Dahlias

Dahlias remind me of my primary school. My old headmaster, Reginald Barton, used to grow them. I remember the smell of them in the classroom on a cool autumn morning and the way they would catch the light as they sat in a vase on the windowsill.
They put me in mind of ladies swimming hats of the 1920s and '30s. Once upon a time I used to find them overly fussy and wasn't sure about the garishness of some of the colours but I have grown to love them.
I didn't grow these, I was given them. They came from a roadside stall. I like the outrageousness of the colour combinations.