I spent a day which was much more tiring that its contents would seem to suggest. All Sharon and I had to do was teach the new Our Secret Garden workshop with 35 KS1 children producing 4 wall hangings based on leaf and flower shapes from the walled garden. It's a new workshop and there are still some kinks to iron out, but it works pretty well, and there were thirty-four happy children at the end of it, plus one little girl who had scowled ferociously from start to finish and alone did not put up her hand for either enjoying the day or liking the end product. (I got the impression that the class teacher was keeping a special eye on her and that there was probably something seriously wrong in her world.)

At 7.30 there was a meeting for the churchwardens of the Swallow Group of Parishes. There should have been 18 of us there - 14 churchwrdens, 1 group secretary, 1 group treasurer and 2 priests: however Ian, the Rural Dean, couldn't make it, so John, the other parish priest, took the chair, and it was attended by the secretary and 5 churchwardens from 4 of the seven parishes (only Swallow producing its full quota of two).

Admittedly Stuart, the group treasurer may have been a touch preoccupied as a lorry carrying hay bales had had an altercation with a powerline just next to his house and exploded and burst into flames. Two of the churchwardens had had to park in Beelsby Road and walk from there, and those who had to come by Cuxwold Road may well have turned back when they found the road closed. Fortunately the driver escaped with minor burns, but Stuart's neighbour is reported to have lost both hedge and garage and the fire brigade had to work really hard to stop the flames spreading to the four nearest houses - including Stuart's.
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I went into the village today to thank Kath for leaving out the refreshments and explain that we hadn't used them as the meeting was too short to bother with a tea break. I got to Kath's all right, but the road to Cuxwold was still closed at noon - seventeen hours after the incident began.

Sunday (6 days later)

The road is now repaired and open. I saw no sign of the reported burned garage, but the two last houses in the village have lost their front hedges, and the tree opposite has taken a hammering. But the Browns (Stuart afore mentioned) and the Chungs seem to have escaped unscathed.