October 2020 Sponsored by Patricia Harrison

11th October: Harvest DedicationYou are invited to bring gifts for the Foodbank to StMary’s on Sunday 11th October ahead of a briefdedication at 10.45am. In these times there is an evengreater need for foodbanks so your gifts will be mostgratefully received by the Salvation Army Foodbank inPenrith. Please comply with the necessary COVID19protocol by wearing a face mask and social distancingat all times. If you can’t attend the service but have agift then please contact Richard Dixon on 01697473544 or 07720067283 and he will collect from youon Saturday 10th October.14th October: St Mary’s APCMYou are invited to attend the Annual Parochial ChurchMeeting to be held in St Mary’s on Wednesday 14thOctober at 6pm. If you are attending then pleasecomply with the COVID19 protocol. If you are unableto attend but still wish to take part then please let Benknow so that he can arrange Zoom or telephoneaccess. Contact Ben on vicarindalston@gmail.com.25th October: Holy CommunionThere will be a service of Holy Communion in StMary’s at 11.15am on Sunday 25th October. Theformat will be as per the September CommunionServices and will follow the COVID 19 protocol.Be Grateful!Be grateful! That is not always what we want to hear,particularly when everything around us is going topot. Being told to "Count your blessings" can, at times,

seem rather sanctimonious. The Apostle Paul said thathe had learnt to be content in all circumstances and helived through quite a lot. His instruction for life was;"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in allcircumstances; for this is God’s will for you in ChristJesus." 1 Thess 5.16-18

So, I give thanks. I give thanks that I have aloving heavenly father that forgives me, I give thanksfor my loving church communities which nurture meand my family. I give thanks for my wife and children.I give thanks for my home and garden. I give thanksthat I live in the best county in Britain and that ourcountry is blessed with civilised systems of justice andgovernment. I give thanks that I get to swim inBassenthwaite and climb the fells!

If my list goes on I suppose eventually it mysound like gloating, but that was not Paul's point. Paulhad been shipwrecked, persecuted, imprisoned andbeaten. His point was that no matter what happens wehave something to be grateful for; that our creator Godis willing to redeem us. And if we hold to thatknowledge it fundamentally changes our perspectiveon all the problems of life.

One way to show gratitude is to give to others,to mark Harvest this year we are encouraging all thevillage to give to our foodbank. They are currentlyexperiencing a shortfall so please deliver your gift to StMary’s just ahead of the Harvest Dedication service at10.45am on 11th October. I hope you can find manythings to be thankful for. God bless. Ben

Chosen by Joanne Bird

Thank You from Cynthia ClaytonThere are times when words seem woefullyinadequate, but - as this newsletter’s theme is “ThankYou!” - I would like to take this opportunity toexpress my gratitude to Sheryl Haw for herexceptional assistance while Brian was in hospital.She will never know just what her efforts andunderstanding meant to me during some of the mostdifficult days of my life. If ever there was apersonification of the word “angel” - it was you,Sheryl. Thank you for all that you are.

Thank You from Kath HalfpennyThank you for:the communicationthe informationthe listingsthe alphabetthe people profilesthe photosthe poemsthe sayingsthe recipesthe ideas........the newsletterThank you Raymond

Gratitude by Veronika RobinsonBefore I open my eyes each morning, I affirm:

. This expression ofthankfulness sets the tone for the day ahead.

Giving thanks comes naturally to me. Just as Itype this, I see the van driving in to deliver my weeklyorganic fruit and vegetable boxes. I instantly smile,and my heart feels glad. Earlier, I walkedin from my daily swim to discover a bunch of flowersa friend had sent to congratulate me on completingmy Masters degree. It’s only half way through theday, and I’ve said ‘thank you’ countless times. Agrateful heart creates an attractive vibration that actslike a magnetic force for even more experiences to bethankful for.

Interestingly, I was never the sort of mother toforce her children to learn manners by insisting mygirls said “please” or “thank you”. Instead, Imodelled gratitude. As a result, their expressions ofgratefulness come straight from the heart rather thanby rote or because of expectations.

