Parcel Post

Yesterday a parcel arrived in the mail from a dear friend and the contents were like a little party for one. I took the goodies outside and spent a pleasant hour or so savouring the delicious edible and readible delights. Above is the sweet little card which accompanied them.

Included was a magazine, 'This England', Summer 2006 edition. My darling and I had spent a number of weeks of summer 2006 in England and a highlight was walking the Thames Path for about 10 days from its source near Kemble in the Cotswolds to Windsor. It was a very special time for us and as I opened the magazine this poem was printed:

AN ENGLISH ROVER
Give me the fragrance of an early summer's day,
A stick to grip, and the open road,
The far hills and a light load,
And fancy-free I'll tramp my cares away.

Give me the friendly word and the honest smile
Of men who work the chequered board
Of brown earth and the green sward,
And heart singing I'll tramp the winding mile.

Give me the sprawling inn yet sleeping in the sun,
The open door, the cool cellar
Mine host and good ales amber
To stay while of the golden day begun.

Oh! give me the hidden things around every bend
Of this green land where beauty lies
Alone in sudden sweet surprise
And alone I'll go with none to mar or mend.

Give me the evening star of the day about to die,
Blue shades deepening, bird's last note,
Nomad's fire, tang of wood smoke:
Then sleep at peace beneath an English sky.
Peter Coleman Kent

This seemed like a summary of our wonderful walk - including the sleeping 'beneath an English sky' as we would do this in the open fields, or in the shade of a tree if feeling a little weary in the warm sunshine. We were there during the heatwave while Melbourne experienced record low temperatures.

This is a lovely pastoral scene of the tiny Thames taken on the first day.