So many wonderful perfume memories come from the distant past; but one more recent fragrance souvenir is always in my mind.

The glorious coast of north Suffolk. The smells of beautiful Southwold and its environs: especially in early June when all the garden roses bloom in profusion. The flowers’ sweet fresh odour blends with the exhilarating air, the cold bracing smell of the great grey North Sea, and the tang of the heron-haunted swampy marshes beyond the town. The gorse on the heath is always in bloom – “when gorse is out of flower/kissing’s out of fashion” – and when the sun touches the spiky bushes they glow like gold, exuding a creamily delicious redolence of coconut.

jamescraven-wewearperfume-700x425