I spent yesterday’s Saturday morning wandering around St James’ Park. I may have been a bit confused in my search for the new Flanders Fields 1914-1918 memorial garden but it didn’t stop me admiring the autumnal changes the new season has brought to the park since my last visit.

The garden, which opened to the public on 6 November 2014, is located within Wellington Barracks opposite St James’ Park. What makes this garden so special is that, once a concrete pond, it has now been transformed by Belgian landscape architect Piet Blanckaert into a circular garden using soil collected from Flanders Fields battlefield cemeteries.

The soil started its journey on 11 November 2013, as 70 sandbags of the soil were transported to London, arriving on 30 November. The fact that it was donated as a token of gratitude from the people of Flanders for the British lives lost in defence of Belgium makes this yet another fitting tribute to the fallen, the idea being that it allows Brits to pay their respects to their war dead without leaving the country.

“1914 Flanders Fields Memorial Garden 2014”

The construction of the garden in London is part of a wider project overseen by the Government of Flanders in Belgium in which other similar gardens will be created throughout Europe. They are urgently appealing for public donations to help make this idea a reality. You can donate to this worthy cause here.

Amongst those to lay a wreath was a school in Colchester, Essex

Bella’s Sausages and Mash

All this walking in the cold left me hungry for something that was easy to make but warming and filling.

INGREDIENTS
3 x Cumberland sausages
3 x potatoes
1 x onion

Lately I have preferred cooking sausages in the oven because I’m more confident they’ll cook evenly than if I fry them.

After cooking them for 15 minutes on one side, I took them out, turned them over and decided to cook the onions with the sausages for the remaining 15 minutes (as my parents always get hysterical whenever I want to fry an onion because of the smell…)

And it was as easy as that, a perfect winter warmer…