Remembering Mum who died one year ago at the Winter Solstice.
“How we remember, what we remember and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality.”
The abiding memories from my childhood include Mum teaching me to read before I started school. Throughout my schooldays, she was there, encouraging, helping me revise for exams and attending Parents' Evenings, Summer Fetes, and Speech Day events. She taught me the value of working hard and saving for things I wanted as well as spending wisely without incurring debts.
It gave me great satisfaction to find a marble statue for the garden that will remind me of all this. The statue is called 'Rosemary' (in the manufacturer's catalogue) but her real identity is that of the goddess Minerva (Athena) holding a book.
As patron goddess of learning, Minerva, frequently features in statuary at educational establishments. To me, she is a reminder of the wisdom traditionally passed from mother to daughter and the very special place my mother held throughout my formative years.
The statue is not very tall (85cm) and will be placed beside the Rosemary bush on the newly-restored patio where Mum loved to sit in the sun when she came down for a visit. MWNN has given me Christmas money to spend on herbs and plants for the raised beds. I think some heathers would be nice, as the large raised bed is filled with Fenland soil, rather than the chalky stuff in the rest of the garden.
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember." Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 4.
“How we remember, what we remember and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality.”
The abiding memories from my childhood include Mum teaching me to read before I started school. Throughout my schooldays, she was there, encouraging, helping me revise for exams and attending Parents' Evenings, Summer Fetes, and Speech Day events. She taught me the value of working hard and saving for things I wanted as well as spending wisely without incurring debts.
It gave me great satisfaction to find a marble statue for the garden that will remind me of all this. The statue is called 'Rosemary' (in the manufacturer's catalogue) but her real identity is that of the goddess Minerva (Athena) holding a book.
As patron goddess of learning, Minerva, frequently features in statuary at educational establishments. To me, she is a reminder of the wisdom traditionally passed from mother to daughter and the very special place my mother held throughout my formative years.
The statue is not very tall (85cm) and will be placed beside the Rosemary bush on the newly-restored patio where Mum loved to sit in the sun when she came down for a visit. MWNN has given me Christmas money to spend on herbs and plants for the raised beds. I think some heathers would be nice, as the large raised bed is filled with Fenland soil, rather than the chalky stuff in the rest of the garden.
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember." Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 4.
