1985, Bracken Books
I bought this book for my Mom in England while traveling with Sue in 1985, and recently decided to read through it before giving it to Sue as a keepsake.
I liked the drawing of a peony, also called "Sho-Yo" ("the beautiful" in Chinese), the "Sarah Bernhardt," or "the glory of the garden in June." I was reminded of the most beautiful bouquet of peonies Sue once sent me, a magical multicolor mixture opening little by little to reveal their loveliness.
The book revealed places I'd like to see, preferably with but even without the flowers, and I'm sure Sue will agree we should add them to our post-covid-travel-wish-list.
Places to Visit in England
Exeter Cathedral in Devonshire, the author and illustrator writes, is "the most colorful and warmest cathedral in the kingdom."
Don't forget to look behind the bard's house at Shakespeare's birthplace garden, Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwikshire.
The Lake District, including Dove Cottage, once home of William Wordsworth.
Hadrian's Wall at Walltown Crags, Northumberland.
The twisted spire of St Mary All Saints Church, Derbyshire, Chesterfield.
Penzance (inspiration for "The Pirates of Penzance") in Cornwall.
"Stow-on-the-wold where the wind blows cold," Cotswolds, Gloucestershire.
Kew Gardens, Richmond. (This may be where I bought the book in the first place...)
Also in Cornwall, look for the Cornish good luck fairy which the author says can be seen everywhere!
Tricked by a Pixie!
Updated 23 April 2021
When I originally wrote this post, my internet search for a photo of a Cornish good luck fairy on a house gate or door was unsuccessful. I'd been fascinated by a photo of one such fairy in England is a Garden, but I'd already mailed the book to Sue. Imagine my surprise this morning when I noticed for the first time this frolicky little fellow on Jo's front door, the same door I've been walking through every week for the past two years or more! This pesky prankster is a Cornish pisky, a type of fairy called a knocker, known to knock on the walls of tin mines in order to help, or hinder, the miners as they toil underground.
This particular pisky is from Cornwall, where Jo and her family used to vacation before setting up across the water in Ireland to escape crowds of Londoners. They bought a vacation house in a village called Rath, which Jo says is pronounced like "raw" and means "circle of fairies" or "fairy fort".
That's the story of my morning, will wonders never cease? What a glory is life which can bring us down with thoughts of its impermanence but then back up by...a Cornish pisky?!
Would love to visit all of these places myself! I bypassed the opportunity to travel around the UK after college and I really regret it now. If you ever get to visit the Lake District, let me know what you think! I remember reading in Pride and Prejudice about Lizzie's raptures when her aunt and uncle invited her to visit the area with them, and her crushing disappointment when the trip was canceled in favor of touring Derbyshire (and Pemberley).