No, I'm not trying to outdo the nature writers in The Beacon magazine, I just wanted to write something upbeat for a change, instead of always moaning about how busy I am. I will just say, however, that Carol has not been well this last week and has been confined to bed mostly. This has meant that I have been able to take over the voyage of discovery that is called cooking. I learned once before, when I first retired and Carol was still working (she is much younger than me) that the actual cooking is the easy part. It is the deciding what to have and then the shopping that takes it out of one. It's simple once or twice, but day in, day out, week after week, that grinds you down. Hopefully Carol will come to my rescue before we reach that stage this time.

For the last few months, I have been feeling the need for a change on this site. This May edition marks the end of three years publishing this site. When I first started, it was more of an idea, a challenge to produce a local website for our area, which would give a voice to the residents and allow the rest of the world to see what a lovely place it is. I have come to realise that most people have better things to do than look at a local website, unless maybe they are looking for a vacation spot. It was also a conceit to imagine that I could cover the activities of such an active locality on my own or that many others would want to contribute. Today's Monthly journal is therefore the last I will still publish anything submitted but will work out a new format before June.

pete