More Animal Memories

We moved to South-East London in early 1948 when my mother took another position as cook/housekeeper.  We lived in a large house with a fairly large unkempt garden that backed onto a small area of woodland.

There was one large straggly bush that became one of my playgrounds and that is where I had my first encounter with a hedgehog.  We sort of came face to face and I got a quick look at his cute little snout before he curled up in a ball.  I knew what it was but not much about them and my mother explained that it had curled up to protect itself and about them hibernating during the winter.  Over time I saw this hedgehog behind the bush which seemed to be his/her favourite place and in other areas of the garden and watched it from a distance so it would not curl up.  

Another visitor to the garden was a beautiful bird, a jay.  His plummage really fascinated me and he would sit in a tree in the garden for quite a long time if not disturbed.  It was to be a long, long time before I saw another jay and that was in Capstone Park in Chatham while doing a walk for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

More another time.