On the 8th to the 9th of March London Link Group returned to Welwyn Garden City (WGC), some of the group got up very early (in my opinion) to get a train from Kings Cross. Once the 15 young people and 5 adults we were all assembled at the Meeting House, we introduced the event, the boundaries and each other. 

The name game this time was more of a group challenge, partly to understand Michael’s idea and partly because it involved thinking, (quite early in the morning). Each person went round the circle and made up a portion of a story which introduced the person next to them as a character in the story, many fantastical things later we were all well and truly introduced. 

Lunch was “make your own baguettes” – with lots of fillings to choose from, (“If Quakers did Subway”…). 

After some tidying up we then heard from Alec, a participant who attends WGC Meeting. Alec gave us an introduction to some of the ethos around the Garden City movement, how Quakers were very involved in the development of WGC and how some of its radical (especially for the time) socialist ideas are represented in the planned city (did you know WGC Meeting was the largest Quaker Meeting outside of London).

To wake us from our post lunch slumber and make the most of the very warm weather we went for a walk up the boulevard and back along the old railway line. On returning we had some tea and drinks, some played football, others played games they had brought with them. 

In the afternoon we had a themed session “Living in a world that doesn’t always share your values” , we talked about our own views/values that often the people around us didn’t share, such as being anti military, protecting the environment, and many of the Quaker values which might put us at “odds” with the rest of society (or the world). We talked about the concept that Michael likes to use of being “in-phase” or “out-of-phase”, a literal way to think of being “on the same wavelength” as other people around us. This took us to a discussion on what helps us if we feel like a minority, and what the advantages and pitfalls are of being in a community of people who do all share the same values, how do we engage with people who don’t share our values?

As our session came to a close, and our brains fully warmed up, a mystery knock on the Meeting House door presented us with a delivery of a huge box of ice creams! Thank you to a very kind local Quaker who came by with this very divine intervention. 

Some free time and a dinner of the classic Broccoli pesto tomato pasta led us into an “Open Mic” session, some brave young people got up to perform and entertain us. Our very own singer-songwriter and volunteer Eli also sang a new song for us, to much applause. 

We had some hot chocolate and settled down to an Epilogue to reflect on the day. 

Camping beds setup, mats down and sleeping bags out, we all found our designated rooms and proceeded to go to sleep instantly…

Sunday morning we were (mostly) up early to greet the 8:30 Quaker meeting (there are currently two Meetings on a Sunday at WGC), some of the young people built up their breakfast appetite playing football while others did quiet games. With the morning Quaker Meeting over they joined us for a breakfast buffet (Eggs, Beans, Toast, Veggie Sausages, fruit and Cereal). After tidying up and some free time it was soon time to go into 10:30 Meeting, after quarter of an hour those who didn’t want to stay for the full hour did crafts and other activities.

Tea biscuits, lots of interesting after meeting discussions and free time led us to consider Lunch.

For lunch we had a special challenge – the young people themselves had to make a shared lunch! In groups of 4 with spending money of £5, the young people were chaperoned to Sainsbury’s to buy vegan/vegetarian and shareable food to contribute to lunch. As you can imagine a real eclectic mix of things returned back to the Meeting house, in some cases it was thankful we had leftovers from dinner, in others a real innovation and thoughtful sharing items. Good work young people! 

We left our whirlwind garden city time with Friendships made and spirits nourished. 

We’re heartened by the service that Welwyn Garden City Quakers provided in hosting our event, the fantastic support from the Wardens and all the participants and volunteers for an excellent weekend. – Michael, Tavi, Philip, Amy, Eli