Loss And Gain

We've lost a chestnut tree but acquired a less obstructed view of the western sky- which we'll be grateful for next time there's a remarkable sunset- and also- in the form of the fallen trunk- what I suppose could be described as a garden feature- one which will provide a habitat for bugs and fungi and ferns and small mammals for many years to come. 

A Legacy

My Great Aunt Enid bequeathed her papers to her favourite great niece who left them to her daughter who deposited them with me. Enid was an interesting person but not, I'm afraid, as interesting as she thought she was- and if we're playing pass the parcel with her literary and artistic remains it's because it's hard to see the point of them. Her diaries are unilluminating, her drawings undistinguished. None of us is going to resort to the bonfire (because- family piety forbids) but I could wish Enid herself had.

My cousin (the one who passed me the stash) says she feels responsible for it- and I say she shouldn't- but actually I feel the same- as if I should be sharing it or promoting it in some way.The dead hand weighs heavy. But who should we share it with?  It's not our fault that Enid is unpublishable.