Diverse fish in relief, made by Jonathan’s goldsmith grandfather in Munich
Elephant hawk moth caterpillar, I think
VW cushion, with a VW camper van parked outside
Panorama of the garden, with pond in which vicious dragonfly nymphs lurk
Embraced by a tree
Uprooted
Hobbits
Bleached thistles in a landscape
Jonathan and Elaine
Greenhouse, with what may be biological pest control habitats
Blackboard outside the garden shop
Lifebelt
Group shot with Jonathan
Group shot with me
A lovely day in Forest Row, near East Grinstead, with Jonathan Shopley, his wife Andrea, her mother Peggy (who hosted me in Durban when I was there many, many moons ago), and their daughters Arianne and Kira.
Delighted to see Jonathan’s motorbike propped outside, the one which he rode from South Africa to Britain in the mid-1980s, landing up on our doorstep in Barnes, and working with me for several year before heading on to such places as ADL, LBS (for an MBA) and the Carbon Neutral Company.
One of the first things we saw once out in their glorious garden was a huge caterpillar, which I think we have established was an Elephant Hawk Moth, getting ready for greater things.
Jonathan, Elaine and I had a wonderful walk around the area and through the grounds of Michael Hall, the nearby Rudolf Steiner school. Lots of butterflies and moths, plus blackberries and damsons in the hedgerows.
Amazing how much history is clustered nearby, including Chartwell and the hospital where the Guinea Pig Club was founded by WWII casualties who were being treated by the legendary reconstructive plastic surgeon, Archibald McIndoe.
Rather idiotically, I left my Barbour at the Shopley’s home when we drove off, something I’m increasingly inclined to do, with a debris field extending behind me that is worthy of the most absent-minded professor. Happily it has been found: it’s old, bought for my second Davos in 2003, but a garment to which (despite appearances) I am more than a little attached.
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