A woman in Stevenage who set up a table filled with free gifts and handmade items for Father’s Day in memory of her late father said she was deeply moved by the outpouring of support for her gesture.
Rachel Davies, 43, lost her father, Howard Ryder, 82, to bowel cancer in 2022. On Saturday, she placed knitted hats, flowers, trinkets, and food on a table at Fairlands Valley Park, inviting people to take what they wanted.
“I don’t want any money. Doing this keeps a little of dad with me and makes me happy,” Davies said. She recalled one woman who took a single lily and said she was on her way to the cemetery, thanking Davies for the gift.
Davies, who runs a dog training business with her husband, made many of the items herself in her garden craft workshop. She started leaving free gifts on Mother’s Day after her mother died eight years ago, and the tradition continued for Father’s Day.
A laminated note with photos of Ryder and his wife was left with the gifts. It described Ryder as a “good, kind, generous and jolly soul.”
This year’s gifts included hand-knitted woolly hats, each paired with a cake or chocolate bar and a wrapped tea bag, reflecting Ryder’s love of tea. Flowers, plants, and garden ornaments honored his passion for gardening, while puzzle books represented his fondness for quizzes. Apple pies recalled his favorite dessert, always served with plenty of custard.
Many items were bee-themed, including yellow and black bobble hats. “Dad called me Honeybee. No one calls me that now,” Davies said.
Davies said setting up the table was a comforting experience. “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.”
She put out the gifts early Saturday, and by mid-afternoon most had been taken. A note on the table asked people to remember her father and take what they wished, but Davies did not stay to watch visitors.
Exceptions included the woman with the lily and a small boy who was embarrassed because he wanted one gift for himself and another for his father.
“Someone said they had no money, but this is not conditional—there are no obligations. I just want a little peace by doing this,” Davies said. “It’s like dad is still in a little corner of my world.”
After sharing photos of the gifting table on a local Stevenage Facebook group, Davies was amazed by the response. More than 2,600 people reacted, and nearly 300 left comments, some sharing fond memories of her father, others praising her generosity.
Anonymous visitors left a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine at the table. Some people offered to make charitable donations in her father’s name, but Davies encouraged them to simply “do something nice for someone else.”
