A House Full of Family Life

Children growing up, friends gathering, Christmas by the fire, and quite a lot coming in from the garden.

My family has been at No. 13 since 1968. Across nearly six decades, it has been a home for children and grandchildren, and a place to welcome friends. The rooms and the garden are full of associations: not just the big occasions, but the everyday things that make a house your own.

These photographs tell that story better than a list of rooms can. They show the house being lived in, a gathering outside, flowers filling a mantelpiece, a Christmas tree, and the pleasure of bringing something home-grown to the table.

A and C with John — A and C on the shoulders of my great friend, John.

From Mum’s Garden to A’s Hands

The garden has given us much more than a view. Here is Mum picking artichokes, and A proudly showing off the harvest indoors. Between them, these two photographs capture something of family life at No. 13: one generation growing things, another discovering the results.

There is a particular satisfaction in produce you have watched grow just outside your own door. And, as A’s armful shows, the artichokes were worth showing off.

Mum picking artichokes among the tall plants beside the house — Mum among the artichokes in the garden.

A in a pink jacket holding two large artichokes indoors — A showing off the artichoke harvest.

Fruit from the Garden

A bowl of strawberries on the table; apples still on the tree; fruit ripening among the leaves. These are some of the garden’s rewards over the years. They are small details in the history of a house, but a large part of the pleasure of living here.

A white bowl heaped with ripe red strawberries on the dining table — Strawberries from the garden, ready for the table.

Red apples growing on leafy branches in the garden — Apples on the tree in the garden.

Clusters of reddish-purple fruit hanging beneath green leaves — Fruit ripening on the branch.

A Place to Come Together

The house has room for company, indoors and out. The garden photograph catches a recent gathering in full swing: spot the three chickens and, bottom right, Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh. The Christmas picture shows a more familiar family scene around the tree and fireplace. Even the mantelpiece gets its moment, filled with flowers and colour.

Friends and family gathered along the garden path with tables and chairs outside — Company in the garden, another way the house comes to life.

Sunflowers, foliage and colourful flowers arranged across a carved white mantelpiece — Flowers bringing colour to the mantelpiece.

Children beside a decorated Christmas tree and a fireplace hung with stockings — Christmas at No. 13, with the tree, cards and stockings in place.

What We Hope to Pass On

We have tried to care for the house while making it work for family life. Rooms have changed their uses as the children grew and our needs changed, but the things we love about it, its light, generous spaces and character, have remained.

My dad used to say that we were borrowing the house from the future: our job was to care for it, understand it, and pass it on. After so many years here, that feels a fitting way to think about its next chapter.

I wish I had inherited more of my grandfather’s extraordinary gardening skills. He was Head Gardener for the War Graves of northern France and Belgium. I would love to see the garden flourish again as it once did, when passers-by would pause to enjoy it.

These photographs are part of our family’s story. The next family will bring their own occasions, favourite corners and ideas, and, I hope, enjoy discovering what the garden has to offer.