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Brother John writes in the Summer Bulletin 2023 from the Monastery of Christ Our Saviour, in Turvey, Bedfordshire.

It's time to get this printed before autumn takes over. We're having some beautiful warm days again but if it's High Summer it's also early autumn with the last of the wheat being harvested but the blackberries also in full swing and apples already falling in our wonderful monastic garden. Time to take stock before we plunge into what looks to be a very busy last few months of the year.

We've had a steady flow of guests, both individuals and groups, and, as, ever of an amazing variety.

Marie has started a series of lectio sessions which look set to prosper. Johan continues with her series of creative days, always fully booked. Mandy put on a special day of clay work in memory of Br Herbert. We've been trying to track down his special ash glaze to make the final product look more authentic. A quick glance in the kiln this morning seems to have produced the desired result.

Denise and William continue to cultivate the 'less wild' parts of the walled garden with great success. There's a flow of beans, potatoes, courgettes and cucumbers to keep us going and chard and cabbages for the winter.

Two good friends of many years came to put up nets one morning to ring the birds. We caught a few but the wind blew and the sun came out and most were wise to the nets and flew over. We'll try again.

All Saints were invited for an afternoon tea and tour of the gardens and came in their droves despite it also being the mens' singles final at Wimbledon. Thank you Carol for all the organising. We repeated the exercise for the feast of Bernard Tolomei and were again rewarded with a splendid repast and plenty of takers, or, better, 'givers' as it was a shared meal. Thank you Marie this time for all the organising. It also happened to be my twin brother's 70th birthday so we celebrated that too. Thank you Pat for the marvellous cake decorated with 72 individually crafted birds including an extra two for luck (she didn't want to leave them- out in good monastic fashion).

I've just swallowed the Golden Eagle. Several former inmates also came to visit over the summer, including Stan, from the time of Dom Edmund, and Olive from the time of Mother Lucia. Ex-Br. Michael also came with his wife Helen. And Mike a former postulant. So there were lots of memories to revisit and perhaps some form of closure for us all.

Closure by the way is not on the immediate horizon but I'll know more after Abbot Mark-Ephrem visits in the autumn. At the moment it's thrilling to see the monastery being used by such a variety of people: from the rich to the very poor.

The natural world follows its inevitable cycle, or, better perhaps, its increasingly unstable cycle as global warming takes a hold. Fortunately, we've been north of the jet stream recently with reasonable temperatures and a mix of rain and sunshine keeping the vegetation green and the birds and bees busy. There's been a good run of butterflies through the garden including a Silver-washed Fritillary and a Purple Hairstreak feeding on bramble flowers and our new 'meadow' has already attracted Brown Argus, Common Blue, Small Heath and both Large and Small Skippers as well as hosting what I think is a Twiggy Mullein (as flamboyant a music-hall character as they come). Scarlet Tiger moths were also present but in fewer numbers than previous years and totally outshone by the reappearance of a Jersey Tiger. Box Moths have also been seen for the first time and this doesn't bode well for our historic box hedges - it can lead to total destruction, but we'll do what we can. Emperor Moth caterpillars also reappeared feeding on bramble leaves but a male Blackbird soon found them and came hopping up the path one day with one in its bill for all the world seeming to say 'Look what I've got'. It did the same the day after but I found a caterpillar in another 'wild- bed' and hope some will survive.

There's been a series of warblers passing through and feeding up on both blackberries and elderberries before departing for warmer climes. These have included many Blackcap and both Lesser and Common Whitethroat. Bullfinches have been after the many Honeysuckle seeds and a Marsh Tit visited the lichen-covered Cox's apple tree on several occasions.

Best of all, a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher hunted for insects within a few feet of me from the same tree.

The latest news on the area of set-a side at Strawberry Hill Farm just north of us is that Turtle Doves are just about hanging on but Nightingales are flourishing, with up to thirty heard singing there this year. The Wildlife Trust still needs to raise several million to secure the site and I was asked to help with a promotional video, which could go either way of course.

Br John

LINK

Monastery of Christ our Saviour: www.turveymonks.org.uk