Staying cool at Camilla's garden party

Late in the afternoon after I’d taken all my market stall gear back home , I went to join Helena at a Garden Party. It was the return of a formerly annual event whereby Camilla and her two neighbours open up the back gardens of their adjacent terraced houses and invite a mass of friends. There are no barriers in the form of walls or fences by these three abodes, but each has their own separate and steep back garden which were being used as shelter from the strong sunshine.

Russell had also come from his home in Lewes, Sussex, to join in and would be staying the night at our house. Helena met him when she went on the two week tour of Rajasthan in January this year, which had been organised by Camilla. Russell and Camilla met decades ago when they both worked backstage in various theatrical touring companies, and remain firm friends.

I was very tired having been up since 6am for the last couple of days, so I was happy just sitting in the garden. When I took this picture we had just had a wonderful plate of Indian food prepared by Camilla’s husband, Sridhar, as well as some other Indian dishes brought by friends. I noticed the beautiful red climbing roses at the top of the hedge between the houses and decided to take a picture with my phone as I loved the light and contrasting colours in the sky, with the tower of nearby Uplands Church in the background. Suddenly a group of people came to say hello to Camilla who was sitting beside us while the children had just finished a game where they had to find hidden ‘objects’ all around the three gardens.

I thought I would blip this picture which has Helena sitting beside me, and then add an ‘Extra’ of Camilla on my right talking to them. Russell is seated just beyond Camilla but sadly somewhat obscured from my lens. We had a wonderful time, and it was a great way to relax after the less than busy market.