A poppy from the Tower

Mr PB was given the most imaginative birthday present by #1 son and family, and for the past month or more we've been pondering where best to put it. This metal and ceramic poppy, one of the thousands that made such a display at the Tower of London, is designed to be hammered into soil, and the most obvious place might be the garden. However, for so much of the year our garden is a weather-blasted wilderness of wet leaves and wind-blown rubbish, and we only see it as we pass swiftly through on our way in our out. We'd only see this lovely thing in the summer.

So here is where it sits - in a vase full of stones and tiny shells from Iona. I collected the stones some 34 years ago, when I was on retreat there with some friends; they seem an appropriate support for the metal stem of this wonderful poppy.