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As a frequent visitor to Hummingbird House, I was delighted to see what had happened to Betty and her friends/tenants in more recent times. True to form, this short (for me, too short and over too quickly) novella is a dual timeline glimpse at Betty, now in her 80s and still in her “happy place�� at Hummingbird House, and a look back to 1968 and her good friend Sandra whose errant habits are the subject of this story. It’s like one of those moments when you catch up with old friends and it feels like only yesterday you last saw them.

A slower-paced story than most of the books I’ve read later, this has a subtler feel to it, as though Betty is personally telling you a story over a pot of tea in the garden. With familiar faces flitting in now and then, story focuses much more on Sandra and her relationships, particularly with her own mother and son. Betty is in a more reflective mood as she searches Sandra and is reminded of a prior search back in the 60s when she came to understand Sandra better and caught a some real insight in to a world with which she �� unlike her companion of the time, Arthur, was naively unfamiliar.

In the present day story, it is Sandra’s son Jonty who must learn something about his mum, and it’s an opportunity for them all to reflect and reconsider how their life changes and adapts to meet new challenges as they occur. Nothing is ever too difficult that it cannot be made easier with the help of good friends and strong family bonds. Another heart-warming tale from Jane Harvey and I look forward to more stories about other residents in thefuture.