Random thoughts

It’s often said that after a few months people stop asking how you are, ringing you up for a chat, asking you to meet or sending a thoughtful email. This is not my experience. I have some wonderful friends and a family who are there for me when I need them to be. Saturday afternoon was an example when Wendy and Ian picked me up and we went for a 7 mile walk. I think we will always remember Simon when we walk as he enjoyed teasing Wendy and was always in his element, relaxed and happy.

Lower Barden Reservoir - it wasn't quite like this yesterday but  just as beautiful

Since I wrote two weeks ago I have been learning how to use Simon’s Nikon SLR digital camera. I got in lots of practice when the Minister of State for International Development came to Craven - I had organised an event for him to meet organisations, groups, individuals, schoolchildren and teachers who are promoting international development and Fairtrade.  It went really well. There’s an article with three of the photos I took in the local online newspaper, the Yorkshire Times.

The permanent link is here http://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/International-Development-Minister-visits-Craven-Summit

It still feels very strange going into Simon’s office library and I am certainly not ready to start sorting through his things there. He did so much and it is there in profusion, very important to him but probably of little importance to anyone else. My dad was saying the same thing about his possessions when I visited him today. He has spent so much time researching family histories and tracing old maps of the village in which he has lived all his life. It will be one of his legacies and a very interesting and valuable one for me, my children and their children.

It’s going to be another busy week. On Thursday Eve and the children will be moving in for a few days as the builders are taking over their home. Before then I’m going to a conference in Birmingham.  Perhaps the boys will help me write next weekend. Have a good week.

Busy, busy, busy

My niece’s thirtieth birthday party, the church garden party (held inside the vicarage because of the rain), the opening of the Community Library in the village, the Festival of Culture and Sport followed by the arrival of the Olympic torch in Skipton, the Eco-schools annual show in Sheffield, a concert in the grounds of Giggleswick School to celebrate its 500^th anniversary, with the Halle Orchestra and Tim Rice acting as compere have all kept me out of mischief in the past nine days. They have also provided some magical moments. The fireworks accompanying Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture at the end of the concert were magnificent and made up for the three and a half hours of shivering in the damp and cold. I’ve also been busy watching Wimbledon in the evenings. What a thrilling match the Rosal versus Nadal one was.

Yesterday, as I delivered bundles of the Embsay with Eastby News to the distributers at my end of the village someone asked me ‘Are you getting there?’  I didn’t quite know how to respond. I thought to myself ‘getting where’ and where do I want to get anyway.  That’s an interesting question. Simon was always a man with a vision and a mission. Latterly that was to bypass the bureaucracy of educational establishment and recognise people who were learning in the real world of experience. He didn’t get to where he wanted but he inspired others who continue to carry the torch he lit. That makes me feel so proud.

Isn’t it great when people from different life histories and age groups observe the world in the same way? I often think that when I meet people who share my passion for creating a fairer and more sustainable world. That happened not long ago as I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking about the huge disparity between what workers get paid for making sportswear and equipment and how much the brands are making. A young mum on holiday with her family overheard our conversation and came across to talk to us and asked me to send her the Olympic facts I’d been working on. I did and since then we’ve been in regular email contact.

Eco-Schools Show - 'I am made from 1 tonne of textiles. Did you know that 1 tonne of textiles is put into UK landfill every 30 seconds?'

Maybe I’ll watch the football now or maybe not?!