英语感谢信写作格式及范文合集20篇

With the rapid development of the technology，many inventions have

appeared.As a result，with the help of these inventions，our life has changed a

lot.For example，television sets.TV is my “best friend”.Every time when I leave

school and go back home，I will turn on the TV at once.I like the programme

Outlook on CCTV 10 best. It’s an English programme and it helps me learn many

English words and foreign culture.I also love the TV station called Phoenix.I

can learn a lot form Phoenix.What’s more，I can know very well about what is

going on at home and abroad.

It’s hard to imagine life without TV.If there is no TV，we can’t enjoy the

enjoyment with others and we won’t learn about what’s happening in the

world.Thanks to TV，I have a more colourful life.

So what’s your favourite invention?

My favorite animals are swans.they are white.they can swim very well.I

think they look like a beautiful girl in a white dress.they have a pair of wings

and they can also fly well.I believe they are angles from the sky.they bring us

love and make us happy.they are always friendly to us.We cant hurt them，because

they are our friend.I love them!I like dogs，too.they are not beautiful，but they

are the best friends.they keep the thieves away.Dogs have the best listening and

eyes.they can hear in the nosiy，see in the dark.If we are in danger，they will

help us at once.And they dont mind their lives.So，I love them.

初中英语作文：写给母亲的感谢信

My dearest Mother，

The mothers day is coming and I would like to say "Happy mothers day" in this letter. I love you and thank you so much for everything you did for me. This day，I will stay away and cant give you my appreciation at home. I know I will watch myself，so dont worry about me. I am doing very well on my study. My schoolmates and teachers are all very nice. Though I cant be at home， I hope you have a wonderful mothers day.  Love，

Your son

Dear mother ：

I am writing to express my deepest thanks to you in Mothers Day，dear mother，you devote all of your energy and blood to our . you do not have any complaint about my brother and i.You love our though various different approaches such as study，work and life，consquently，our held on the belief that the mother is only lover .please accept our appreciate again

I hope that you have happiness everyday.

Mum：

Such is sons nature，I really do not know how to express my thanks to you.However，I can imagine，on the day 18 years ago，when you gave birth to me，what a complex feeling you had.In the past few years，every day you struggle me up in the morning and prepare breakfast for me，then in the afternoon，you always welcome your only son with delicious foods after a days hardwork.Now your son has been 18 and will go to university soon，like a bird is leaving its parents.Nevertheless，your footprints on my heart will never ever fade andI love you mum！

Hello teacher:

I am very happy and excited about the new year. Today is the new years eve

of the new years Eve. In the afternoon, I helped my father hang a Chinese knot

Also go to the florist to buy all kinds of colorful flowers, dress up as a happy

home. In the evening, we went to my grandmothers house to have the new years

Eve dinner. Before the new years Eve, our two-year-old brother Dudu saw the

rich dinner on the table and said, "Wow! There are so many delicious things In

the new years Eve dinner, we eat with relish and drink the corn juice made by

my grandmother. Its really sweet in the mouth and sweeter in the heart.

Everyone is very relaxed and happy. After dinner, everyone went to set off

firecrackers. Before they started, they saw the same bright flower in the night

sky, red, yellow, blue, green, purple Colorful, beautiful! My father bought me

my favorite morning light fireworks, I took one, my father lit it with incense,

saw beautiful sparks flying out of the fireworks, I used it to draw countless

small circles.

Im going home. When I get home, I turn on the TV and the Spring Festival

Gala begins. The comic dialogue inside is so interesting! Its so funny that you

can laugh. Its really nice! It sounds so good that people cant help but follow

hem. The dance inside is so beautiful! Its so beautiful that people

unconsciously jump up. After the Spring Festival Gala is over, my father and I

went down to fight the closing gun and went home to sleep.

Best wishes

happy new year

Dear Xiao Wang,

I am very glad to learn that you are going to visit me during the week-long holiday.

