Date: 18 May 2004
Originally published in: Wakefield Express (UK)
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Crowds braved spring showers to catch a glimpse of an 80s superstar who switched from pop to poppies. Green-fingered Wakefield residents made the trip to see Kim Wilde at the reopening of the Carr Gate Garden Centre at junction 41 last week.
The fun day, which also featured Laurel and Hardy entertainers, a jazz band, and a radio roadshow, pulled in the crowds with a record number of visitors thought to have passed through the doors of the store. Wyevale, the UK’s largest garden centre operator, recently bought the business and had the site re-stocked before the big event.
The day started at 10am with Kim, whose hits before she swapped concerts for chrysanthemums included Kids In America and Cambodia, declaring the centre open an hour later. Kim, who has become a TV gardener and a pundit for a number of publications, mingled throughout the rest of the day, chatting to visitors about gardening as well as her time in the charts.
Carr Gate manager Paul Adams said he had been thrilled with the response of local people to the reopening. He added: “We were overwhelmed by the support of the Wakefield visitors who flocked to see us on Saturday.”