Sheila W.'s garden pot and seat

Sheila is an old friend of Helena's from way back when Helena lived around the corner from this house near to the cottage hospital.  I parked outside Helena's flat at Whitehall when I went for an X-ray on my foot organised by my GP to try to 'see' what is causing the problem.

Sheila is a remarkable weaver of baskets and many other beautiful objects. I noticed that she has some 'withhies' drying in her porch. I love these old cottages built traditionally from Cotswold limestone. Her house must have been one of the early homes in this area, probably dating from the early 1800s, but which has now been surrounded by other houses built in a multitude of styles since then. The road is a very old track leading down to a spring, called Hemlock Well, about one hundred yards downhill, with the river about a further hundred yards lower at the bottom of the Golden Valley.

My eye today was initially drawn to the big pot in her garden and then I noticed the delightful wooden garden seat, probably made for her by a friend in the local craft community of which she is an integral part.

When I was a town councillor some years ago, I was pleased to be able to sort out a problem that Sheila had whenever there was heavy rain. The road leading down the hillside would flood and large amounts of water would be diverted into her garden through the gate and on down into her house. She hadn't been able to get anyone to deal with the problem. Knowing how local government services worked I was able to connect with the people responsible for sorting out such issues and within a couple of days the problem was sorted, and I think it has not returned. It was rare to be able to have such tangible effects!