Charlotte Betts

Carol McGrath is my guest author today, writing here about medieval gardens.

The Damask Rose is perfect for lovers of medieval history, full of the sights, sounds and smells of medieval Britain.

I’m writing this post on the 23rdMarch 2021, the anniversary of the beginning of the first lockdown in the UK, and reflecting on the changes it made to my writing life.

The term Edwardian era or the ‘Gilded Age’ is often extended to 1914 when that time of peace and prosperity, for the few at least, was shattered by the cataclysm of WWI.

Stars still glimmered as the rising sun began to paint the sky with streaks of apricot and gold. Up on the cliffs above the sea stood Spindrift House, its thick stone walls sheltering the sleeping community of the ten artists and five children that lived within.

            As the stars faded in the brightening sky, a blackbird unfolded his wings in the great copper beech beside the house. He opened his yellow bill and trilled the first liquid notes of welcome to the dawn.

            It was going to be a glorious summer’s day.