Looking and feeling his age




      In one of the nearby villages this little tableau appears every summer. There are normally begonias, geraniums, busy lizzies and all kinds of brightly coloured bedding plants supplementing the many hanging baskets and pots. This year when I stopped I spoke to the old boy who does the 'Jason King' display with his plant pot man, lady and horseshoe chairs and said that the array wasn't as luxurious as last year. He hadn't even painted the chairs and table.
      The reply was quite sad really, "it's becoming too much effort really, up and down steps watering the hanging baskets. Bending over weeding and watering the pots and gravel. I think that this is the last year I'll be doing it."
      Sad really, in all the years we've been here the display has been a colourful marker for the arrival of summer.
      Time catches up with us all, even plant pot people.