[我很高兴得知你要在我为期一周的假期里来看我。]My parents will also be happy to see you again.[我的父母也很高兴再次见到你。]I am sure you will enjoy every minute here. [

我相信你会喜欢这里的每一分钟。]

I have arranged our schedule for the holiday as follows.[我已经安排好我们的日程安排的假期如下.]On the first day you arrive, I will show you around our campus. [在你来着的第一天，我会带你参观我的校园。]On the second day, we will visit the art gallery and the music hall.[第二天，我们去参观艺术馆和音乐厅。]Next day,we will climb a hill in the northeastern part of the city.[第三天，我们去攀爬城市东北部的山峰。]On the top of the hill, we can have a wonderful bird’s eye view of the city.[在山顶上，我们可以鸟瞰这个美丽的城市。]During the next three days, we’ll make some short trips to some places of interest nearby，such as the Swan Cave, the Golden Lake, etc.[接下来的三天，我们去附近的名胜古迹来些短途旅行，例如天鹅洞，金色湖。]On the last day, I’ll see you off at the railway station.[最后一天，我会到火车站送你。]

Please remember to call and tell me your train number and time of arrival so that I can meet you at the railway station. [请记得打电话告诉我你的火车号和抵达时间以便我去火车站接你。]By the way, it is very hot here and we have a lot of sunshine, so don’t forget to wear

you sunglasses. [顺便提一下，这里天气很热阳光强烈，所以不要忘了戴太阳镜。]

I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.[我期待很快见到你。]

Sincerely yours,

Zhang Ying

标题：中考英语作文题目为感谢信的写法

关键词：中考英语作文题目

导读：中考英语作文题目虽然是我们没有办法准确预测的，但是有些类型的题目还是出现频率比较高的。下面我们就挑选了“感谢信”这种题材为大家介绍一篇优秀的范文，帮助大家。

假设你叫Liu Yan，初中三年，你与同学们在一起学习、参加各种活动，相互帮助，彼此之间建立了深厚的友谊.校园网的英语论坛开辟了 “Thank you letter” 专栏.请按下面的要求给你的同学Ling Feng写一封感谢信.注意：1.这封信要表达你对Ling Feng的感谢；2.信中要简述感谢Ling Feng的原因，适当举例，并谈谈自己的感受；提示词语：thank you, at the end of , kind, forget, help? with,

stay in touch

Dear Ling Feng,

I would like to thank you at the end of our middle school education. You have been very kind and helpful since we knew each other.

You have given me so much help that I will never forget. Last term, I caught a bad cold and had to stay at home for a week. When I was worrying about the lessons, you came to my home after school and helped me with every subject. With your help, I didn’t fall behind others. Since then, we have become very close friends. I think I’ll try to help others just like you.

Thank you again. Even though we may go to different schools, I’ll always stay in touch with you. I wish you success for the future.Yours,

Liu Yan

i am writing this letter to express my apology that ______________.i feel terribly sorry about this. once again, i am very sorry for any inconvenience caused. i will be really appreciated if you can accept my apologies and understand my situation.

yours sincerely

_________ 亲爱的_____，(对方姓名)我写这封信以表达我的道歉______________(道歉原因)。对此我深感抱歉。我再次对给您造成的任何不便深感歉意，希望您能理解我的处境并接受我的道歉。 谨启 _________(自己姓名)

Dear John,

Long time no see, how is your summer vacation? I’m really sorry for writing

so late. I have been too busy at this moment. I am happy to hear that you have

traveled to Tibet at this summer holiday. How I wish I could go there with

you!

Let me tell you something about my summer holiday. My summer holiday is

rich and colorful. My parents take me to Hong Kong. That’s a beautiful place. I

buy a lot of funny things at there. Such as pretty dresses, cute dolls and the

snacks I never eat before. I really want to stay there and never come back! In a

word, I really appreciate the life there.

I’m really looking forward to your reply!

