Poem to celebrate 200th anniversary

Julio Varela is a great fan of Brixton Windmill. Originally from Spain, he used to live in Brixton and took part in our Mill Memories project in 2014, sharing stories of hiding flour during rationing in Spain and describing the local miller:

“Always I saw him white. Covered in a thin coat of flour. His moustache was white, his eyebrows were white, his eyelids were white – even his overalls…he always looked to me like a walking snowman…At the back of the mill he had his own bakery…it was lovely to be there. Sometimes a whiff from the oven. A whiff of fresh bread from the bakers. It was like a whiff from heaven.”

Julio has now returned to Spain but in honour of Brixton Windmill’s 200th anniversary he has sent us a poem, reproduced right.

Thank you Julio – we hope to see you at the windmill again when you visit your son in Brixton!