Page 4 - Edition Summer 22 News and Views revised 31.05.pub (Read-Only)

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Past, Present and Future Laura Sunderland, March 30 2022.

As an elderly Friend, living alone, one of the things which has helped me to cope with the period
of ‘lockdown’ has been my daily walk. This is a time of connection – with the natural world and
with the worlds of other human beings and I value it immensely.

The first thing I notice, as I step out of
my gate, is the row of lime trees,
planted in the pavement opposite.
Gardeners, long ago, must have
planted these trees as saplings, and I
hope that some of those men are still
here today, to see what their saplings
have become. The magnificent trees
are brushing the sky, creating a canopy
of shade in the Summer, with their
pendulous, deliciously scented blooms
attracting bees and other insects. As
the year advances, the green canopy
becomes a pale, golden yellow, and finally, an intricate tracery of branches, through which the
early morning sun glows.

I cross the road and turn left into a small avenue which leads down to the river. The trees here
are hornbeams, planted in tidy rows. I had lived here for some time before I found out what kind
of trees these were, as they are not common and none of my neighbours knew.

“They are only trees,” said one.

But trees are not ‘only trees’ to me! I succeeded in identifying them from a book given to me as a
child, when my main interest in trees
was in climbing them with my brothers!
Now they form a reassuring presence
on my solitary walks. The hornbeams
are not striking trees, but they are
native to Britain and have existed in our
country from ancient times. They have
smooth, grey trunks and small pointed
leaves which turn golden in the Autumn.

When I reach the river-side Park, it is as
if an orchestra which has been softly
playing interludes has suddenly burst
forth into a triumphant crescendo! The
river is filled with vibrant activity! The normally peaceful water, content to mirror the changing
light and patterns of clouds, has its ruffled surface broken into a thousand fragments.

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