Here’s some pictures of my lovely abums. All through childhood I called all flowers abums. Reason being that my Grandad and Grandma has a plant nursery, and the topics of conversation that I always overheard at this time of the year were ‘lovely chrysanthemums’ They grew fields full of beautiful blooms for market, or customers who called in at the nursery. My main job was going round smelling these pretty flowers. The smell is something wonderful, and I don’t know of any other British flower that is so beautiful. The word chrysanthemums was a bit too long for me to comprehend, so it sounded to me like abums for short.
We’ve got lots of tomatoes turning red now, and those green ones are on the windowsill. I plan to make some chutney soon, also looking forward to tomatoes on toast, tomatoes with cheese and home-grown tomatoes with everying.
As you see, the house next door is now sold. I can’t help thinking it’s still belongs to the old lady who’s gone into a home. She’s happy there though, and well cared for, so she’s better off. She always passed us produce from her allotment over the wall, like marrows or courgettes. She talked about how she was a wren in the war a lot as well. I think the new people loved the abums so much they can’t wait to move in. Wonder if they realise they’re moving next to the Abums family:)) The book I’m reading at the moment is ‘Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters. It’s gripping, set in Warwickshire in an old house where a family are trying to keep the house going but are struggling. It’s such a good story that I don’t want to give anything away incase you may read it one day. 
Susan Jones - Writer 
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