The trees of Heaton Norris

Heaton Norris in dappled sunlight, May 2024. For years, we grandchildren were lined up against these trees and documented with a 110 camera or a Brownie.

The photos were later developed and cut with scissors; jagged edges and all traces of the background location trimmed away.

Approximate dates were penned on the reverse in blue Bic pen — sometimes scribbled out and rewritten — before they were stuck in old-fashioned photo albums using LePage’s brown mucilage glue, which dribbled across our beaming faces like dark honey.

I can’t remember which tree was the chosen one, but I remember the warmth of sunlight on our faces.