I love daisies, especially the kind often found in lawns. I am rather frustrated that, even though we have let our lawn get a bit wild and weedy, with dandelions and other wild flowers, we have no daisies in it at all.

I am so grateful for the Spring. The blossom, the bulbs, the tadpoles and the birdsong, along with the sunshine and warmer temperatures provide a welcome balm to the soul after a long, damp and grey winter. The garden has lately been a refuge from the awfulness of world events, and reminds me that life renews and continues despite humanity’s tragedies and evil acts.

It does feel to me as though the current situation in the oil producing regions of the world is encouraging more and more people towards using sustainable sources of energy, and that gives me hope for the future. Even while the Trumps and Farages of the world insist that solar and wind power are not the answer, and the oil companies do all they can to hold on to their monopoly, there is popular movement away from fossil fuels. I just wish there was more political will and creativity to encourage this direction of travel.

My grandpa, Stan, creator of all the beautiful artwork on this site, was a lifelong Labour voter, but towards the end of his life, he started to vote Green, because he felt it aligned better with his values. I am heartened by the current resurgence of the Green Party and hope that it will force the other political parties to realise that there is a popular desire to put the environment and social justice at the top of the political agenda.

In the meantime, here are Grandpa’s April linocut prints from his series “The Year of the Field”, which he produced in the mid 1980s. While Grandpa was still alive, he sold a whole series of these prints to P&O, who were looking for artwork that had nothing to do with the sea, to put on their ships. And now, those that remain are available in our Etsy shop.