A few final, idle touches of England. The wind-blown rose reminds me of Maud, but then, as it’s one of those poems that is so musical that you memorise it without even realising, I find lines (both floral and florid) going through my head quite often.

Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone;
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
And the musk of the rose is blown.

John William Waterhouse - The Soul of the Rose

Tea & roses go beautifully together too, in tea rose perfume (still my favourite), rose hip tea, and Cath Kidston mugs. My mug was the first thing to hand when I wanted to try my new Pentel water brushes (Amazon UK | Amazon US). They’re great fun, and perfect for travel-sketching or for watercolour doodling when you can’t be bothered to get up and fill a couple of glasses with water. And it just occurred to me that they might come in handy for spit-splicing too, though I tend to use my tea for that!

By the way, if you would like to do your hair like the lady in the painting (& I spent most of my teenage years striving very unsuccessfully to look Pre-Raphaelite), then you might like this video. The fishtail or herringbone plait that Sam demonstrates is also the one I used for the braided tie for the Cornflower Hat, so you’ll be a step ahead!