Blind veteran and gardener shows Prince Edward’s wife his plot Hampton Court Flower Show
BEING blind did not stop a green-fingered D-Day veteran giving the Countess of Wessex a tour of an award-winning garden at a flower show today.
Laura Tobin broadcasts live from Hampton Court Flower Show
Lewis Trinder, 92, escorted Prince Edward’s wife Sophie around the gold medal-winning garden of Blind Veterans UK at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in south-west London.
The garden, which features trees, an orchard and a kitchen garden, was created with the help of some of the 4,500 veterans aided by the charity, which helps ex-services personnel with sight problems.
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Mr Trinder, from Aldershot, Hampshire, served in the Royal Navy and was at the Normandy landings.
He lost his sight due to age-related macular degeneration but still enjoys gardening by feel and “perseverance”.
He said: “The quality of life in my garden is good for me. I’m able to do things up there that provide me with a sense of enjoyment I wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Sophie, 52, who took over from the Queen as patron of the charity last year, described the garden as “pure magic”.
She told staff and volunteers: “You couldn’t have created anything better.”
