Reminding me of Alicia

I have just handed back Dave's lens which I have had for a fun week. Sadly the conditions were not great for its best use, but I learnt a lot by being hands-on. I would like one similar, but the cost is off-putting currently.

No driving possible so after seeing Dave, I walked to our corner shop called Waitrose, which was wonderfully empty. Stocked up on some essentials and then wandered home on the roads mostly, because they too were very quiet. I love this displacement effect of inclement conditions. Wasn't the silence wonderful when the Icelandic volcano fired up earlier this year; we noticed the background was then quiet, as we are beneath the transatlantic flight paths, so always hear the jets faintly in the background especially when they are going west.

Tonight from near the west, the sun was setting only two days before the Solstice. I went to check on the cabin to see how my plants were coping. This Abutilon is now in its third winter and seems surprisingly happy. Most of the leaves have gone, but it still keeps on flowering. I arrange a little heat in the middle of the night in the cabin, but it is superbly insulated and keeps hard frost well away.

Abutilons remind me of dear Alicia Harpur, mother of Patrick, one of my oldest friends. She had a huge plant in her conservatory in Coombe Bissett, where I often visited around Christmas. A very special family to me, but everyone agrees she was a wonderful friend to all of us reprobates who were associated with her four kids. If you are interested you could try Patrick's recent book, 'A Complete Guide to the Soul', published by Rider Books, but I won't be surprised if you are not. Read the reviews anyway here.