Substack diary no.162: Sunday, 24th. May 2026

A cloudless blue sky and a negligible breeze; it is already 20 degrees celsius out there and it is expected to rise to 26 degrees this afternoon. A carbon copy of yesterday, only warmer. It is also surprisingly quiet out there, with only the drone of a lawnmower a few doors away disturbing the peace. Some might say my lawn needs cutting; it is due for a trim on Wednesday but until then I can enjoy the daisies and buttercups. A fresh-cut lawn looks and smells great, and the birds love it, swooping in as soon as the mower is switched off. But I like to leave it for some time before cutting again.

Ever since I was a child I have loved wild flower meadows. We had one in Newton Abbot, an extensive one by the river Lemon in Baker’s Park but, so far as I know, it no longer exists. Bradley Manor, a medieval manor house, was right by the Lemon and overlooked the meadow and the heavily wooded slopes beyond. If you stand in that spot today, the manor to your right and the woodland to the left, you would have no idea you were in a large market town, with housing estates all around but just out of sight.

As a child I lived in a slum – two rooms in a basement with a toilet in a shed outside and a bathroom shared with other families upstairs. The two rooms – a living room and kitchen – morphed into bedrooms at night; my parent’s in the living room and my sister and I in the kitchen. Baker’s Park and Bradley Woods was just a few minutes walk away and a haven for me where I could pretend I was in the countryside. That was the real value of an urban park as good as this one.

I always imagined that one day I would live in the countryside but it never happened. One council estate after another, 30 years in central London and now in my hometown suburbs. And I have no idea where there is a wildflower meadow within walking distance, which is rather sad really. However, Hackney Marshes is just down the road with marshy meadows, lush reedbeds and quiet secluded ponds and, when you are in it, you might have no idea you are right next to a highway and inter-city railway line!