Dragonlane Artisan Jewellery

(Art print by emery – Etsy shop here.)

I woke up Sunday morning to buckets of rain and cool winds. I knew it would either be a reading day or a shopping day. I decided upon the latter and chose a recently opened antique centre which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment and a sad experience all-in-all.

Later, after I returned home, the rain let up and turned into a fine mist, I decided to put Pickles in the car and drive her into town just for a tiny walk in the park. She gets bored, too, and even a short ride in the car makes her feel as though she’s been somewhere. I had rain gear and Pickles doesn’t mind a little dampness in the air and so we set off.

We got to the park and I noticed a small group of people with garden chairs under the gazebo. As I walked closer, I noticed a sign that said, “Pankhurst Picnic. All Are Welcome”.

I’m never one to shy away from an open invitation and so I approached the gazebo and found to my delight that it was the local Green Party and I recognised some of the people from the last campaign. They welcomed me and Pickles and invited us to sit under the gazebo with them and we had a little chit-chat about local politics and shared memories about the last election. It was such a gift to meet up with them accidentally on that cold and wet day. When I walked away I looked back and had a laugh with myself because it was also such an utterly British scene: a group of friends having a picnic in the rain — eating, talking and laughing in coats and rain hats while the rain pelts down all around them.  It was lovely.