There was a large tree out the back of my childhood house that I used to like to climb. It was cool and shady and the ground around it was covered in ivy and violets and snow bells.

The house to the left of mine belonged to an older lady who was kind and let me come over from time to time. I don't remember the people who lived in the other house very well, but I remember the house being really big. From the perspective of a little kid like myself, it seemed like a mansion.

There were other houses in the street too. But I left them out because they were mysteries to me. I never knew the people and in my mind I can't even picture the front gardens. The only other truly memorable thing about this cul de sac was the shadowy alley leading to the dairy that I frequented.