Letter: My mulberry tree visit

The picture of the mulberry tree, in The Star, August 14, 2021, planted by actress Judy Geeson, in 1968, attracted my attention, having seen a similar looking tree in the grounds of Christ College, Cambridge, recently.

I spent a day in Cambridge, as part of a tour of the area, and was pleasantly surprised to be allowed to wander round the beautiful grounds of Christ College, where Alfred Scott-Gatty, of the Ecclesfield Gatty family, studied around 1860.

He founded what is said to be the oldest society at Cambridge University, ‘The Original Christian Minstrels’, a singing group.

I saw the mulberry tree, with a notice giving some information of its history, and the possibility that it was planted by the writer John Milton, of ‘Paradise Lost’, fame, during the early 1600s.

It would be nice to think that Judy Geeson’s tree will still be thriving in 400 years time.

Judy, incidentally, is still around, and I believe, living in Los Angeles. She had a long career in stage, screen, and television, with a role as recent as 2016, in the film ‘31’.

If any reader is thinking of visiting Cambridge, I would highly recommend seeing the Christ College grounds, if allowed.

Apart from the mullberry tree, there is a mighty oak tree that dwarfs anyone standing in front of it, beautiful flowers, a sundial dating back to 1604, and a big surprise, an open air swimming pool that I was told the original was the oldest open air swimming pool in the UK.

There is also a bar/coffee lounge open to the public, in a quiet setting, at reasonable prices.