"The gays have arrived". That's how Tony and Chris Ashby-Steed announced to the world they had the keys to their new home just outside Newcastle Emlyn in rural west Wales. Both visibly excited, they then ran across the street to begin their video tour of the property.
Fast forward three-and-a-half months and having watched their progress on Instagram, I'm barely at the top of the steep driveway before Tony Ashby-Steed gives a huge warm wave and, within seconds, is showing me round the pots of plants lined up in the garden. "That one is called 'Gay Paree'" he tells me as I coo over a beautiful blooming peony.
When Tony and Chris moved from Brighton to Newcastle Emlyn they didn't just move their belongings, jobs and their lives, but 400 plants from their beloved garden, which themselves filled four moving vans. This move wasn't just a kneejerk reaction to the pandemic but the story of how a couple found themselves again, and their happy place in the heart of rural Wales.