Truly yours,

Zoey

Dear principal:

Hello! Is the body coming in well?

headmaster! Have you found any shortcomings in the school recently? At the

back of the school there is a trail to the outside of the school. Sometimes when

the last class is physical education, some people go back from there first; when

the school door is not open at noon, some students enter the school from there,

disturbing other students to take a nap.

headmaster! In the middle of the teaching building and the laboratory

building, there are two lawns. When spring and summer come, a lot of grass will

grow, making it impossible for people to play on it. headmaster! I suggest that

you turn those two lawns into lotus ponds with pavilions and paths. When the

students have finished a few classes, they are a little tired, so they can rest

on it; relax. In this way, you will have sufficient energy in class and listen

carefully.

Wish: Good health and smooth work!

Sincerely,

Your student:

尊敬的校长：

您好!进来的身体是否很好?

校长!最近您有没有发现学校不足的地方?在学校的后面有一条小道可同往学校外。在有时是最后一节课是体育课时，有人就从那儿先回去了;中午午睡时学校的大门还没有开，有些同学就从那儿进了学校，打扰别的同学午睡。

校长!在教学楼和实验楼的中间，有两块草坪。每当春夏季节来临时，就会长出许多的草，让人无法在上面嬉戏。校长!我建议您把那两块草坪修成荷花池，上面有亭子和小道。当同学们上完几节课时，有点累了，就可以在上面休息;放松一下心情。这样在上课就会有充分的精神，认真听讲。

祝：身体健康，工作顺利!

你的学生：

Dear Mr. Smith,

As a graduate student of Zhejiang university, I already studied four years in this university, including four years studying Chemistry Department. I also worked six months in Lafarge Roofing Systems China as a project assistant. The CEO appreciated my analytic and synthesis skills. He gave me his confidence to represent Lafarge and prospect the Zhejiang Development Zones to find the best location to build a new factory.

I have an intermediate level in English (speaking and writing).I am gaining proficiency as a good negotiator in my daily and working life.Now that all my classes are finished, I am back in China in order to stay here at least a few years.

I am available as soon as required, and I will be glad to give you more details about my experiences, my motivation, and my skills. I thank you in advance for your interest.

Yours faithfully,

Lihua

Hello, everyone! I’m Zhou Kexin. Today I am so glad to share my trip to

Changzhou Spring City with you. It was a very pleasant trip for me.

This Nation’s Day, I went to Changzhou Spring City with my parents. It’s

the first time for me to go there. I was looking forward to it for a long time.

My dream was coming true. After one and a half hour’s drive, we arrived. We saw

a lot of old buildings. They are very special. The most interesting place was

the zoo inside. There are many animals, such as, tigers, elephants, zebras and

monkeys. Monkeys are my favorite animals.They are our good friends. Later I went

to the Children s playground, it’s children’s world. I played happily with my

parents. Finally, we watched 4D movies, It was very exciting。

How times flies! It’s time to go home. I had to say good-bye to everything

here.

This was a pleasant trip for me.

My speech is over. Thank you!

Dear customers:

__ bank since it was founded in 93， has been to get your great support and

help， on the occasion of the Christmas and New Years day holiday is

approaching， in order to thank you for this for more than ten years of __ bank

support and the deep affection， __X bank staff would like to express my

heartfelt thanks to you and good wishes!

In __X bank in the past more than ten years development course， with you，

we respect the customer， gives us enormous strength， in your strong concern and

support， as well as __X under the hard work of the staff， we with the high

quality service， good reputation， has made brilliant achievements one after

another.

Drinking water source， we know that __X bank every bit of progress and

success， cannot leave your attention， trust， support and participation. Your

understanding and trust is our strong driving force for progress， your concern

and support is our inexhaustible source of growth. Every time you participate

in， every suggestion， let us excited， we constantly forge ahead. The journey

with you， our progress is endless confidence and strength; With you， our cause

can be immortal， prosperity and development.

To thank you for many years to our support， trust and help， to the

beginning of the end， we will carry out excellent service activities， to return

you with love， when you come to our bank to handle the business， will let you

get a big surprise!

In the next years， hope to be able to continue to get your care and

support， welcome to our bank to handle savings deposits， education， notice

deposit， foreign exchange savings deposit， personal remittance， bank CARDS，

online banking， telephone banking， buying bonds the collecting phone and all

kinds of business. Customer satisfaction is our eternal pursuit， we will

continue to provide the most sincere service for you.

