2025 certainly had its times of difficulty, sadness - it seemed like lots of people died - and frustration. But as I read back through my diary, I noticed many moments of beauty and joy, too. I was going to pick twelve, one for each month. But after all, I am a baker: you've ended up with an extra moment tucked into the top of the bag for free.
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| photo: Pixabay |
1. Birthday cake in the snow
I'd invited some friends to join us for a snowy walk near Cromford just before my birthday in January. At the top of the hill, my friend Jane produced a birthday cake, candles and all! That was a very special surprise.
2. Barn owl and beautiful music
It was just a regular drive back from my Thursday Bible study meeting, until a barn owl flew across the road in front of me. I slowed down and watched it soar out of sight. As it disappeared, the haunting strains of Peter Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness came on the radio. The ten-minute car journey had become extraordinary.
3. Songs and Sonnets
I'd never even heard of Shakespeare House in Derby, but for £8 a head I figured it was worth a try. So I booked tickets for Graham and me to go to something called Songs and Sonnets. It was excellent. The songs were provided by the immensely talented Derby A Cappella, and were selected to fit with the themes of sonnets recited by equally talented members of the Derby Shakespeare Company. I'd forgotten just how good live performances can be.
4. International Service
Our church has got members from all over the world - Ghana, Sweden, Zimbabwe, Germany, Nigeria, South Africa, and even Wales - so we decided to have a Sunday to celebrate. A group called Shalom Trumpet provided a burst of immersive energy. People shared stories from their different cultures, there were national costumes everywhere, and we finished with half of the ladies in the congregation dancing at the front. It was awesome. Take a look at some of Shalom Trumpet's performance.
5. Bluebells at Felley Priory
A friend recommended these beautiful gardens on the Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border. I coaxed the boys over there during the Easter holidays with the promise that I'd take them to Ikea afterwards. But they enjoyed the garden too. We had a hilarious time on the "difficult" walk to the woods, and got the swathes of bluebells all to ourselves.
6. St John the Baptist, Dethick
It's hard to choose a single beautiful moment from all the churches I've visited. Almost every one has had something special about it. But I think top spot has to go to my hundredth church, the tiny peaceful 13th century building of St John the Baptist, Dethick. That area is one of my favourite places to walk, too.
7. Derwent River Pilgrimage
In June I joined the women of the Derwent Pilgrimage for a short part of their journey from source to mouth of the Derwent River. At the River Gardens, Derby, a local choir arrived and taught us all a song in four-part harmony. Singing by a river on a warm summer evening with a group of total strangers was something rather special. Later in the year, I went to an event at the Ritz Cinema in Belper - the premiere of a short film about the pilgrimage, in which I make a brief appearance at around the five-minute mark. It's now available online.
8. That view on the Limestone Way
It was a great walk. But that view - that was just perfect.
9. Blue skies at Attenborough Nature Reserve
As with churches, so with walks: it's impossible to choose just one beautiful moment. That September morning at Attenborough, when the air was still and the sky and water were a bright polished blue, was definitely one of the many highlights.
10. The Staffordshire Hoard
In 2009, thousands of pieces of Anglo-Saxon gold were discovered near Tamworth. Tamworth Castle has just a few of them on display, and I was fortunate to visit on a quiet Sunday afternoon when I could look at them as long as I liked. They are exquisite. Tiny decorations of gold and garnet which used to adorn swords, with a level of detail you can hardly believe is possible. Photographs were not allowed, but these are some replica pieces, and there are pictures on the Tamworth Castle website.
11. Birds in a tree
One November morning, I stepped out of the back door. Two small birds with badger-striped faces flew into the tree in front of me and hopped around, peeping happily, just a metre away from me. They were long-tailed tits. Not particularly uncommon, but not something I normally see at such close quarters, either. I love the way that just stepping outside can give you a moment of joy.
12. Apple juice
This year, I've been volunteering, a little haphazardly, at Whistlewood Common. The boys and I helped out at their Midsummer Music Festival. On a much colder day, Graham and I went over to help juice some of their abundant harvest of apples. We unwrapped them, chopped them, put them through the hand-cranked scratter to turn them into mush, and then packed them into a muslin bag and squeeeeezed them in the juicer. It was great fun. A very satisfying way to spend an afternoon.
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| photo: Pixabay |
13. A Boxing Day sunset
We'd been for a walk in Shardlow, had a drink in the Clock Warehouse, and were driving back just after sunset. The sky was perfectly clear. The trees and pylons were black silhouettes against the blue-pink bowl of the sky, and it felt for all the world as if we were inside a Jan Pienkowski picture book.
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| photo: Penguin books |
I hope you, too, had some beautiful moments in 2025, and many more to come this year.
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