The late spring and freezing winter is forgotten. Summer has burst upon the valley and, blinking in the early, early mornings, we realise that we are only a few weeks away now from the longest day now.
The days and weeks have been drifting into one another in Dorset.
The garden is rich and heavy with flowers now – it is incredible how quickly spring has left. Charlie’s borders are blowsy and full to bursting. 
The light has been changing almost instantly, thunderous one minute:
glowing the next;
We are still fundraising for the church roof. Needless to say! But the amazing thing is, we are nearly there now – just a small amount to go! You can visit the page here. Thank you to so many blog and instagram readers for helping.
If I’m honest the village has been rather amazed by the response. 
Mornings have been bright and breezy. 
The evenings, soft and hazy. 
Yesterday morning, I woke at first light to take Sibyl out. The garden was astonishingly beautiful; cool and dew soaked.
We’ve had a lovely couple of weeks, with friends, with Mum and Dad, and just pottering around the lanes of Dorset doing nothing at all. But this has also been a time of great sadness – at dawn, on Sunday 27th May, our wonderful vicar Stephen Batty died, aged 59, of Motor Neurone Disease. Everyone in the Bride Valley will know how much he has touched so many lives. For Charlie and me, we couldn’t have had anyone more kind, more thoughtful, and more encouraging, as we made our own lives together, with a blessing of our marriage just under three years ago now. It is awful that Stephen has been taken from us all so early, but amazing to have known him for these short three years. He will be remembered forever. Thoughts and love to his wife Frances and daughter Evie.
For those on instagram, a beautiful glimpse into Stephen’s wisdom and talent may be seen on the instagram diary that he kept of the last year of his life, illustrated with photographs and images from his sketchbooks and paintings, and all written through with his brilliant wit and cheerfulness.