Once again， thank you for your help and support， to wish you good health! A

happy family! Prosperity! All the best!

尊敬的广大客户：

__银行自93年成立以来，一直得到您的大力支持和帮助，值此圣诞和元旦两大节日即将来临之际，为了感谢您这十余年来对__银行的支持与厚爱，__X银行全体员工谨向您表示衷心的感谢和美好的祝福!

在__X银行过去十余年的发展历程中，您，我们尊敬的客户，给予了我们无比的力量，在您的大力关心与支持下，以及__X全体员工的勤奋努力下，我们凭借优质的服务，良好的信誉，取得了一个又一个的辉煌成绩。

饮水思源，我们深知，__X银行所取得的每一点进步和成功，都离不开您的关注、信任、支持和参与。您的理解和信任是我们进步的强大动力，您的关心和支持是我们成长的不竭源泉。您的每一次参与、每一个建议，都让我们激动不已，促使我们不断奋进。有了您，我们前进的征途才有源源不绝的信心和力量;有了您，我们的事业才能长盛不衰地兴旺和发展。

为答谢多年来您对我们的支持、信任和帮助，借此岁末年初之际，我们将开展优质服务活动，用真情来回报您，届时您到我行来办理业务，将会让您得到一份惊喜!

在今后的岁月里，希望能够继续得到您的关心和大力支持，欢迎到我行办理储蓄存款、教育储蓄、通知存款、外汇存款、个人汇款、银行卡、网上银行、电话银行、购买国债代收电话费及各种代收业务。客户满意是我们永恒的追求，我们将继续为您提供最真诚的服务。

再一次感谢您的帮助和支持，恭祝您身体健康!阖家幸福!事业兴旺!万事如意!

I like to collect pencil case when I am in grade two, because I am so crazy

about the lovely cartoon pictures. When I watch a hot cartoon movie, then I will

start to search my favorite cartoon characters in the products. Pencil case is

around me all the time. When I see the pictures, I will be full of energy.

In the east of China， there is a small city---Haimen. I was born there.

Today， I am telling you about my hometown. Haimen is not far from Shanghai. It’s

at the mouth of the Changjiang River. Haimen is a modern city. There are lots of

high buildings in it. Most of us live in flats. We like to live in flats because

we can be close to our friends. In the center of Haimen， there are many shops.

You can buy some nice things here. Things in most shops aren’t expensive. You

can pay a little money and they are yours. My hometown is a beautiful city. On

each of the roads， there are some big trees and nice flowers. The roads are also

very clean. They make people happy and comfortable. The seasons here are very

nice. I like autumn best. It’s neither hot nor cold. A poem says “Flyer of

summer come to my window to sing， then fly away. And yellow leaves of autumn，

which have no songs， just fall there with a sign.” It’s very cool.I love Haimen.

It’s a nice place to live. Welcome to my hometown.

Dear Ms. Fu,

亲爱的付老师，

I would like you to know that I appreciate the help and support you gave to

me when I was in junior high school. I enjoyed being taught by you immensely.

You are an excellent teacher and inspired me to continue learning with an open

and positive mind.

我想让您知道我非常感激在我上初中的时候你给予的帮助和支持。我非常喜欢你做我的老师。你是一个优秀的教师，鼓励我以开放和积极的态度继续学习。

I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to you for teaching me what

is responsibility. You helped me how to find the best place for myself and look

for the personal values. I remember you gave me a book as a present of the

Spring Festival. You are the first teacher who gave me a present which I was

moved for a long time.

我衷心的感谢你教会了我什么是责任。你帮我找到最适合自己的位置并和个人价值。我记得你曾给我一本书作为春节的礼物。你是第一个给我礼物的老师，这让我感动了很久。

I would further say that you gave me so good memories that I wish I could

go back to that time again. It was you who encouraged me to overcome obstacles.

It was you who cared about my emotions. I appreciate all you have done for me,

which meant so much to me. I hope that this letter brings my best wishes to you

and I once again thank you for giving me those precious memories of my life,

which I shall cherish forever.

