My in-law's camellia by Becky

I miss this beautiful camellia tree in my in-law's garden in Bristol. My husband sent me some photos a couple of days ago and it is now in full bloom again! It is so hardy and each year it is loaded with incredibly beautiful heavy flowers, without fail. The buds are beautiful too, and more come as older flowers drop. It flowers for weeks. It’s so huge, we can see it when we are sat inside the living room.

I have wanted to share these photos as they bring me joy!

Whilst I’m here, I’d also like to mention that our writers and contributors are creating beautiful things for us to share with you. We have some new people who have joined this year, Girts, who is sharing his beautiful photos and thoughts, in the form of prose and also Cardinale has joined us from Western Massachusetts, USA, her blog is ‘From Heart to Hands’.. We have some wonderful collaborations going on too, with a new storytelling page ‘Tales of Wonder and Wisdom’ - we always share our own photos or artwork on this website, and ‘The Food Diaries’ has led to some youngsters getting involved too! The ‘Guest Articles’ has some new additions, which is why my personal blog (A Story Unfolds) has been a bit thin - I also manage and run the website, the team and the guest blog! I upload the content which I greatly receive from a guest so we can bring it to you! We hope you will continue to enjoy what you see. We wish to share good news, traditions and values and bring joy to the world.

Like a lot of families, I have been separated from my husband and my family in Bristol since the CCP virus arrived the beginning of last year and lockdown started because, when it did, I came up to look after my parents (My dad has a few blog posts on our website about growing food). I managed to have a brief trip last summer to visit my husband and home in Bristol, and returned again to take care of my parents up North before we got locked in again. I really feel for everyone who has been separated. I hope you can all keep smiling and I send my love and best wishes to you all.