Letter for September 2018

Dear Readers,

As I sit here trying to write this letter it is raining, raining heavily. I find this hard to believe as it is the first time for weeks (or is it months?) that the high clouds which usually mean that rain is on its way have actually been followed by any. Suddenly it seems that the lovely hot summer won't go on for ever. Autumn will soon be coming.

A reminder that time does not stand still even when you are young and school summer holidays stretch out without an end in sight. A reminder too for those in the overworked and over stretched middle years that these too will come to an end. As for those of us who are old and for whom time passes so quickly the reminder is that the years of our life on this earth will come to an end.

The passage of time is not something to be sad about. It is a reminder to be thankful for all that has been and for all the good things that we have had. It is an opportunity to look again at the things we do and how we live our lives. An opportunity to think how to make best use of our time, how to learn to enjoy more what we have, or how to be of more help to those around us.

At the beginning of September, over the weekend 8th and 9th, comes the Scarecrow Festival. Those of you who were living here last year will remember it with pleasure. Wandering round and photographing each scarecrow as you spotted it. There were scarecrows standing on a roof, climbing up buildings, sitting in a canoe, hiding in gardens and hedges and walking some distance down the road. Some of the wellingtons planted with flowers can still be seen. And what were the characters from the magic roundabout doing on the green by the bus stop? The horse and cart at the entrance to Broadfields seemed like a throwback in time.

It was all good fun and a chance to talk to others whom we don't often see as we wandered round the churchyard, the field and the centre of the village.

Please join in again this year and make it even more friendly and enjoyable than last year – whatever the weather. If you are new to the village or just too busy and you have still not looked inside the church please do so. It will be busy during the scarecrow festival but at other times the churchyard and the interior of the church can be peaceful places to sit and relax and think or pray. They are places for everyone.

May you all find that you and your loved ones are blessed by God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Judith Denton (Reader).