‘Would you like to sit down and rest your legs whilst we wait for Grandpa and Tom?’ I asked three and a half year old Benjamin. ‘I can’t Grandma, I’m too busy’ he replied, as he heaved another large stone onto the pile that I was due to carry to the top of the hill so that he could dam a stream!

We were having a day out with our grandsons at Chatsworth Family Farm. It is a wonderful place where children can see at first hand how animal husbandry really works – and a place where they can learn to hold and look after small animals. (Tom still finds it difficult not to hold them tight round the neck – but he is only fifteen months old)

We climbed to the top of the Farm where there is an imaginative and exciting adventure playground. Child operated Archimedean screws lift water from the stream onto huge sandy play areas – and there are other large-scale devices to move water and sand and to help an understanding of science.

The chief delight for me, however, is to see Ben paddling about in the stream, building dams with rock and sand – soon to be dismantled by some other child who wants the rock for a different purpose. It reminds me of my childhood summers spent in the ‘beck’ at the bottom of the fields my Uncle farmed in Lincolnshire.

It reminds me too that I often get ‘too busy’. Too busy to sit and look at what is all around – at Chatsworth the magnificent parkland stretching away to the rolling peaks of Derbyshire - too busy to ‘play’ – to spend time doing something just because it is fun and not because it needs doing. August at least should be a time for play. It should be a time for resting, for looking around, for doing something different, for recharging our spiritual batteries.

Our day ended in the beautiful rose garden next to the house – we had time to sit on the grass surrounded by roses and lavender hedges and listen to a band. Even our physical tiredness (perhaps exhaustion is a better word!) couldn’t spoil the feeling of total relaxation and renewal.

Often our minds and souls need rest more than our bodies. So whether your summer is spent in Turvey or further afield, try to build in some time for rest and play – after all, even God rested on the seventh day!

Yours in Christ

Jo

All who work in the holiday ‘industry’

All whose lives are dominated by war, violence and injustice – and for whom there can be no holiday.

Those who work in our emergency services.

4^th October – Turvey Lower School Harvest in Church

8^th October – Harvest Supper

We hope there may be a different look to the Harvest Auction and Harvest Supper this year – Watch This Space!

Revd Jo Spray wrote in our May Newsletter, "One of the things I have missed since being in the Parish is a forum where we might share our ideas of what the Christian faith requires of us on our journey – somewhere we can learn from others to help us be better informed about the way forward." I just want to give my support to this venture.

From my experience of being in groups, both at work and at Church, I have seen how valuable they are for fellowship and learning in an informal way. Group members usually gets to know each other well, learn from other people’s ideas and experiences in a relaxed way, and decide on what the group wants to explore and how to go about it. This may be taking a well-used programme, a topic of general interest of Christian importance, but always choosing something the members feel to be beneficial and helpful for discussion. Many Churches now have such groups and I feel sure it is a good way forward for Turvey Church and our growth in faith. I do hope you will feel like joining us.

The Study Group will meet on Monday 15th August at 7:30pm at The Rectory.

David Seaton.

All Saints’ Christian Fellowship – no meetings in July or August.

The July coffee morning hosted by Paul and Rosemary Gentry at 7 The Green was a great success. Thanks to the weather, everyone was able to enjoy the beautiful garden. A big thank you to Paul, Rosemary and Tim and to all who helped with and supported the event, which raised £340 towards church funds.

After a break in August, the coffee mornings resume on 11^th September at the home of Cindy Woods, 9 Carlton Road.

There is no "SEE Round" this month, last month’s was a combined July/August issue.