我还想说你给了我这么美好的回忆，我希望我能再次回到那个时候。是你鼓励我克服困难。是你关心我的情绪。我很感激你为我所做的一切，这对我来说是很重要的。我希望这封信能给你带去我最好的祝福，我再次感谢你给我的生活带来那些珍贵的回忆，我会永远珍惜它的。

Sincerely yours,

Yang

杨

亲爱的白衣天使们：

你们好!今天是2月14日，情人节。对你们来说，这是一个不寻常的情人节。你们不能和自己的孩子、爱人一起过节。

这场新冠病毒的战役还没有结束，你们要守护病人，冲在最前面，与死神赛跑，从它们手里抢救出更多的人。现在我们在家好好的过着日子，而你们却要在“战场”上继续为国家战斗，为人民战斗，甚至有的医生也因病毒感染而离世了。但你们不要放弃，请记住，全国人民都在为你们加油，陪你们过节。

你们，温暖的守护着，你们，坚强的战斗着，你们不顾自己，一直为病人奉献，让我们一起度过这个特别的情人节，因为我们都是有情的人。等到春暖花开，愿你们能过上幸福快乐的日子!

Dear Mary,

Thanks for your last letter. Im so glad that you have been able (at last! ) to arrange a holiday in Australia. As I fear I wont be able to meet you at the airport when you arrive, nor will I be able to be home until later in the afternoon, so here are some instructions and suggestions.

There is a bus from the airport to the city. It is much cheaper than a cab. Take the bus to the city and ask to get off at Town Hall railway station.

To get to my place in the eastern suburbs you have three options. You can either take a cab, a bus or the train. I suggest you take the train, since the airport bus will leave you right at the station. Get off at Cliff Station. From there you can either walk to my place (about ten minutes) or take a taxi. Probably you should take a taxi as you will have luggage.

When you arrive at my flat, ring the intercom for Flat 2. My friend Lillian will be at home and she will open the front door for you and let you into my flat.

Presumably you will be tired and want to sleep. But if you feel like some exercise after that long flight, you could stroll down to Cooper Park, which is only ten minutes away ? you can see it from the window.

Cheers and looking forward to seeing you.

Yours sincerely,

Annie

dear teacher,

how time flies! it is ahnost a month since i arrived here and began a new

life as a university student. but all this time, i have been missing you and my

dear school. i just can not tell you how grateful i am to you for the help you

gave me during my preparation for the university entrance examination. now i

will tell you something about my university and life here.

our university lies at the foot of mount zijin, in the eastern suburbs of

nanjing city. the campus is very big,with a big sportsground surrounded by lots

of modern classroom buildings. what have impressed me most are the big library

and the well-equipped language lab. our campus is also very beautiful. there are

quite a few well-kept gardens. every road is lined with trees. how happy we are

to study in such an enviromnent!

life here is both busy and coloufful. we have classes every morning. in the

afternoon, we either work in the laboratory or do assignments in the classroom.

in the evening, we can go to talks or do reading in the library. this keeps us

occupied most of the week. but on weekends, there are always many

entertainments. we may go to the club to have a dance or go to the cinema to see

a fihn. sometimes we may also hold a party to practise oral english. in a word,

we like our life here very much.

are you still teaching one of the senior classes? i really think that the

students in your class are lucky for they will certainly benefit greatly under

your instruction. but take care not to overwork yourself. i do hope you will

have a chance of visiting me here.

with best wishes for you and your family. i will be looking forward to

hearing from you soon.

Yours,

____

Yesterday afternoon, the clear sky. Come straight home after school, I, on

the edge of a road, I saw a group of pretty much thing is slowly moving, curious

I went over to look, boom! Are a group of flies dispersed in a hubbub, odor, I

quickly cover your nose, hurriedly escape, only to hear the sound of a

squeaking, a big, fat rat quickly into odour plumes of garbage, suddenly, two or

three big black cat rushed out, to the mouse. I turned pale with fear, quickly

get out, I was happy mood was thrown to the outside of the nine days into the

sky, I hate people who litter, only now is, they put a good road. I went on

weakly, those people if one.

