Considering A Change Of Lifestyle?

Sheep leave sheep-shaped patches of unfrozen grass

Some moments from my week:

Out behind the East Wing in the bright sunshine, standing on a growing pile of sawdust, chainsawing up three-metre lengths of timber whilst Gary* and Trudy swing their axes and split the sawn pieces. I notice Maria standing nearby and switch off the saw. She's in the middle of preparing lunch. I'll be making supper later on. “I've picked an awful lot of spinach”, she says, “I can use it all, but wondered if you need it for supper?” “Yes I'll throw it in the hotpot, that'll be great” I say. She smiles and heads back to the kitchen. I put the ear protectors back on and turn on the saw.

The front of the manor house

Maria has organised a group trip to the opticians. At 8:30am seven of us pile into the minibus and I drive us the narrow winding six miles to Bridport. It feels like a little holiday, a jaunt out when we would normally be doing some kind of work around the community. Our eye tests are staggered throughout the morning. It's busy in there but the Specsavers staff are very friendly. Four of us, me included, choose frames and order new spectacles. It's more fun choosing new glasses with friends who can tell us what they think, than doing it alone. Some squeeze in a bit of shopping around town too, for themselves or for people back home who've asked for something (normally tobacco-related). We get back in time for lunch.

The blue sticker doesn't help.

Watching the US Presidential Inauguration ceremony on the big screen in the Activity Room with Cameron, an American. He is appalled by the prospect of this new president of his. His English-born wife Maria has dual citizenship having got her Green Card whilst she lived out there. He is planning to get the British equivalent, a long and expensive process. They came from the States with their young children a couple of years ago to become members of Pilsdon Community.

My girlfriend made this beautiful sign 

Teaching the Israeli card game Yaniv to a group of about eight people one evening in the Common Room. Most evenings there is some kind of activity in there - cards, Scrabble, Bananagrams. This particular game I learned from my girlfriend who got it from her brother who had learned it when travelling in India from some Israelis. People caught on quickly and enjoyed it. Sandra took a bit longer as due to her substantial hearing loss, she didn't hear the rules. She is a lovely woman in her seventies who comes to stay for a week or two every so often. She treats us to a seemingly-unlimited store of excellent stories, all personal anecdotes. We miss her when she goes.

Something had been forgotten in the Aga and crisped into these spectacular carbon formations

I could go on. The whole week is made up of this type of thing. Living here is not like living anywhere else. You can be alone in a room, others might drift in and suddenly you might find yourself in a conversation about the Korean war or how to measure the distance between your pupils. Time passes quickly as one enjoyable and diverse task leads to another and to another. Unbelievably I only have two weeks before I head back to Wales.

If you are tempted to find out for yourself what it's like to live here and have the opportunity to do so, there are currently vacancies for both Volunteers (like me) and Community Members who take on joint responsibility with the Warden for the place. Take a look at the website, check out my past blogposts, have a prayerful think about it, and arrange to come for a short visit. It comes with the highest recommendation. From me.

* all names changed as usual