puddleshark

January relented a little, sent us a day of bright sunshine. And if the outside world was icy, inside the Walled Garden at Moreton, hellebores and camellias were flowering, not knowing it was winter.

Along the woodland walks, the air scented with damp and with the sweet fragrance of mahonia and sarcococca.

Sarcococca in flower, knowing it is winter, and not caring.

Afterwards, time to thaw out in the Dovecot Café, where the coffee is served in beautiful crockery glazed in soft blues and browns, with the cups wide enough to hold cupped in both hands (this is important in winter).

The café is run by a charity that employs young people with special educational needs, and is always a cheerful place. One of the young people being shown around had to manouevre past my table to get to a door, and asked his helper who I was. "That's a customer," his helper explained. When he and his helper passed me again a few minutes later, I was greeted with a cheery "Hello, customer!" This, too, is important in winter.