It's come to our attention that somehow, someone in the summer newsletter forgot to mention about the new boiler cylinders.

Thanks to 'Solar' Jim Shearman, for his unflagging efforts to make this place work better and more responsibly, and to Lynden's continuing finetuning, we have a solar-powered hot water system for the house that more than meets our summertime needs! While we do turn on the oil-fueled system for busy weekends, courses and family weeks (and we've all agreed to stick to showers during the drier months ourselves), the solar-heated system is another long stride toward responsible living. What with that and the indefinite shutdown of the aga in the Old Kitchen, our oil usage is down to just about a tenth of what it was just a couple of months back. While this does mean no slow-cooked porridge for the time being, we're sure our guests will agree it's worth this sacrifice.

Post script: Lynden's note to Jim (above) had already been documented for posterity when a previous account of water-related house strategies was uncovered at the bottom of a dusty box of disintegrating books about carpentry, mostly, behind an overstuffed armchair in the New Library. It's been dated at somewhere between May 2000 (date of the event of the flier it's written on the back of) and 2009 (when I start to recognise the handwriting. Many of the plans outlined in these papers and then put into practice are being revised by Lynden even now, so that the designs doodled throughout evoke nothing so much as a timeline with cyclical offshoots. The highlight of this report, though, hands down, is Option D (not shown on this page): 'Rip out the whole blighted thing and do it properly'.

Hello Monkton Wyld People —

We used to come on your Family Weeks and they were an enormous help to a tired single mum with 2 little girls. I found this poem which I wrote on a family week because it was so great + we saw dolphins at Charmouth!

Hope you like it and whoever is running them now realizes what a wonderful thing they are doing!

Happy memories + gratitude,

Love,
Charlotte


This place, this place
It’s like staying with the perfect set of grandparents—
Calm and gentle, it cradles you—

It’s in the poplar leaves rustling over happy children’s shouts
In the football field alive with action,
and in the lazy cushioned moments—

It’s in the felt pen notices we soak up every day
“♡You matter far more than any material possessions”
“Thank you for taking care of our water supply!”
Thank you for taking care of us!
For saying to us: Take care of each other
Take care of yourself
Take care of the earth

This place…
You can go barefoot, you can bare your bum,
You can bare your soul, you can just have fun!
This place—It hugs you close, then lets you run free…
It’s like your best ever Granny—
warm and easy, it feeds you
It’s in the magic bottomless ever-filling milk jug,
the scented tea leaves and the comfort of soup—
It’s in the frilly leaves of a petal-starred salad—
Looks like seaweed, tastes of good earth.
It’s in a mum’s embrace and being well fed.
It’s that nice tired feeling when you want your cosy bed.
You can bang your spoon! You can have it with JAM!
You can get away with anything, you know you can.
Only eat it if you like it, you can come back for more
You can get down from the table and go running out the door!

This place—It hugs you close, then lets you free…
It’s like your favourite Grandpa—
Safe and strong, it holds you—
It’s in the old floorboards beneath our feet,
creaky, cool and worn smooth to a dancing beat.
It’s in piano music and the woodsmoke smells,
It’s in a Dad’s high lift and carry
and in the stories he tells…
You can build a fire. You can swing even higher!
You can bang your drum or you can suck your thumb.
This place—it hugs you close, then lets you run free…

It’s like your best friend
It frees you
You can laze in the Meditation Hut
In the glow of candlelight
You can dance or watch, opt out, join in,
or make toast in the middle of the night—

It makes you want to sing: ♫ ♫
♫ Oh it’s such a perfect place, I’m glad I shared it with you!

This place—it hugs you close, then lets you run free…
And now it’s time to let go—what would your perfect set of grandparents give you, for on the way—?
Remember the DOLPHINS—LEAPING JUST FOR JOY—
Joy-- here, take some home with you…
They’ve wrapped some up for you…
Joy-- There’s plenty to go round…
You might need some on the train, or in the car…
Joy-- You’ll need a bit to keep you going until teatime…
Joy-- Remember, don’t wash it all off…
like the sand in the bath…
This place, this place
It’s hugged you close—now you can run free…

Charlotte
7.8.98 Family Week