He was considered slightly mad

By the neighbours who whispered

As they passed his crumbling cottage

Wondering where he came from

And what it was he did before,

The garden slowly overtaking,

A symbol of his chaotic mind.

I went to visit a friend in Wales this week, and her and her husband have bought an old, crumbling cottage on the side of a hill. The cottage is huge and was previously lived in by a retired neurosurgeon who never really left the place in 20 years.

He had then moved to his native Holland and was selling the property as seen. The garden was overgrown and the insides of the property were crumbling. It was most definitely a ‘project’ and they ended up living in a caravan for the first few months.

But, he also left all the furniture and his books for them to sort through. And it wasn’t just a few books that he left – there were thousands. Everywhere you looked there were bookshelves from floor to ceiling and it was a bibliophile’s heaven.

I really wish I could have met this guy as he sounds like quite the character. If his reading tastes were anything to go by, then he is definitely interesting. He seemed pretty eccentric as he never really left and apparently he refused to speak to anybody who didn’t have a university degree.

I suppose it take allsorts to make the world go round. He definitely seemed like a special one.

Much Love

Rachel xx