Inspiration

P R E L U D E

I've been away a lot, it feels - first, a lovely trip to Suffolk and Norfolk, for my old office annual reunion in memory of our former colleague, Gavin Brown, who was sadly taken far too young by cancer. We get together every year for "Gavin's day" - a great lunch, a chance to see old friends, and to remember.

Then Charlie and I were up in the Cotswolds for our nephew Toby's wedding to Alexa. A wonderful day.  The evening before we stayed with our friends Luke and Duncan at their beautiful little cott, and at sunset we went for a quick walk above Adelstrop - the sunset was golden,  the country below glowed.
High above us an almost full moon.

E A S T E R    S O N G

It has been a busy three weeks. What a relief to be home, with nothing to do, no-one to see, for Easter.  I got home late on Thursday evening.  Here was the garden on Good Friday.

That morning, after the service of Litany, it's time to decorate the church for Easter.  Not that we were having a service this year - for the first time, perhaps, in living memory - that was going to be held at Abbotsbury.  But the church was looking beautiful nonetheless.
Finally, we have approval from the Church Diocese to proceed with the repair works for our stained glass windows. Many readers supported the fundraising campaign three years ago - it has taken for EVER to get approval, but it's finally coming through.  I will update everyone when the window works start - with our fantastic builder, Simon Crumbleholme (the best name for a builder in the world) and Dan Humphries, the stained glass restoration expert.
Warm spring sunshine in the garden. Everything sparkled.
There has been plenty of rain still, it goes without saying.
Primroses in the churchyard.  A few years ago now we took the decision not to mow the churchyard except of once a year.  This is the abundant result - incredible primroses and wildflowers spreading everywhere.
Down by the lake, bluebells.
A couple more photos of Charlie's beautiful font decoration.
On Easter Saturday, our walk was cool and misty....
But the sun soon burned through.
A glorious day.
But we still needed a fire that evening.
Easter Sunday saw Charlie cook an amazing lunch.
New (old) china from an auction that we bought a few months ago - cheaper than you could really imagine.  There are hundreds of plates in boxes, but we got a few out for fun.

Charlie's steam pudding. DELICIOUS>
On our walk this morning. Our chickens have taken to going further and further afield, it's quite crazy. Good traffic calming wardens in the village.

Sunlight streaming, white clouds, blue sky, as we tip from cold March, into April. The air is filled with a sense of renewal.  May that spread a little wider into our troubled world.