Twelve Hours

In twelve hours the removal men will be here.

In a little over thirty six hours we will lock the door of this beautiful House of Stories for the last time.

Then on Thursday morning we will wake up in our bright sunny house in lovely Northumberland and start unpacking.

There have been tears and there will be more. Goodbye, and thank you with much love, all you Crossleys and Allisons, Wrathalls and Cansdales and all the rest of you from Auriol to Zack, from tiny Jacob to time-honoured Jim. Goodbye to St Michael's church which has been such a home and family, to Millie's cafe and the ribbon shop. We'll come back and see you. River, Much, I'll miss you. I'll miss the voice of the river and the view of green hills. I can barely think of the garden.

To all of you in the big world, I will soon be writing to you from a happy market town in the land of Great Saints.