Good Afternoon Dear Friends!
Welcome to the study at Myrtle House at just a shadow before 3 pm . . . following a rather damp and drizzly morning, a splendidly sunny day is gracing proceedings, albeit with a decidedly autumnal feel and so soon despite the sunshine, flames will lap and lick at coals and the scent of ginger and orange oil will float through the air and suffuse the later afternoon with the spice and promise of the coming seasonal occurrences . . . and so here I sit with tea at my hand and write to you, wherever you may be, which is not here.
Living in the Victorian Quarter in autumn is a very sensual experience nasally; I'm sure I have mentioned before about the wonderful fragrance of the local Santus mint ball factory which wafts gracefully around the environs . . . this Sal and I usually pick up on our way to the Parish Church Gardens - one of our daily constitutionals - it walks with us, protecting us from unpleasant odours, until it hands us over to the waiting arms of the Allgates Brewery, whose warm hoppy mash wraps us in invisible fleecy cotton wool until the gardens are behind us and the familiar figure of Uncle Joe is encountered waiting patiently at the stepped exit to the gardens, with the backdrop of railways behind him . . . all very À la recherche du temps perdu ! This morning our walk took us along the streets of the Old Duchess' childhood and through the still lovely Mesnes ( pronounced mains!) Park where the photograph above was captured in the Pagett Rose Garden . . . I do feel I am so fortunate to live in Myrtle House; so close to the centre of the town and yet so peaceful and only a few minutes away from access to the local countryside . . .
So what has been happening since last we met? Well, the counselling practice I mentioned before is officially up and running - you can see details of it at our website here which is, I hasten to add, still in it's early days and not yet as swish as it could be, but the practice itself is really quite sweet - we're deeply involved in the process of putting together all the promotional literature etc which seems to take an age but we will I'm sure get there eventually. We are located in a little backwater just off Wigan Lane - the website has a map and directions - far enough away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life to be a sort of little oasis of calm and serenity . . . you can expect a few photographs of the interior to follow shortly; I may even pop one or two in this post if I can get them back from the chemist in time . . . that was a joke for my older readers naturally!
Meanwhile the year turns and all things autumnal come to pass at a rate which seems swifter each year - before you know it Halloween will be upon us, then Bonfire Night and then it's a swift slide in the snow to Christmas . . . oh hum where does the time go? When thoughts like this invade my bonce I try to remember to slow down and stop if possible; and to taste and savour each moment and live in it rather than speed ahead and miss the now . . . not always easy but often very profitable . . . I think the world of retail is very much to blame for this chronological confusion with its propensity to advertise Halloween in September, Christmas in October and Easter eggs in November - madness! Even though I can buy lovely German Christmas biscuits and enjoy them now - which I do, of course - it still feels somehow wrong; unseasonal maybe, like winter strawberries . . .
And so with those musings I shall put down my pen figuratively speaking, take up my cup and head to the kitchen for a refill . . . the choice of activities awaiting me could be a good read by the fire or, as has been haunting my mind over the past few days, a hour or so in the company of the delightfully sweet and batty Margaret Rutherford - there was only ever one Miss Marple and it was she!
I hope you all are happy and glad to feel the pulse in your veins; may the rest of your weekend be filled to the brim with love and happiness, and may there be enough to slop over into the saucer of the week ahead.
'til next time
Be Seeing You !
ॐ
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