September brings the start of a new school year, and for James the start of a new school. In our local schools the Infant School (where Matthew is now in Reception) covers years 1 and 2, and the Junior School years 3 to 6. James has a new school uniform, and for the first time a tie. He has to take the tie off for PE and re-tie it himself, although we suspect some shortcuts or some external assistance is enlisted. Many of James' friends from year 2 at Infant School are in his new class so not everything is new, but it is a much larger school and takes James one more step along the way. Last year's "summer project" was redecorating Matthew's room, and we promised James we'd do his room this year. We asked James what he'd like, and after some negotiation agreed on an underwater and island theme. James has an elevated bed, so below the bed is underwater, and above is "land". Malcolm offered / was coerced into painting island shapes with beaches and trees onto the "sky", and we were quite surprised with the overall effect. 10 points to James for the ideas (not that he has ever been slow on ideas). Whilst Malcolm was doing the "land", Bridget did the sea creatures. On the radiator went two dolphins (James' favourite sea creature) and on the other walls were a plesiosaur and James' own design of a Loch Ness monster (inspired from Scotland). There was a little frustration when the bed was fitted since some of the paintings were partly obscured, but resolve set in and they were all repainted so they could be seen properly. Malcolm's boss is Swedish, and although he now lives in the UK he owns a summer cottage about an hour's drive from Stockholm. He retreats there with his family for June and July, but also holds team meetings there once a year. So this September the team went off for three days of work discussions, mushroom picking, cooking, sauna, walking and so on. The weather was beautiful if a little nippy, especially in the outside bunkhouse where we "boys" slept - not to mention the outdoor shower. At least the water was hot. We decided at the start of the summer that we'd try out another local Methodist Church for a year. Our nearest church was suffering from low numbers in the Junior Church, and crucially for the boys, none in their age range attending regularly. So far we've enjoyed the change, and both boys are settling into the new environment and starting to make new friends. Both featured in the Harvest Festival playlet which told the story of the farmer sowing seeds on good and bad soil. James was a bird, eating the seed on stony ground, and Matthew (decked in ivy) played a weed that squeezed a young plant to death. When we visit Malcolm's mum in Salisbury one of our favourite walks is Town Path to West Harnham. It's close to where Malcolm used to live as a boy, and features some of the beautiful views over water meadows towards Salisbury Cathedral, as depicted by Constable in his famous painting. With sheep roaming across the meadows, often sharing with the ducks and swans, this is an area that has a timeless quality about it. May it last for many years to come.