Below the Hills, as heard on Either Author/Wandsworth Radio

Deep in the heart of the Lake District is a small flint cottage. We lost it. We didn’t mean to lose it. In fact, it was such a gradual process that we didn’t realise we were in danger of losing it until it was too late. The cottage was old and worn away. There were holes in the roof, age-old coatings of paint were visible in shapes on the walls and the floorboards were bare and weathered. Brick by brick, over time, we rebuilt the house. Summer after summer we drove up from London to our little place in the wild. We filled up the cracks, secured the roof, dusted, swept and planted things in the grass around the brickwork. We added bits and took bits away but never, not ever, changed it too mu