Elgin Open Gardens
Good Morning
There is a bird and a stone
in your body. Your job is not
to kill the bird with the stone.
Victoria Chang 2022
Wishing you a perfect balance between your grounding stone and a spiritually free bird filled with hope, through this year of 2026.
Julia Kidd returned to walk the Blue Mountain in October 2025, having walked the Green in April 2023. She sent a lovely note which I am hoping will encourage many of you to walk with us again (or for the first time).
‘Dear Alison
The most wonderful stay in your beautiful Guest House. So much History, amazing art, spectacular gardens, the best linen. So much to learn about and see.
To die for meals, thank you. Alison and Annie and your team.
After the Green Mountain, the 3 days of the Blue Mountain, were in many ways equal, if not better. And loved our fourth day back on the Green Mountain.
The flora, colour and beauty along every path and around every corner. Special memories with paths lined with pincushion, watsonias, ericas, wild grasses and so much more. The glorious forest.
Our very knowledgeable guides, Andreas and Patrick, who led us though this wonderland, up hills and down the other side on our interesting and colourful adventure and who shared so much of what they know.
And then the wine tastings experiences. Stunning boutique vineyards, small and personal and the passionate people who own and run them.
What a treat.
Thanks again for everything.
Julia’
The somewhat strange Langebaan Lagoon sandbag piers that were constructed years back to counter the beach erosion post Saldanha Steel’s aggressive intervention, have done their job. The Langebaan beaches are filled with gorgeous white sand inhabited by abundant marine life and most of the sand bags are no longer visible. It’s been a sizzling summer of perfect kite-surfing winds.
Last week, for the first time in 20 years (bar a light dusting in 2020), it snowed on Siena’s Piazza del Campo. But, by the time Spring rolls around in March/April, the snow will have thawed and Chianti will be back in full colour. Pictured here, Siena and the borgho of Adine, home to Casa di Simonetta. To book weekly stays reply by email.
Our neighbour Farmer Dave, Doggy Daycare, Uncle Dave, gifted me a longish read on my birthday. If you are still in your fifties or not even, set these resonating words aside for years to come. Dave Evans is in his eighties and lives this mantra in it’s purest form.
José Luiz Ricchetti’s – PATHS OF TIME
There is a silence that comes with the years, and it is not made only of the absence of noise, but of the smooth transition between what we were and what we become. At 60, you begin to feel the subtlety of distancing. The room that once pulsated with your ideas now seems full of voices that no longer ask for your opinion. It is not a rejection, it is the rhythm of life. It is when we learn that our contribution is not in the immediate present, but in the traces we leave in hearts and minds along the way.
At 65, you realize that the corporate world, once so vital, is a ceaseless flow. It continues, indifferent to what you did or did not do. It is not a defeat, it is liberation. This is the time to look at yourself, to strip away the ego and put on serenity. It is no longer about proving, but about teaching, about sharing, about mentoring. True achievement is not that which is displayed, but that which inspires.
At 70, society seems to forget this, but really? Maybe it is just an invitation to re-evaluate what really matters. Young people will not recognize you for what you were, and that is a blessing in disguise: now you can be just who you are. No masks, no titles, just the essence. Old friends, those who do not ask “who you were” but “how are you,” become precious jewels, diamonds that shine in the twilight of life.
And then, at 80 or 90, it is the family that, in its haste, moves a little further away. But that is where wisdom embraces us tightly. We understand that love is not possession; it is freedom. Your children, your grandchildren, go on with their lives, as you go on with yours. Physical distance does not diminish affection, but teaches that true love is generous, not demanding.
When the Earth finally calls you, there is no reason to fear. It is the last dance of a natural cycle, the closing of a chapter written with sweat, tears, laughter and memories. But what remains, what will never really be erased, are the marks we leave on the souls we touch.
Therefore, as long as there is breath, energy, as long as the heart beats, live intensely. Embrace encounters, laugh out loud, enjoy the simple and complex pleasures of life. Cultivate your friendships as one who cares for a garden. Because, in the end, what remains are not the achievements, nor the titles, nor the applause. What remains are the bonds, the moments shared, the light we spread.
Be light, be presence, and you will be eternal.
I dedicate this to all those who understand that time does not erase, but only transforms.
José Luiz Ricchetti
With love,
