It's a Saturday morning in the summer of 2000. I'm standing in a huge patch of nettles in a forgotten area in the corner of a public park, holding the 'stupid end' of a long measuring tape. I'm not there entirely of my own volition, but there, nonetheless. Just then, a boy, perhaps 11 years old, comes up and asks what I am doing. I can see a second boy hanging back.
"I'm measuring," I reply.
He looks at me, as I stand still, holding the end of the tape. We're both silent for a moment.
"Why?" he asks, not unreasonably.
"Well, we're going to make a garden here, and before we can do that, we need a plan showing where everything is." I can see that he's not sure about this. This time, warily: "Are you from the council?" "No, we're not from the council." He brightens again. "Can I help, then?" Five minutes later, Paul and his friend are busy holding tapes, shouting out measurements, and running back and forth with poles, putting my initial lack of enthusiasm to shame.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2024-Ausgabe von Gardens Illustrated.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2024-Ausgabe von Gardens Illustrated.
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