Writing evocatively about Langley Bush (Country diary, 29 July), Simon Ingram mentions the shrub planted by the John Clare Society to replace the hawthorn whose ruthless removal had so upset John Clare. This summer the society commissioned three new trees to be planted in Swaddywell Pit, another of Clare’s haunts, as part of the oak planting scheme initiated by the Langdyke Countryside Trust.
The first tree is in memory of Clare himself; the second is dedicated to Edmund Blunden, who did so much to bring Clare’s poetry to a 20th-century audience. The third is in honour of Dr Ronald Blythe, who was the beloved president of the society from its inception in 1981 until his retirement last year.
Dr Valerie Pedlar
Chair, John Clare Society
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