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'Free gifting keeps a little part of dad with me'

Helen Burchell
BBC News, Hertfordshire
Rachel Davies A green metal table is piled high with items. The table is in a park with a green lawn behind. On the table are items including knitted hats, puzzle books, flowers, garden ornaments and wrapped food.Rachel Davies
Free gifts and handmade items were left for anyone who wanted something

A woman who set up a table piled high with free gifts and handmade items for Father's Day - in memory of her late dad - said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for her gesture.

Rachel Davies, 43, from Stevenage, lost her father Howard Ryder, 82, to bowel cancer in 2022.

On Saturday, the keen Hertfordshire crafter stacked a table in the town's Fairlands Valley Park with knitted hats, trinkets, flowers and food inviting people to take what they wanted.

"I don't want money at all - doing this keeps a little of dad with me and makes me happy," she said.

"One woman came and took just one lily - she said she was on her way to the cemetery and she thanked me."

Rachel Davies Rachel Davies is seen smiling at the camera with her arms around her father, Howard Ryder. She is wearing a bright pink jumper and has long, light brown hair. Mr Ryder is hugging his daughter and is wearing spectacles and a checked shirt and jacket. He is sitting in a mobility scooterRachel Davies
Rachel Davies said she would like people to remember her late father Howard Ryder if they took one of her gifts

Mrs Davies, who runs a dog training business with her husband, has a craft workshop in her garden and made many of the items herself.

She began leaving out free gifts for Mother's Day after her mum died eight years ago, and then the tradition continued for Father's Day.

Rachel Davies A number of items are seen in close-up on a table. There are crossword books protected in clear plastic bags, snacks in wrappers, a sample of aftershave, garden seeds and butterfly ornamentsRachel Davies
A laminated note was left with photos of Mr Ryder and his wife, saying he was a "good, kind, generous and jolly soul"

This year's items included hand-knitted woolly hats, each one accompanied with a cake or chocolate bar and a wrapped tea bag, reflecting some of the things her own father loved.

"He could drink a gallon of tea," she said.

Flowers, plants and garden ornaments reflect her father's love of gardening, while puzzle books recall his love of quizzes and apple pies his love for the pudding "with bottomless custard".

A recurring theme is bee-inspired items such as yellow and black knitted bobble hats.

"Dad called me Honeybee. No-one calls me that now," Mrs Davies said.

Rachel Davies Howard Ryder is looking at the camera in a close-up shot. He is wearing a black leather brimmed hat and sunglasses. He has a white beard and moustacheRachel Davies
Mrs Davies said it would give her comfort if people took items in memory of her father

The idea of stacking a table with gifts was cathartic, she explained.

"I find comfort by doing this.

"I like seeing people happy and I try to provide things they might like or want. Mum and dad loved this park and I want people to feel a bit of that love in Stevenage."

Mrs Davies put her items out early on Saturday and by about 15:00 BST almost everything had gone.

She left a note on the table asking people to perhaps remember her own father, and to take what they wanted in his memory - but she did not stay to see any visitors or recipients.

The woman with the lily and a small boy who said he was embarrassed because he wanted one item for himself and another for his father - were the exceptions.

"Someone said they had no money but this is not conditional - there are no obligations and I do not want anything in return other than the little bit of peace I get by doing this," Mrs Davies said.

"It is like dad is still in a little corner of my world."

She posted photographs of the gifting table on a local Stevenage Facebook group and was amazed by the result.

More than 2,600 people reacted to the post and almost 300 left comments - some with fond memories of her father - and others praising her generosity.

A bunch of flowers was left for her anonymously at the table as well as a bottle of wine.

Some people offered to make charitable donations in her father's name, but instead she suggested: "Just do something nice for someone else."

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