The vibrational energy of gratitude, and theresulting internal shifts, can be life changing. In myexperience, it has moved me from various states ofinertia, frustration or fear and into blissful flow.

My gratitude journal from the last six monthsof 1998 reads like I lived a charmed life. Each day, I’d

write down at least five things I was grateful for.Usually, I could write twenty or more things. Buthere’s the truth: those six months were amongst thetoughest of my life. Instead of focussing on what wasgoing wrong, on what I didn’t have or whatexperiences were lacking from life, I kept my heartfocussed on all the good around me. Since that time,I’ve kept gratitude journals off and on. Mostly, I don’tneed to write things down now because I spend mostof my day simply having an internal dialogue thatsounds something like this:I am so grateful for my beautiful life.I am so grateful for my comfortable bed.I am so grateful for my garden.I am so grateful for my daughters (& granddaughter).I am so grateful for my lovely friends.I am so grateful for my loving relationship.I am so grateful to have work I enjoy.I am grateful for this new day.I am grateful for the sunrise/sunset.I am so grateful for the red robin at the bird bath.I am grateful for the delicious jam my neighbourgave me.I am grateful for the bags and bags of apples frompeople in the village so I can make preserves.

All day long. Every day. That’s how the storyof gratitude plays out within me. Instead of spendingtime being anxious (and 2020 has surely handed outplatter after platter of anxiety-laced restrictions totest the most positive amongst us), I simply givethanks.Each day I go swimming for fifty minutes. Everymoment of that time is spent giving thanks, whetherit’s for the luxury of swimming in warm water in abeautiful environment or for the wonderful newclients I am attracting into my life. I give thanks formy health. Research has shown just the act ofsearching for something to be grateful for has abeneficial effect on the mind.

I’ve learnt gratitude can work in two ways.One is as above: giving thanks for what I alreadyhave. The other way of working with gratitude is togive thanks for something you don’t yet have butwould like to have. For example, I am grateful to behealthy and healed. By bringing it into the presentmoment, I am feeding my subconscious informationthat is far more conducive to wellbeing than if I wereto moan about an underlying illness and the stressand discomfort it causes. Likewise, I don’t know whofuture clients, students or readers of my work will be,but I give thanks as if I already have them.

When I am expressing gratitude, I imaginemy heart smiling right out across my chest. Try it!The ‘heart smile’ takes but a moment, and can bedone anywhere and anytime, and will leave youfeeling great! The vibration within our body literallychanges. When we marry thought with feeling, wecreate and handcraft our life more consciously.

Genuine gratitude always comes from theheart. It’s a force as powerful, beautiful, liberating,and life enhancing as love.

21st October: Apple DayApple Day is both a celebration and a demonstrationof the variety we are in danger of losing, not simplyin apples, but in the richness and diversity oflandscape, ecology and culture too. It has also playeda part in raising awareness in the provenance andtraceability of food. And if you have an abundance ofapples then here are three tempting recipes.

From Shaun the Half ‘Naked Chef’ PennyServes 5-6 people

1.5 pounds diced pork1 large onion chopped roughly1 stick celery, peeled & chopped into 1cm chunks2 medium carrots, peeled & chopped into 2cmchunks3-4 firm, sweet apples, peeled & sliced into segments1 large leek, cleaned & sliced into 2cm chunks1 good tablespoon of plain flour1 teaspoon of coarse ground black peppersalt to taste5-6 sage leaves, chopped5-6 bay leaves, fresh if possible4 large cloves garlic, peeled & chopped finely1 good tablespoon of thyme, or fresh 5-6 sprigs1 large can of good cider or your own apple juice1 pint of chicken stockOlive oil1 good tablespoon of Worcester SauceTwo tablespoons of tomato puree

1 tin of small black beans, washed or, if you're reallyon top of your game, pre-soak some dried ones thenight before, for at least 12 hours and then rinse andif you don't want to risk poisoning anyone with ricin,cook them well before adding them to the dish.

