BLOG 18th June
Winging it
We’re avid readers of the Yellow Book, aka the gardeners’ bible, a small yellow pamphlet that lists gardens open to the public in aid of charity, so last Sunday when we saw that nearby gardens were open we took our umbrellas and set off. DH is a very keen gardener while I’m the fair-weather weeder and helper but we are united in our enjoyment of visiting other people’s gardens.
The gardens at Swarthmoor Hall are being restored by volunteers and we admired the planting, especially the hot-magenta-pink geranium that was mixed with pink roses and cat mint. Usually at these events there are plants for sale near tea rooms that sell good cakes, but unfortunately that was not the case, so I shall have to look for those geraniums somewhere else.
In the middle of the gardens is the 17th century house, Swarthmoor Hall, cradle of the Quaker movement, and now a Quaker retreat centre, and perhaps valued more by the Americans than we British. It is of particular interest to my DH as he is descended from an old Quaker family – his great-great grandfather even visited Swarthmoor Hall on his honeymoon.
Writers of historical novels would be inspired by the age of the building and the stories it could have told, but I’m not a historical novelist, although I do have an idea that has been marinating in my mind for some time … Escape from the Vagabond Prince, a short story I wrote a few years ago in the style of H Rider Haggard, has characters that persist in wanting more to do, so one day I may free them from the laptop and let them have the adventures they need. I want to set this in Victorian England, and more specifically, in Cumbria, and it would be a tale of derring-do involving smuggling, a handsome hero and a plucky heroine. What puts me off is the amount of research I would have to do; details would have to be right and facts accurate. Writing contemporary stories and novels means that I can often ‘wing it’, but winging it historically just would not do!
