Oh dear, another year has flashed by, just like my pal Virgil said it would, and another 365 days of our allotted 29000 have been used up. Have we seized the day as my old friend Horace (not Batchelor of course) recommended we should? If so, doing what, I wonder, or are we just older and none the wiser?
It’s a thought to ponder upon during Christmas, as is, as you munch your mince pies, should it be ponder over, ponder on or ponder about? One or two of my Loyal Readers may care to answer such philosophical and pedantic questions while others might prefer some pretty pictures. So, doing my best to please all parties, here’s a few of our lovely county of Sussex taken during the past twelve months:
Not that I read Virgil or Horace. No time. I was just dropping names to impress. Our time - Rosie’s and mine - is of course much better spent raising plants, pulling up weeds and generally maintaining the garden in order to have it looking wonderful by the time we fling it open to the general public. But for no longer, as from 2024 onwards we’ll only allow the select few to come and see it. It’ll be serious horticultural groups only, garden lovers who know their plants and, who knows, will probably have to pass a test before they’re even allowed in. No more riff-raff who only come to gobble up Rosie’s cakes. That’ll be left to me. But as a tribute to past visitors, and as it’s Christmas and a time of good cheer to all, here’s a glimpse of some of the lucky 388 who attended our final opening this year:
Completely changing the subject: Sophie’s daughter Bay, now eight, is at school learning about the Romans. Their roads, plumbing, currency, towns, architecture, how July and August are named after Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus, how they invented central heating, the wall Hadrian built, the baths they lounged in and the aqueducts that brought them water. Bay, adding to the sum of human knowledge, has found interesting facts about Roman sanitation though it has to be said that Virgil might have struggled with her literacy and Horace with her truth:
Finally - for 2023 - our Christmas greeting to all my Loyal Readers. And for those not on our Christmas card list, apologies for the oversight, but here it is, complete with very best wishes for an enjoyable, indigestion-free Christmas and a reminder that 2024 is election year. Vorfreude!
