This is a time of year to rise above the dust and mist of change that obscures our higher vision

For Helen Macdonald, author of Vesper Flights, swifts seem to her to be ‘the closest thing to aliens on Earth.’

The wreckage of the table after the last guest has left. Reinforcing friendships and sharing views is so much more important than simply breaking bread together.

Author Anne Lamott, often described as ‘the people’s author’, offers these appealing life truths in her TED talk

Can we really achieve a permanent state of happiness. Should we even try?

We devoted this newsletter to all our farmers and growers, now in the midst of a difficult harvest

A sign of the approaching autumn, I wonder. Cats, you’ve just got to love them.

There is something about the harvest. It is what the countryside has been building up to all year.

The ‘wicked world syndrome’ is where we see so much suffering and evil around us that we begin to believe, wrongly, that happiness is not possible.

Agricultural diversity outside our back garden

Souvenirs from Lourdes highlight the contrast between the spiritual and the material, and how author Ruth Harris reconciled the two.

Very grateful to have Gepettos open again, and to see it full on a Friday evening.

We are celebrating Gussies 12th birthday today. She is still going strong, although slowing down a little and getting a bit warty in her old age.

Great food and coffee at the Old Yard in Nunnington – just need to get their dish washer sorted.

It became clear during the St Laurence Ethics Forum that strong values and good leadership were fundamental to the ethical delivery of education and the maintenance of integrity and ethical standards.

Its the faces in Millie McCallum’s animal paintings that I really love…

Celebrate Yorkshire’s individuality and independence, its cheerfulness and wry humour and its generosity.

The Glory of the Garden this weekend of our ‘open gardens’ was all down to Clang

I thoroughly recommend this book. For people such as myself, trying to find a way through the puzzle of life, death and faith, this book is a huge help and a fascinating read.

The story that Harris tells of Lourdes will do much to deepen our faith and understanding of why we are drawn back time and time again to this miracle.

I received confirmation from the University of Chester today that I have been awarded the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Business and Personal Coaching.

Bruce Feiler’s documentary follows a group of American veterans travelling to Lourdes for the international military pilgrimage.

Much of interest, again, in this edition, including information on the easing ion lockdown, as well as lots of stuff about country matters and the history of the village.

This was a fun News to produce as the village becomes closer and there is much to write about.

We took a slightly lighthearted view of the pandemic on the front page of this edition, feeling our readers needed a bit of a lift!

Thank heavens for lockdown! Without a much simplified life and far fewer distractions I am not sure I would have completed these on time.

The newsletter came into its own this month. We were able to include updates on the Corona virus and provide details of all those willing to help.

Our first newsletter! Also an exercise in transferable skills, using techniques learnt whilst creating brochures and booklets for my business.

Ending the year with gratitude for our wonderful Yorkshire landscape and great walking company