Hampshire children's hospice keeps up 'roses rent' tradition
Naomi House 'pays' their annual rent by passing on flowers to the landowner
Hampshire's children's hospice has kept up its tradition of paying its annual 'rent' with flowers.
Naomi House and Jacksplace has been giving a peppercorn rent of 12 red roses to the landowners, the Cornelius-Reid family, since they opened in 1997.
The gift is return for the charity using land on the Sutton Manor Estate at Sutton Scotney.
This time, a child and her family visiting Naomi House helped with the presentation.
Marlowe, her brother Henley, and their mums, Clara and Ally presented the roses to Naomi and David Cornelius-Reid.
Erika Lipscombe, Director of Care at Naomi House & Jacksplace, said:
“It was a joy to be part of paying our annual peppercorn rent, for the very first time. Midsummer’s Day marks a very special date in our diary. It’s a time when we celebrate the generosity of the Cornelius-Reid family and the difference they’ve made to hundreds of children, young adults and families in our care. It’s so wonderful that Naomi and David gifted the roses back to Marlowe and her family after the presentation, too. I’d like to thank them both for their continued generosity and support.”
This year, one of the red roses presented to Naomi was a beautiful hand-crafted metal rose.
Naomi House & Jacksplace is launching their new ‘Garden of Roses’ campaign, inviting supporters and the public to be part of this special tradition and donate to receive a rose of their own.
Naomi Cornelius-Reid said:
“It’s an honour to continue the tradition on behalf of my mother and receive the dozen red roses, surrounded by children, families and staff at Naomi House & Jacksplace. It’s always a pleasure to visit the hospices, meet everybody, and share cake and tea together after the presentation.
"A lovely little detail was that the roses are ‘Naomi’ roses, which were my mother’s favourite. And this year, I was delighted to receive a handcrafted metal rose from the charity’s ‘Garden of Roses’ campaign."