敬爱的夏老师：

您好!时光如白驹过隙，转眼间两年过去了，您作为班主任陪伴我们的点点滴滴在这毕业之际又浮现在我的眼前。

回想这两年来，您为我们洒下多少汗水，花了多少心血，您会为我们着想，会关心每一位学生。您在炎炎夏日的灯下，为我们批改作业的背影是那样美丽。

我记得，在疫情过后，我们六年级下册正式开学的时候，您怀孕了。美术老师告诉我们，您本来可以辞去班主任这个职务，可以安心做英语老师，也能安心养胎，也不会再那么辛苦的带我们这一届毕业生了。可是您没有，您依旧挺着肚子带我们去操场做操，去食堂吃饭，去校门口带我们放学，马上就要毕业了，但我真的很铭记这些时刻。

在这两年里，您不像是一位班主任老师，更像是我们成长路上的一位知心好友，为我们排忧解难，倾听我们的心声;更像是我们的母亲，会在我们生病难受时关心我们，给予我们温暖。您会用心的为我们操办六一的美食节，也会自己掏腰包为我们发奖励。

虽然要毕业了，我们马上就要各奔东西，去不同的学校，我还是会记得，您对我们的各种好，各种爱!

祝您

家庭幸福，永远永远都没有烦恼!

爱您的学生

My Darling McGeorge

You said that things seemed clearer when they were written down. Well, here

with a very boring letter in which I will try to put everything down so that you

may read and re-read it at a horror at your folly in getting involved with

me.

Deep breath. To begin with ,I love you. With a depth and passion and I have

felt for no one else in this life. And if it is astonishes you, it astonished me

as well. Not, I hasten to say, because you are not worth loving. Far from it.

Its just that, first of all,I swore I would not get involved with another

woman. Secondly, I have never had such a feeling before and it is almost

frightening. Thirdly, I would never have thought it possible that another human

being could occupy my waking and sleeping thoughts to the exclusion of almost

everything else. Fourthly, I never thought that even if one was in love one

could get so completely besotted with another person so that a minute away from

them felt like a thousand years. Fifthly, I never hoped,aspired, dreamed that

one can find everything one wanted in one person.

I was not such an idiot as to believe this was possible. Yet in you I have

found everything I want: youre beautiful, gay, giving, gentle, idiotically and

deliciously feminine, sexy, wonderfully intelligent and wonderfully silly as

well. I want nothing else in this life than to be with you, to listen and watch

you, your beautiful voice, your beauty, to argue with you, to laugh with you, to

show you things, to share things with you, to explore your magnificent mind, to

explore your wonderful body, to help you, protect you, serve you ,and...bash you

on the head when I think you are wrong...

Not to put too fine a point on it, I consider that I am the only man

outside mythology to have found crock of gold at the rainbows end. But, having

said all that, let us consider things in details. Dont let this become public,

but, well...I have one or two faults. Minor ones,I hasten to say. For example I

am inclined to be overbearing. I do it for the best possible motives, all

tyrants say that, but I do tend, without thinking, to treat people underfoot.

You must tell me when Im doing it to you, my sweet, because it can be a very

bad thing in a marriage.

Right, the second blemish. This actually is not so much a blemish of

character as a blemish of circumstance. Darling, I want you to be you on your

own right, and I will do everything I can to help you in this. But you must take

into consideration that I am also me in my own right. And that I have a head

start on you. What Im trying to say is that you must not feel offended if you

are sometimes treated simply as my wife. Always remember that what you lose on

the swings you gain on the roundabouts. But i am an established ‘creature’ in

the world, and so on occasions you will have to live in my shadow. Nothing gives

me less pressure than this. But it is a fact of life that has to be faced.

