Hello Dear Readers,
It is hard to believe that I am writing this introduction to the June edition while the wind is howling around Hazel Cottage like a banshee and the rain is drumming on the roof.
During the last little respite in the weather I planted out courgette and squash, tiny beet seedlings and even some sunflowers and outdoor tomatoes – all seeming, at the time, desperate to escape their snug greenhouse pots. I have been fearful for their survival ever since. However, on each soggy and windswept visit to the garden I am amazed at their resilience – that despite all that nature is throwing at them they are hanging on in there. They are not growing much, but they are all sitting tight, waiting patiently for things to improve.
A bit like us, perhaps, as we wait for the trials of lockdown finally to end so that we can be ourselves again, and flourish. (Some sunshine would help us, too!)
Perhaps summer will have shown itself by the time you read this – but whether in your woollies or your beachwear we hope you enjoy this edition of your ECN.
Jan, Tom and Mary.