Bringing the great outdoors to green-fingered veterans – pharmacy helps Gosport charity

Veterans from the Royal Navy, Logistic Corps and Parachute Regiment gathered at the Military Road site to thank Lalys Pharmacy for its financial donation.

The allotment is run by FirstLight Trust, a charity located in Gosport High Street that provides social, practical and creative activities, as well as support, to those who have served in the Armed Forces and Emergency Services.

With the money donated by Lalys in Privett Road, the FirstLight Trust has bought soil, vegetable seeds, rose plants and tools to ensure a successful growing season.

‘We applied to Gosport Borough Council for the allotment in 2019 and only had to wait eight months for a plot to become available,’ explained Riah Bunce, FirstLight Trust’s activity co-ordinator.

‘We were given the keys in March 2020, so you can imagine how keen our members were to get involved when it was one of the first approved activities after the lockdown.

‘With the success of that plot we applied for, and were given, the plot behind which meant we could bring the great outdoors to many more veterans.’

Royal Navy veteran Les Aldridge said: ‘My father was a head gardener when I was a boy, so if I had not joined the Royal Navy and trained as a nurse I would have most likely followed in his footsteps. So having this opportunity is like coming full circle.

‘I enjoy being outside in the fresh air and I feel it really contributes to my wellbeing.’

Mrs Pushpinder Laly, founder and director of Lalys Pharmacy, added: ‘When we were chosen as the first pharmacy in Portsmouth, and one of the first in the UK, to provide a dedicated Covid vaccination centre, we were supported by veterans who volunteered to manage and welcome queues of people.’

Head Pharmacist at Lalys Gosport, Kom Hlapatsos, said: ‘Not only is this a fantastic initiative that combines exercise, nutrition and wellbeing, it is a wonderful opportunity for us to show our appreciation to a community who gave us such valuable supported in the past couple of years.’

Riah commented: ‘We are so grateful to Lalys Pharmacy for its generosity and support. They proactively sought us out in order to engage with us and find out how best they could help what we do, and we very much appreciate their time and effort.’