Having managed a busy community garden for over 20 years, the pandemic came as a personal shock. For the first time in my life, I've been categorised by others as 'extremely vulnerable' - in a way as disempowered as many of the beneficiaries of our garden's therapeutic services. A number of things became acutely clear. [...]

Silence comes in so many varieties. Living in rural South Oxfordshire, I was fortunate to be able to embrace the silence of lockdown with my family at home. From this privileged position, it was easy to enjoy the quiet sounds that had previously been masked by traffic, construction and the thunderous omnipresence of aircraft circling [...]

I've been working from home and looking after kids but have spent time in and on the garden doing some projects while we can. As far as being silent in nature and time for reflection is concerned, I'm missing the grounds at UEA. Love strolling in them. At home there's very little peace, even the [...]

Is it possible to find any spiritual peace in lockdown London when one lives in a block of flats five floors up? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is yes. As a writer, I am used to being on my own at home most of the day. But it is now two months since I have ventured [...]

I've felt so lucky to have a garden during the restrictions. My heart goes out to families in inner cities who don't have parks nearby. During lockdown my family and I reconnected with our garden, basically only going inside to work and sleep, even on colder days. We made bug hotels from odds and ends, [...]

I work from home, which means a lot of reading, researching and writing. So when the lockdown came I have to confess that very little changed in my day to day life. My husband frequently works from home so no disruptions there. We have a large, well established town garden so I have found extra [...]

Here in Southern Spain, we were not permitted to walk during the restrictions. As soon as lockdown eased, we headed for the river in the Genal Valley. As a family we have spent a lot of time wandering the river banks and swimming in the river pools. In October 2018, there was a terrible flash [...]

During the lockdown I've been doing some lovely walks along the Cornish coast path. I take my paints and a watercolour postcard pad to record scenes along the way and then post the cards to friends who love Cornwall but can't visit just now because of restrictions on travel. I've really enjoyed spending this quiet [...]

Most evenings after work, I walk with my two boys, both under ten years old. On a recent walk we stepped across a wooden bridge that moved us from the boundary of our village onto a farmland footpath. Just a short walk along the stream edge brought us to a clearing. This was where my [...]

Already isolating with a strange and noisy cough, I missed out on the sudden silence at the start of the lockdown. Whenever I did venture into my small garden, the peace felt glorious. Free of the sounds of traffic, both on the roads and overhead, it was as if nature was breathing a sigh of [...]