Happy Hours do not count themselves - Healthy Life Essex

Two years ago I visited Welford Park. It was February and the ground was smothered in delicate droplets of white. I felt like I was drifting over a carpet of snowflakes.

 

This Mother’s Day I took my mum to Easton Lodge at Little Easton, near Great Dunmow on for final day of their display. Admittedly it was not as dazzling or profuse as Welford but what I found there surprised me and got me thinking about time.

 

You don’t always need a bright day to appreciate these delicacies of nature; in fact a dull backdrop seems to suit their complexion, they wink at you even more between their spiky foliage.

 

Against the overcast sky temporarily brightened by sunlight I absorbed the sadness as we picked a route through clumps of Galanthus. The estate wears a Miss Havisham trousseau, tired and pitiful; the snowdrops took on a mantle of dropped tears shed on neglected soil, with the odd celandine as a reminder of brighter days.

 

Time and nature have retrieved what is theirs. The seats are well-worn, moss fills bird baths and refreshments are served in the courtyard from trestle tables instead of inside the conservatory.

 

In 2004 after 400 years of ownership, the Spurrier family sold the 1600 acre estate to Land Securities PLC. The gardens are currently managed by The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Society formed in 2003. But as with all projects like this, money and volunteers are needed to continue with the restoration.

 

The gardens are now facing their biggest challenge yet; a second runway at Stansted which would come within 700 yards of the boundary. The inquiry into this application has been deferred till after this year’s General Election.

 

As we left the snowdrops to be enjoyed by new visitors, drivers were being directed to an overflow area across the road and I remembered the words on the topiary sundial. “Les heures hereuses ne se comptent pas. (Happy hours do not count themselves) and one visitor’s loose interpretation “Happy hour starts at five.”  

 

I hope that time and nature are kind to the volunteers at Easton Lodge; I hope they exceed the numbers recruited last year. (Forty joined the trust after the open day on 9 August which attracted 2000 visitors); I hope many more will join the Friends of Easton Lodge and I hope it will always be happy hour there.

 

For more information about Easton Lodge visit www.eastonlodge.co.uk email enquiries@eastonlodge.co.uk or telephone 01371 876979.