While rarely mentioned at the moment, Brexit has brought a number of changes to our lives, including the fact that friends and clients are selling up and moving back to the UK. They give a variety of reasons - grandchildren, the garden has become too much, fear of being cut off from loved ones. Covid has helped to hasten the flow, as properties are selling quickly and sometimes for reasonable amounts of money. Properties that would normally take between 2 and 5 years to sell are now disappearing like hot cakes, while those that have been on the market for a while are also suddenly gone.
When that happens, in many cases we are asked to help with disposing of stuff (over the years, we have increased our collection of ride on lawnmowers in this way), get given things (towels are always appreciated) and try to have a final drink/meal with those heading back. Those that are clients tend to leave John's card with the new owner - for which many thanks, and in this way we gauge the new owners. Those that quibble at John's prices are those who really shouldn't be affording a second home, not least if there is also a pool at the site, as they clearly don't understand the level of work entailed in maintaining a country home.
This afternoon I was "helping" at one site where John has been working for years and where there has been a change of ownership. Already the garden is taking on a new character, but then I've not spent much time there for a good 7 years, so it is interesting to see the changes. The woodland paths that we created years ago are being taken over by nature, but when we first cleared them, they were surrounded by early purple orchids. This year there are some - already almost over due to the dry conditions - but not as many as I remember.
This garden also has a pond that is spring fed (I think), and I remember watching newts doing what newts do in the spring when it was very clear and with no plants. I'm pretty sure the newts are still there, but with a certain amount of planting, there is a greater diversity of wildlife, and I met two small and very beautiful frogs. I also met a lot of mosquitoes - today was the first day it was propitious for them to emerge, so I demanded that the frogs do their job better and walked away.
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