March 2020 when our first Lottery bid was rejected. A fortnight later, the world went mad.

Luckily, we were able to redirect our funding to enable us to continue supporting our clients during what turned out to be a very traumatic time for many people. We created ASKEpost, a weekly postal package containing a craft activity, puzzles, things to do and read and a letter to keep spirits up. We started by sending 12 and by the end of the pandemic lockdowns we were up to 80!

We spent our time at the farm, grateful every day for the space we had and the fact that we weren’t in a one bedroom flat with small children. We had all three boys at home which meant free labour….

As 2020 turned into 2021 and things were still nuts, we began working at the mass vaccination centre in Boston. We had no Covid support from the government as we, as a farming enterprise with animals, fell through the net. We decided to take on a number of people in the village who were struggling when their work dried up to work at the centre with us and we continued there for 9 months, until September 2021.

During this time, we put our heads together and came up with another proposal for the National Lottery, which was successful this time! Our three years of funding began in June 2021 and would see us through to May 2024; this funded two full time salaries and running costs which was a godsend.

So the farm was safe for three years :-)