Tuesday 7th May

The Celtic deity that resided over the entrance to the Roman Temple at Bath.  I have loved him since first setting eyes on him, he needs to be above all entrances quantifying due respect and reverence on how we view our natural world.  You may ask whether there are wings artfully concealed in his hair or perhaps snakes,  similar to a female Gorgon.  He is the Guardian of Minerva the Roman Goddess of Bath, Minerva is also seemingly implicit in a British role as the Celtic goddess Sulis, so that we have the symbolic imagery of two gods rolled into one, in this instance Minerva/Sulis.  You can find more information here.  Already my senses become overwhelmed by the information to be found 'The Ruin' an old Anglo-Saxon poem written a couple of centuries later when Bath had fallen into ruin and decay after the Roman departure.
Actually what I was going to write, and it is still in drafts was about my daughter's father family, who she still keeps in close touch but it hardly seemed interesting as a write up, so I shall print it and keep it safe.  She was down over the weekend and we talked for a long time about family, one interesting fact emerged which I did not know, was that when her cousin Marc at age 6 was brought back by my ex-sister-in-law from Persia/Iran to Switzerland, my daughter's (and his) grandfather took Marc straight round to the police station and registered him.  
In this time of Brexit, the Opper family who worked in different parts of the world, though all the children were educated in Britain, stand for old England and the comparative ease of moving round the world.  We face a very different scenario at the present time, all my grandchildren though are staunch Remainers.

Good things the song thrushes are back, the three goldfinches hop around the garden and blackbirds busily scoop up worms for their young.
And as for pretty pictures, on this damp drizzly day, at this time of the year, the fennel, lavender, rosemary the artemisia 'Powis Castle' and Ladies Mantle leaves are fresh and unfurling and fill the other long bed with a discreet amount of colour, I had been thinking 'Sissinghurst rooms' here, small blocks of plants.

To be recorded; First two swallows sighted at Gospel's Cottage.  Hurrah!