Special Place

When I was in my early teens I went to boarding school. I loved this place for two reasons. Here I was appreciated and admired by adults because I was clever and, secondly, I was away from the stress of living with my parents who fought all the time and only stayed together “for the sake of the children” If we had been asked, I like to think that we would have voted for separation at least but back then, children had no voices.

This school was a working farm and in a field called the paddock was a tree I could climb. I have sat up in that tree many many times. Sometimes I just sat there and listened to the wind rustling the leaves that hid me from everyone, but mostly I read. There is a book I associate with this time because it was one of the books that I read over and over. It was called Young Bess and was about the early life of Queen Elizabeth I. I identified very strongly with her and since I was a teenager have read a lot about her.

Do I ever go back to this tree? No. I am in another country now and, “besides, the wench is dead…”