frieze, elder, south wind

Summer in the Grove, 2.

In the twitten, the alley between houses backing on to one another, I spot an unofficial elder sprouting beside a wheelie bin. It has but one brand new saucer of white flowers which enlivens a dreary corner. Elder is reputed to keep witches away from the house and, I dare say, from wheelie bins too.

In the Oxfam bookshop I spot a book of weather lore. Opened at random, it tells me that "the south wind warms the aged."