From a milliner inspired by topiary to a model-turned-ecological gardener and a couple who swapped jobs in telecommunications for growing vegetables, Sir David Beckham’s rural heroes tell Julie Harding why craft and the countryside are key

Your kids your laughs your friends your world

SARAH DITUM

Fred de Fossard

I WAS lonely. Papa was a preacher and we lived and travelled in a painted wooden wagon, pulled by Jessie, a large and docile shire horse. We had few possessions; there was no room for what Papa called

I’ve been selling Big Issue for 11 years. I have been providing food for my family and paying for rent thanks to the money I make. I lived in Romania before coming to England. It was hard living there