00:00memory of David. I'd like to invite Gina then if you'd like to go and unveil the plaque that
00:07we've had in store for you please. Right. Thank you. There's no technique to this. One, two, three, four.
00:18Hey!
00:25Oh my goodness. Oh that's lovely. Am I allowed to touch you?
00:30Electric shocks.
00:35Oh gosh that was amazing. I think that David would be highly bemused by today. He wouldn't be expecting anything like this at all and he would be quietly wherever he is smiling and saying it was my job and I enjoyed doing it. That's all he used to say whenever he had any praise from anybody who said it was my job. I enjoyed doing it.
00:59And that's how I would like to remember him.
01:02And yes he had many many many good years working on the town parks and other landscape areas in the town. And of course lots of staff coming and going. There was one member of staff that seemed to hang on.
01:20I think David interviewed him when he was about 18 years old. And David came home and he said he said I've interviewed this young man. He said he lives locally. He said but I think he'll be okay. He said I'm going to give him a try.
01:35And lo and behold. And lo and behold they can't get rid of him now.
01:41In the early days I used to enjoy walking through the park if I was up this way. I'd walk through the park and I don't want to be anybody else around and I got to hear this echo.
01:56We've got visitors. And I thought visitors? I'm the only one here. And another echo. We've got visitors. We've got visitors. And I soon realised it was Brian Gilbride warning the rest of the staff to heads down and keep working.
02:14And he said he was in the park.
02:16He was in the park.
02:17Do you want to come under the lake and get a wet?
02:20Yeah, no, you are.
02:21A thousand trees and no he said I'll lock it to a million trees. And they said you've got your job. And he actually planted what? Ten million trees?
02:30I thought I was. It's big, I did.
02:32Fifteen million trees.
02:33Fifteen million. Fifteen million trees were planted.
02:35Yes, indeed.
02:36You can remember every one time in the park.
02:40You want to dig the holes.
02:42Yeah.
02:44But it's also done in a way that, and my husband always says, because he's a landscape architect, and he used to work for Redditch Squared Council actually, but it's done in that way of the landscape first and sort of you're planting on the, on the sort of the viewpoint, the higher ground, so that the building, the new town, nestled in to the landscape.
03:01Yes, absolutely right.
03:02And that, that vision, that way of, of doing it, absolutely right way.
03:06I remember, um, visitors to, um, Telford, um, they would drive through Telford and they'd say, well, where are all the buildings?
03:13Where are the buildings?
03:14Where are the buildings?
03:15Where is the town?
03:16The landscape was, um, screening all of the buildings, right the way from one end to the other end.
03:19And that's what makes it unique, isn't it?
03:21Yeah.
03:22Yeah.
03:23Yeah.
03:24Yeah.
03:25Well, I know our children, they all live down south, and since they've been up, come up here, we've been up here 24 years now.
03:34I mean, they're still amazed at how much trees we have.
03:39Mmm.
03:40It's, it's just so wonderful.
03:42And the daffodils, of course.
03:43Oh!
03:44Yes!
03:45Some of the only daffodils, they're still going, and they must be, I don't know, 50 years old, some of them.
03:49Yeah.
03:50Yeah.
03:51True.
03:52Yeah.
03:53Wonderful.
03:54Aw.
03:55Well, you're all wonderful as well, for keeping it all going.
03:58Well, we do our best.
04:00Brian, you, um, were head gardener at one point here.
04:03I was.
04:04And, um, so you knew, you knew Mr. Wasall very well.
04:07Yes, he was, he was my boss when I first started work.
04:11So, how old were you when he interviewed you?
04:13Eighteen.
04:14Eighteen.
04:15Yeah, fresh-faced.
04:16Yeah.
04:17I just left school.
04:18So, you worked with him for how many years, roughly?
04:22Oh, er, lots.
04:27I don't know.
04:28It was lots.
04:29Yeah.
04:30Till, nineteen, eight, when did Telfer Development Corporation pack up.
04:37Oh, I'm not sure.
04:38Eighty-one.
04:39Yeah.
04:40So, many, many years working, working alongside him.
04:42Yeah.
04:43What was he like as a boss?
04:44He's very, very nice boss.
04:47Yeah.
04:48Fair, always willing to help you.
04:51Yeah.
04:52Yeah.
04:53Yeah.
04:54He persuaded me to go to full-time college.
04:55Oh, wow.
04:57And you finished yourself three years ago.
04:59Yeah.
05:00Yeah.
05:01And you were telling me about that tie.
05:02He actually presented you with that tie, didn't he?
05:04Yes, he presented me with the tie.
05:05Yeah.
05:06Services to Landscaping in Telford.
05:08Yeah.
05:09So, it was many, many fond memories working alongside him then over the years.
05:14Yeah.
05:15And building Telford Town Park.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Well, it's fantastic.
05:19The work that you both have done here.
05:21And we, and we get to appreciate it still.
05:23Yeah.
05:24For many years to come, hopefully.
05:25Yeah.
05:26Fingers crossed.
05:27Fingers crossed.
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