I’m hoping to write a post which will review 2018, a year when we made some wonderful progress in the garden, a year when special memories were created. I plan to write and publish it soon.

Before I do it seems prescient to look ahead, very briefly, to 2019, a year which many of us have been fearing, which we have to not only live through but hope to come out the other side of intact.

In our family we are unashamedly, proudly, passionately European. So we are grieving for what is happening in the UK at the moment. We fear for the consequences of loss of freedom of movement not only for us (for it threatens the way in which we divide our lives between our UK and our French homes, and therefore the development of our garden) but also for our children and our grandchildren. Our children were able to live and move freely around Europe during their teens and early twenties, enriching their lives and expanding their horizons accordingly. We naturally hope the same opportunities will exist for our grandchildren and generations to come.

As I write this the UK appears to be in a real mess, with Government failing to govern and Her Majesty’s Opposition failing to hold the government to account or offer real workable alternatives, and much of the media stirring up unrest and promulgating fiction rather than fact. We hope beyond hope that ethical leadership will return and the absolute nonsense (in our humble opinion) of Brexit and all it has unleashed will be kicked firmly into touch so that resources can be redirected to those who truly need it, the poor, the vulnerable, the sick.

One thing I do know. The human spirit is, if not invincible, resilient. The words of Lance Corporal Jones in the 70s sitcom “Dad’s Army” spring to mind, “Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring” as does the advice of Winston Churchill to “KBO” (keep b****ing on).

Life will go on. It is our fervent hope and prayer that sense will prevail and kindness will return to our nation and that life will not just go on but go on well.

Back to gardens, plants, and gardening next time!