WHAT I TREASURE

My grandfather’s wooden box By Tessa Thornley “Not even as big as a shoe box, it’s broken and battered, but I love it”

Having emigrated and then returned, downsizing to the bare essentials in the process, I don’t have many treasured possessions. But the one thing that has stayed with me – and travelled to Canada and back – is a carved wooden box from Singapore. It’s not even as big as a shoe box, and is broken and battered, but I love it because it belonged to my grandfather. I never met him; he died when my father was a small child but by all accounts, he was a kind and gentle man. He looks it in the photos I have. In one, he’s sitting in a rattan chair in the tropical garden of the house he lived in; in another, he’s with his wife and three children. He’s handsome and has a twinkly smile.

In the 1910s, my grandfather was a successful young man working for a shipping line in Liverpool. His company offered him a post in Singapore so off he went. In 1920, he sailed back to England for Christmas, and at a New Year’s party he met a girl.

When he returned to Asia, they started writing to each other. Her replies have been lost, but his letters reveal a burgeoning romance – in his first letter he tells her how much he enjoyed meeting her. By the summer he asks for her hand in marriage, which she accepts. He then tells of his search for a suitable engagement ring, and describes some silk fabric that he found in a local market which he will be sending back to be made into a dress. By the end of the year, she is evidently planning her journey to join him.

I don’t know too much about the following years except that they lived in Singapore, had children and then, in 1935, when he was only in his early forties, my grandfather suddenly died. My grandmother returned to England and sent the children to boarding school, later becoming estranged from my father, which I always thought was so sad because he was also a kind and gentle man whom everybody loved.

It touches me that my dad kept the box all those years. Although I didn’t know either grandparent, having the box gives me a sense of connection to them and, more importantly, to my dad. I now keep things in it that remind me of my family’s history: photos of them all, my mother’s wedding rings, and my passports, for when I next go on an adventure like my grandparents did.

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The Little Retreat is set within the grounds of what was once Lawrenny Castle. Four geodomes and four stargazer tents sit in their own plots, each with a small lawn and picnic bench, rattan sofa and table, and either a wood-fired hot tub or outdoor bath. Our insulated dome was spacious and light with a huge ‘proper’ bed, table and chairs, sofa, two roll-out beds, hanging rail for clothes, a telescope with stargazing guide and… ssshhh… a smart TV.

In a separate annexe is a bathroom with hotel towels and rainfall shower. Each plot also has a kitchen with hob and oven/microwave, toaster, Nespresso machine and all the cooking kit you need. Cosiness is guaranteed; all pods and tents have a wood burner and, in cooler months, an electric heater so you don’t need to get out of bed to add fresh logs.

Where we stayed

he can create food that pays homage to the landscapes and wild ecosystems of Wales. A keen forager and fisherman, Matt takes diners on wild food walks in the afternoon before they feast on seasonal meats and seafood served with foraged delights such as birch syrup, hedge mustard and three corner garlic (annwnrestaurant.co.uk).

While there’s loads to keep you busy around Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, we really enjoyed just kicking around the Little Retreat and Lawrenny. We wandered along the estuary to the quay and sat outside the Lawrenny Arms, a traditional pub where you can watch the boats, kayakers, walkers and locals come and go. We braved a morning dip, swimming around a shipwreck, and ended the day in our hot tub (anyone who’s ever fired up a wood-burning tub will know it takes most of the day to warm up!). While soaking under the stars we agreed that there’s something quite special and unique about Little Retreat and Lawrenny. It’s a place where time seems to stand still, and you can too.