The Garden in August

Noel Harrison, who lived in the shadow of his father Rex, made a living by touring the bars of the French Riviera with his guitar. Nothing sums up the transience of summer better than his song “The Windmills of Your Mind” sung by Dusty Springfield. Here is an extract from the second verse:

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly? Was it something that I said?
Lovers walk along the shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning to the colour of her hair

      -      The Windmills of Your Mind- Noel Harrison

The Windmills of Your Mind accompanies my slideshow of Yewbarrow House garden in August, followed by “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb, to lighten the mood (the month ended with a few days of sunshine after unremitting gloom).

Noel Harrison made some money from The Windmills of Your Mind, which won an Oscar for Best Song in 1968. He then pursued the Slow Life, building a house from scratch with no electricity, inspired by the bestselling book- “Living the Good Life”.