Spring is sprinkling a little magic

The golden gorse of Spring in the New Forest, near Slufters looks much as it was for Sven Berlin, wife Juanita and son Jasper.

Spring brings memories of many and varied delights with sunshine sprinkling a little magic among them. Don't we all remember those moments.

In 1954, Sven Berlin, his new wife, Juanita and their young son Jasper, were settling into the new and very different surroundings in the New Forest after their long journey from Cornwall. It had been a cold and wet winter, but moving their camp to ‘the warmer side of the wood’ brought optimism and a sense of well-being.

A springtime retreat for Sven and his family and (right) Sven with son Jasper and one of Juanita's unruly goats.

They rented this field from Edie Gailor at Brickiln, near Minstead, for 10s a week.

There, along with Edie’s cows, chickens and Juanita’s goats they settled, the field sloping down to a stream and a copse. It was an idyll they cherished for years to come.

Juanita recalled: ‘We felt like Adam and Eve, allowed into another wilder garden after that initial banishment. We toiled, totted and painted and helped repair carts and vans; I painted anything that would take paint - old wheelbarrows, flower pots, buckets, coal hods, handcarts and old wagon wheels - which were great sellers to the pubs.’

I wonder if anyone recalls seeing Sven and Juanita's handiwork and indeed if any of them still exist!