Shard goat curiousity

The Shard at London Bridge on its way to completion.


Scattered on the grass beneath the goat willow opposite my vegetable garden the white, woolly catkins look like sheep seen from an aeroplane or a hilltop.

In The London Road opposite The Common I stand for a minute to look at the newly budded trees and undergrowth. I am thinking about the time when  The Common was open space and used for grazing, and how quickly nature takes over when a specific function is abandoned. "What are you looking at?" says a little old lady who has appeared at my elbow. I have never seen her before.  "Everything," I say.  "I thought you were looking at something interesting," she says. "It's all interesting to me," I say.