A Mystery

The Watermeadow Mystery: The Secret Treasure at Hawton

This is a summer diversion for those interested in nidotherapy.  The Watermeadow Mystery is a story to interest all those who have the spirit of inquiry.  It is set in the little village of Hawton seventy years ago, when old fashioned English values had been preserved after being somewhat subdued by the advent of war.  But gradually they emerged again, and the Watermeadow Mystery begins with a convivial golf tournament on the spacious Watermeadow course. Few of those present had any inkling of what was to follow.

This book is being published in June 2018.  There are some curious aspects of the story, which is an amalgam of fact and fiction, so intertwined at times that it is difficult to tell which is which.  It concerns, amongst others, King James, who travelled down from Edinburgh to London to take up the throne of England. He stayed for some days in the East Midlands and, through his observations of life in a country village, learnt some of the principles of good governance. He was reminded that letting people make their own choices in life was sometimes better than telling them what to do. James was a much better king than many who preceded and followed him, and is not given enough credit for keeping England out of ruinous wars and promoting tolerance and learning, and recognising the brilliance of William Shakespeare. Read the book for more clarification.

This book is now published.  There is a section in the book where King James, while staying in the village of Hawton, gets an insight into the importance of the environment in promoting good mental health.  He certainly recognised the importance of watermeadows.  One of the first decisions he made after arriving in Westminster was to drain the meadow just to the north.  It was made into a park, but not just an ordinary park, one with an abundance of water features.

It is now St James’s Park.