Letters to garden makers

Dear Monty, Staying put - making a home and seeing the positive in what may appear to be negative circumstances have been confirmed by seagulls today. Yes I am a nutter. Many years ago I sat in Singleton Park Botanic Garden in Swansea during a break in my studies at the time in the nearby university. As I contemplated the future feeling uplifted by the blue sky - the peace of that part of the park - I felt a strong pull to head for Cornwall (of all places) - at that moment a flock of seagulls did their soulful crying above me - At that point I thought my future was confirmed by the seagulls! I am I suppose a sensitive soul - I had been reading about Joshua in the Old Testament - how he was commissioned to take Israel over into new territory, and I somehow believed that I was off to new territory. It wasn't meant to be. Many years have passed and although the Joshua thing did not lead me to Cornwall, it led me instead to this rough at the edges former mining town. ...

Dear Monty, How easy it is to forget what a privilege it is to see another day - especially a Spring day - to allow the feast for the eyes and soul to regenerate something deep within. We walked through early Spring sunshine on the green around the moat of the Bishop's Palace and the Cathedral of Wells. A cold east wind cut through the warmth of hope within. We were not hope-less but without comforting words. Like a foreboding cliff - high, flat and imposing the West Front of the Cathedral with its faceless saints seemed to offer little comfort. Singing rang out of the visitors entrance each time the door opened, perhaps the warmth we needed was within ? The gardens remained dormant but signs of Spring were evident in the buds breaking in the trees. Seagulls created a dance above the moat. Our coats were not adequate to prevent the chill from penetrating. How does anyone face this ? When faith is chilled by ritual and too many questions, criticism...