Blue Gingham Dress

 Dear Reader,

It is widely believed that lavender first originated from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and India around 2,500 years ago.   It is known that the Egyptians made perfumes with lavender and when Tutankhamun's tomb was opened traces of lavender were found and its scent could still be detected.

In ancient Egypt it was used as a perfume and as an essential ingredient for incense.   Lavender was a favourite ingredient in herbal baths of both Greeks and Romans.  During the Middle Ages it was considered an herb of love and was used as an aphrodisiac.

Lavender flowers represent purity, silence, devotion, serenity, grace and calmness.  Purple is the colour of royalty and speaks of elegance, refinement and luxury.  The colour is also associated with crown chakra, which is the energy centre associated with higher purpose and spiritual connectivity.

During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church strew lavender during holy days to ward off the evil spirits and people would scatter it on floor to keep stuffy rooms smelling fresh.  The herb became even more popular during the plague where it was used in the famous Four Thieves Vinegar to repel fleas.

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From John Clare   March 11th  1825 in Northants

'The frogs have begun to croak and spawn in the ponds and dykes'.

 

From Gilbert White  March 18th  1780 in Hampshire

Green plovers on the common.   The uncrested wren, the smallest species, called in this place, the chif -chaf, is very loud in the Lythe.   This is the earliest bird of passage, and the harbinger of spring.

 

From John Ruskin  March 19th   1867 in Denmark Hill, Surrey

'Desperately cold, with huge-flaked snow.   The worst of January, November and March all in one.'

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Blue Gingham Dress

 

She was wearing

a blue gingham dress

long sleeved, with lace collar,

one summer evening in July.

 

A sweet smell from lilies

lavender bushes

roses and orange blossom

drifted on the air,

 

the sea sapphire

played its own repetitive tune

soft and enticing,

and a southerly wind blew.

 

Suddenly he took her hand

drew her near

kissed her urgently,

then came a call

 

they broke in two

ran back to the house

her heart racing

knees weak, on fire.

 

The gingham dress

worn and faded now,

hangs at the back of the cupboard,

but the kiss is still as fresh

as it was on that one

summer evening in July.

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With very best wishes, Patricia