Park life, arcadia, heat
This week saw a switch of routine as my daughter’s time in Year 3 came to an end. For me, it means less time to focus on work, but once I get used to that I find there is something relaxing about being free to set our own schedule and decide what we do each day, rather than being bound by the 3pm curfew.
Highlights of the week have included dinner cooked by my son (superior burger and chips), a trip to Knole (the only National Trust place that feels accessible to me by public transport) and the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, and watching a heron in a suburban park’s duck pond.
In this part of Kent we are surrounded by nature and beauty, and when the sun shines and school is out, I hope my children make memories as powerful as an old fashioned storybook adventure. As adults, there is a lot to be worried about. Covid rates are soaring. Do we get out and make the most of the world before we get pinged, or stay at closer to home incase going out means we catch or spread the virus? When you don’t have a car, you can’t get far afield without being in an enclosed space with other people. It has been a week of great and unrelenting heat, and reports of wild weather around the globe make it feel less like we are basking in arcadia and more like we are living in a beautiful world on fire.
In contradiction to the urgency of the hour, I’ve been perfecting my park life at the back end of this week - sitting on the grass reading an escapist and lyrical history of the garden, house and people of Sissinghurst while my daughter plays. This is what I envisioned when I had children, but it’s taken about thirteen years to achieve. We went to the big sand park at Southwood Road recreation ground in Rusthall, where there is shade.
On my return I checked the magazine’s messenger inbox and found a message from librarian Sally Liddle saying that the village library in Rusthall would re-open on Tuesday 27th July. Firework emojis don’t do this news justice - I feel unexpectedly teary with emotion. There are places you don’t fully appreciate until you lose them, and Rusthall’s little library in the old infant school building, tucked away behind the High Street is really one of them. I am super excited to be able to return my library books after more than a year, too!
Rusthall Library, ready to go!
The week ended with choir practice at the church, swiftly becoming one of my favourite hours of the week for it’s beautiful walk through the common to get there, the still churchyard, and the lovely music.
That’s all for this week, thank you for reading. If you would like to subscribe or contact me please do. You can also follow me on instagram here. If you would like to buy the book Sissinghurst then take a look here, or better still buy it from your nearest independent book shop.
Have wonderful weekends and weeks ahead.
Jayne
