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Behind Helen's studio (see previous
page) the garden continues in a strip up the slope and includes
a small grassy mound which is all that is now visible of a small
spoil heap from a hillside colliery. This mound
was used during World War II as the site for a family air raid shelter.
There are traces of a small quarry in the outcrop
of sandstone amongst the trees at the top of the hill and Helen's
father thinks that it is likely that some of the stone for Sandal
castle was quarried here since it's a straightforward downhill journey
from here to the castle.
Oaks grow on the brow of the hill and midway there's
a band of grass that gets nibbled by next door's
pony. Between the oakwood and the pasture, Helen tells us, you can
see a succession between open grassland and woodland. There are
several stages in the process of open ground becoming colonised
by woodland:
|
|
Grass |
Heather (likes
stony, acid soil)
|
Birch saplings |
Oak saplings
amongst birch |
Oak woodland
with bramble |
 Towards
the end of the afternoon
After an afternoon talking about art etc. with Helen and John it's rush
hour so Barbara and I take the country roads home. As the Black Bull at
Midgley looms ahead and we decide to call in for a pasta.
It's still early and quiet so we can't help overhearing bits of the conversation
on the next table:
'It's a change coming here from having a meal at the home, isn't it?'
says the daughter to her mum.
'Do I live in a home? I didn't know. I'll remember when I'm there.'
'Yes, you had an accident and you've got to stay in there until they
say it's all right for you to go back to your bungalow.'
'Do I have a bungalow? I'll remember when I see it.'
Some older women have an ability to be relaxed - 'dotty' - about the
onset of memory loss. My father, who had always been very much in control
of things, found it hard to cope with and became frustrated and anxious
when he became aware of what was happening to him when he started to suffer
from a condition similar to Alzheimer's.
But memory loss is strangely specific and, when the daughter starts discussing
some medicine they need to call for after the meal, the mother immediately
informs her that the local chemist's is open until 6.30 in the evening.
Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk
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