Go down to Kew in lilac-time

Another beautiful, sunny day, but with a very chilly wind. Mind you, I’ve only been outside for a couple of minutes, just to take a photo for today’s blip, because Smithers and I are actually getting ready to go away for the first time in a couple of years.

For the past thirty years or so we have owned some weeks in a timeshare property in the Lake District. We didn’t manage to get there last year because Smithers was too unwell, but happily he’s feeling a lot better and is really keen for us to go again this year. We are both quite excited at the prospect, and the preparations have begun in earnest!

It may well be that we won’t be at home to see our lilac in full flower, so I am blipping it now just in case. Every time I see it, I think of my mother, who used to quote some lines from Alfred Noyes’ poem, "Go down to Kew in lilac-time, in lilac-time, in lilac-time; Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn’t far from London!)". I didn’t realise that this was only one verse from a much longer poem entitled "The Barrel Organ". It’s far too long to quote here, but this is a link to it for anyone’s who’s interested. (I certainly was!)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47543/the-barrel-organ