It was August, 2016, and we had just moved back to Helensburgh, with what felt like, our tails between our legs. We’d had to sell up and move away from everything that had previously represented success, and were now living in very different circumstances. I was fragile, in that way that outwardly looks like coping well but which involved so much holding in and blocking off emotions to avoid crumbling completely. I needed somewhere to go to let off steam where I wouldn’t have to show my family how bereft I was, how miserable, how sad, how depressed, how scared. Duchess Wood ended up being that place. The fact it is now up for sale and its future is uncertain has brought up unpleasant sensations again. I find myself praying, to what or whom I’m not certain, that whoever buys it will see it for the vital role it plays for our community and not somewhere to develop for profit.