Third, a very important and nasty, blemish. Jealousy. I dont think you

know what jealousy is, thank god, in the real sense of the word. I know that you

have felt jealousy over Lincolns wife and child, but this is what I call normal

jealousy, and this to my regret, is not what Ive got. What I have got is a

black monster and any goodness that I have in my make-up. It is really a Jekyll

and Hyde situation... my Hyde is stronger than my good sense and defeats me,

hard though I try. As I told you, I have always known that this lurks within me,

but I could control it, and my monster slumbered and nothing happened to awake

it. Then I met you and I felt my monster stir and become half-awake when you

told me of Lincoln and others you have known, would you like to end with your

letter my monster came out of its lair, black, irrational, bigoted, stupid,

evil, malevolent. You never know how terribly corrosive jealousy is; It is a

physical pain as though you have swallowed acid or red hot coals. It is the most

terrible of feelings. But you cant help it at least I cant and god knows Ive

tried. I dont want any ex-boyfriends sitting in church when I marry you. On our

wedding day I want nothing but happiness both for you and me, but I know I wont

be happy if there is a church full of your ex-conquests. When I marry you I will

have no past, only a future. I dont want to drag my past into our future and I

dont want you to do it, either. Remember I am jealous of you because I love

you. You are never jealous of something you dont care about.

Okay enough about jealousy. Now let me tell you something. I have seen a

thousand sunsets and sunrises, in a thousand sunsets and sunrises on land where

it floods forest mountains with honey-coloured light, at sea where it rises and

sets like a blood orange in a multi-coloured nest of cloud, slipping in and out

of the vast ocean. I have seen thousand moons. Harvest moon is like gold coins,

winter moons as white as ice chips, new moons like baby swans feathers. I have

seen seas as smooth as if painted, coloured like shot silk or blues as a

kingfisher or transparent as glass or black and crumpled with foam, moving

ponderously and murderously. I have felt winds straight from the south pole,

bleak and wailing like a lost child; Winds as tender and warm as a lovers

breath; Winds that carried the astringent smell of salt and the death of

seaweeds; Winds during the moist rich smell of a forest floor, the smell of a

million flowers. Fierce winds that churned and moved the sea like yeast, or

winds that made the waters lap at the shore like a kitten. Ive known silence:

the cold, earthy silence at the bottom of a newly dug well; The implacable stony

silence of a deep cave; The hot, drugged midday silence when everything is

everything is hypnotized and still moved into silence by the eye of the sun. The

silence when great music ends. Ive heard that summer cicadas cry so that the

sound seems stitched into your bones. Ive heard a tree frogs in an

orchestration as complicated as Bach singing in a forest lit by a million

emerald fireflies. Ive heard the Keas calling over the grey glaciers that

groaned to themselves like old people as they inched. Their way to the sea. Ive

heard the hoarse street vendor cries of the mating Fur seals as they sang to

their sleek golden wives, the crisp staccato admonishment of the rattlesnake,

make the cobweb squeak of the Bat and the belling roar of the red deer knee-deep

in purple heather. Ive heard wolves baying at a winters moon, read howlers

making the forest vibrate with their roaring cries. Ive heard the squeak, purr

and grunt of a hundred multi-coloured reef fishes. I’ve seen hamming birds

flashing like opals round a tree of scarlets blooms, humming like a top. I have

seen flying fish skittering like quicksilver across the blue waves, drawing

silver lines on the surface with their tails. Ive seen Spoonbills flying home

to roost like a scarlet banner crossed the sky. Ive seen Whales, black as tar,

cushioned on a cornflower blue sea,creating a Versailles of fountain with their

breath. I have watched butterflies emerge and sit, trembling, while the sun

irons their wings smooth. I watch tigers, like flames, mating in the long grass.

I have been dive -bombed by an angry Raven, black and glossy as the Devils

hoof. Ive lain in water warm as milk, soft as silk, while around me played a

host of Dolphins. I have met a thousand animals and see a thousand wonderful

things.

All this I did without you. This was my loss. All this I want to do with

you. This will be my gain. All this I would gladly have forgone for the sake of

one minute of your company, for your love, your voice, your eyes, hair, lips,

body, and above all for your sweet, ever surprising mind which is an enchanting

quarry, in which it is my privilege to delve.

Gerald Durrell