The garden of the Old School House ...

There seem to be no rabbits this year - we think they've fled their burrows by the side of the railway line - we no longer see them at twilight, fanning out across the lawns - 

Paul Marsh, who lived here before us, used to wait for them with his air rifle at the window of the upstairs bedroom - 

But now the garden of The Old School House is a tender paradise of flowers - 

Returning from my parents, we walked barefoot around the garden, the grass soft and warm beneath our toes - 

We still felt as if we were in Havant, full of care - yet the scents of the flowers, their shapes and colours, restored our spirits - 

Anne lay down upon the grass - I stared up at the pale sky - 

3.55

16 June 2014

East Stoke