Spring in Willowmere

Dear reader,

The first open window in Willowmere is rarely a grand decision. Someone is making coffee, the room is a little warm, and a hand reaches for the latch. Then the river can be heard again. So can the ferry, a bicycle on the quay and somebody wondering aloud how a lemon tree became quite so heavy.

This is the spring village I have imagined for Essy’s Essentials: pale houses beside the water, a little of Denmark’s coastal light, and days that gradually leave more room after work. There are still coats on hooks and muddy patches along the river. The good chair can go outside, provided you remember to bring its cushion back in.

Nora lives behind the blue door. She designs books upstairs, where paper samples tend to occupy the space intended for her coffee. She likes a difficult page and the satisfaction of getting it right. Lately, she has also begun to notice how much light remains when the work is finished.

A little further along the quay, Liv runs The Morning Room, with a long table by the window and bread cooling behind the counter. Her terrier has his own arrangements. His blanket belongs beside the bench until the sun moves, at which point somebody is expected to deal with the situation.

Behind the houses stands the old glasshouse: a long table, terracotta pots and a lemon tree whose arrival required rather more help than expected. The room becomes a place for making things, drinking coffee and getting to know one another. Beyond the garden, the Willow Path follows the river towards the coast.

I wanted Willowmere to hold the particular pleasure of spring arriving in an ordinary week: coffee taken to a brighter window, supper carried outside, a walk fitted into an evening that used to end in darkness. There is room here for a full working day and something lovely afterwards.

Begin at the quay. Look in at the bakery, find the blue door and follow the path if the weather feels promising. You can get to know the village a little at a time. Someone will almost certainly ask you to hold a gate.

With warmth,

Esther, Essy’s Essentials