Mum said …

When I was a very young mother (and I was very young indeed.. I married ridiculously young to a perfectly nice boy ) My  mother  said to me.. OK, you have proved you are a really good housekeeper, now you have a baby – so  just be a Mum. She was not a Saint, she was just a Mum like the rest of us but her advice rings through the decades since her loss.   One should not lose sight of  our Great Work of the moment.

An old, old man sat on a bench inside a London supermarket,  (what is the name  of that place – on Holloway Road –  Mad just down the road from you?.. not Marks and Spencers  – Waitrose – that was it! – Waitrose – they delivered .. what more could you want).. they had a special ring by the door on Hollaway road for tieing up your dog, next to a water dish. I was inside by the Check Out and had dropped some coins and the old man who sat on the bench  – he said, as he reached down to help me pick up the coins, “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after you.” It was like a chant – a mantra. His two friends,  equally ancient and worn to the bone, nodded from either side of him, their hands in pockets jingling coins. Not quite well shaven, but not quite neglected. They nodded in unison,  these three, watching the world flow past.   I would have packed them in a bag and taken them home if I could. No doubt their wives would have helped me with the packing.

So even though I have spent days packaging books, with mounting excitement (check the book order page for why and how).  Because this is a good book.  Incredibly special.  Because we did this! Because we did this  – all by ourselves. 

Still, we must not forget that it all began with us.  You and I. The little people. The Fellowship. That is you. And you are here to watch over our little farmy. So let us return to the farmy.

The Kitchen’s Garden Farm is where this all began. So after a day in the city, and then a day of excitement opening lost boxes of books. I am remembering  that it all started with a wee farm and a large and deliciously noisy Fellowship.  That is you by the way.

And I do love my Big fat Aunty Sheila’s tail.

Especially when she is Seeing OFF a dog.

And if anyone tells you that pigs don’t eat grass… send them to Our Sheila. She will sort them out.

Poppy is still on the wrong side of the fence. What will happen when I am away in New Zealand. This piggy needs a full time minder.  I swear she is a shape shifter.

You are on the wrong side of the fence again Poppy. But we do appreciate the smiles.

And the  miles.

I hope you have a lovely day. Stop being careful.

your friend on the farmy

miss c