They say that smells are evocative of moments in time, a place an activity, a particular feeling and dear reader I most truely believe that it is so for when I open a newly bought packet of Demerara sugar from the supermarket and sniff the contents I am instantly transported to my childhood on a Sugar Estate in rural Jamaica: suddenly I am ten again, the sun is beating down hot from clear blue skies and I am running barefooted and carefree with my sisters through luxuriant bushes of Canna Lillies, through rampant scented Jasmine and pomegranates through fronds of giant ferns in our family garden followed by our dog Bell, weaving in and out to avoid the sharp thorns of scraggly old rose bushes in a mad dash to out run our brother who is chasing us with a frightened lizard dangling from a makeshift noose!!
Yes, this is the smell of a Sugar Estate. A musky sweet smell which pervades the air and envelopes the sugar estate for miles and miles, passing the gates of the estate and the watchmen into the open cane fields and through avenues of tall elegant coconut trees.
About Me
- Jenny Mein
- I am an artist, designer, romantic gardener and lover of beautiful, elegant things. I run my small china & textile business, Jenny Mein Designs using my botanical paintings of the fruit and flowers inspired by my beautiful childhood family garden on a sugar plantation in Jamaica to decorate the china and table-top accessories. I live in London, England by the River Thames.