Sandy Miles

In the quiet of the early summer lockdown of 2020, the fields and hedgerows were full of sheep’s parsley.

As I wrestled with uncomfortable memories from my childhood, the thick smell of the pollen in the air reminded me of a time as a small child when I collected armfuls of sheep’s parsley to give to my mother. A present from a child to her mum that would have been gratefully received by most mothers, but not so mine.

The hurt I felt then as the little girl, with a bunch of ‘flowers’ for my mum, that were tossed to one side with a hurtful comment, stung yet again as I stood with my camera and the sheep’s parsley some fifty years later.

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Black and white family photograph showing a little girl of about six years old standing in an open doorway. She is wearing a short summer dress and is holding what appears to be a cone of rolled up paper. She is smiling.
A photograph of many layers. To the left of the frame are some framed pictures stacked against a wall. Some show landscapes and clouds, another is a framed family wedding photograph c.1920. To the left of the frame is a mirror in which is reflected a table and a window with an empty child’s chair that is a ghost image from a double exposure.