Pour sufficient oil into a large heavy casserole dishand fry the pork on a high heat until it colours darkbrown and caramelises. Set aside.Fry the chopped onions, celery and carrots until theycaramelise. Set aside.Fry the apple slices and leek chunks until theycaramelise.Finely chop the sage leaves and garlic together.Place all these ingredients together back into thecasserole dish. Add the tablespoon of flour and stirwell. It will look horrible at this stage.Pour in the cider and continue heating until it boils,then add the stock, Worcester Sauce, tomato puree,thyme and black beans. Stir the ingredients well.Place a tight fitting lid on the casserole and place inthe oven on a very low heat (Gas mark 1 to 2) for 3hours. Check after 1 and then 2 hours that there issufficient liquid in the dish and top up with water ifnecessary. If you're lucky enough to have an AGA,place the casserole in the simmering oven for 3 hours.There should be no need to top it up in this case.Read a book.Remove from oven and fish out any woody thyme andbay leaves and discard.Serve with creamed potatoes and green vegetables ofyour choice. I guarantee you will think it is mostdelicious casserole you have ever eaten. The applesgive the dish a terrific flavour. You could use more ifyou wish. The bigger the segments the more likely theapple is to survive in one piece.A couple of glasses of Cote de Rhone will go downwell as an accompaniment.Vegetarians can just leave out the pork meat andsubstitute vegetable stock for the chicken.Fill yer boots!

Kath Halfpenny says that this is a favourite dessert,which never fails to please.

750g cooking apples, peeled & sliced + sugar, totaste. The amount of sugar depends on the tartnessof the apples used - try 75-100g100g margarine or butter at room temperature2 eggs, beaten100g sugar100g ground almonds

Stew the apples and sugar until just beginning to getsoft, and place in an ovenproof dish.Cream fat and sugar and beat in the almonds andeggs, and spread on top of apples.Bake at 180C/350F/gas4 for 30 minutes or until thetop has browned.Delicious served hot or cold with double cream.

One of Sally Budd’s favourites.Serves 4-6

1kg Bramley apples, peeled & cored30g butter125g soft white breadcrumbs100g light soft brown sugar100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped75g butter, melted3 heaped tbsp golden syrup

Cut the apples into large chunks, put them in a panand toss with the butter and a couple of tablespoonsof water over a moderate heat. When the apples startto soften but are still keeping their shape, tip theminto a 1.5 litre baking dish.Mix the crumbs, sugar and chocolate and cover theapples loosely with the mixture. Melt the butter withthe golden syrup in a small saucepan, then pour itover the crumbs, making certain to soak them all.Bake in an oven preheated to 190ºC for 35 mins, tillthe apple is soft and the crumbs are golden and crisp.

Beautiful Old Age by D H LawrenceChosen by Helen Weston

It ought to be lovely to be oldto be full of the peace that comes of experienceand wrinkled ripe fulfilment.

The wrinkled smile of completeness that follows a lifelived undaunted and unsoured with accepted lies.If people lived without accepting liesthey would ripen like apples, and be scented like pippinsin their old age.

Soothing, old people should be, like appleswhen one is tired of love.Fragrant like yellowing leaves, and dim with the softstillness and satisfaction of autumn.

And a girl should say:It must be wonderful to live and grow old.Look at my mother, how rich and still she is!

And a young man should think: By Jovemy father has faced all weathers, but it's been a life!

Malcolm FlynnIt was with sadness that we heard of the death ofMalcolm Flynn. Our thoughts and prayers are withWendy and with Malcolm’s family.

NovemberNewsletter:Remember,rememberJust as October is a time to say thank you, soNovember is a time to remember. If you have anymemories of Wreay and the surrounding area thatyou would like to share then send them to me atraymondwhittaker53@gmail.com by 20th Octoberand I will include them in the November edition.

I add my thanks to all who contribute to thenewsletter and make it such a lively read.

And just in case you were wondering here isthe key for the different languages saying thank you!

Raymond

In the fading of the summer sun,the shortening of days,cooling breeze,swallows' flightand moonlight rays

We see the Creator’s hand

In the browning of leaves once green,morning mists,autumn chill,fruit that falls,frost's first kiss

We see the Creator’s hand