Over the Easter period, a friend of mine from the city came to Keyworth for
the weekend with her three children, all under the age of eleven. Taking advantage of the fine weather I took them to Keyworth Meadow.

The pure delight on the childrens’ faces is something that I will never
forget. The youngest, aged just 5 years old, had never in his little life, seen
farm animals except in books: Incredible but true. His eyes were as big
as saucers the whole outing. They asked every question under the sun and
explored every nook and cranny. Not once did I hear the words, "Are we nearly
there yet?"

When we arrived at the meadow, we all squeezed onto the bench for a welcome
rest. My friend of many years, who usually walks only to catch a bus, was
well and truly worn out. As we sat there and took in the wonderful view she
turned to me and said, "Of all the places I have been to, this is surely
Gods’ country". She could just be right; it felt like it at that moment.

The children played in the stream and got very wet. Their laughter was music
to my ears.

We had been out for a total of three and a half hours by the time we got
home. The children had colour in their cheeks and were ravenous.
When they returned to the city, my friend informed me that the children had
not stopped talking about their weekend in Keyworth - the highlight being the
meadow. When they returned to school they were so inspired, they wrote
stories, poems and drew pictures. In a nutshell they loved it.

As for me I felt quite humbled and proud of the whole experience. Never
again will I take for granted the natural beauty that lives all around us. I
realised just how lucky we all are to live here in Keyworth, on the doorstep of "Gods’ country!"

Jackie