This email is to tell you that nothing has happened in the fields so far this year and that I am still in the land of the living and raring to go, despite two bouts of a particularly vicious `flu!

Being of an optimistic nature, and due to the fact that we had such a wonderfully warm and sunny day on Saturday, I decided that the time had come to check my cameras and charge their batteries in anticipation of some great event.

Surely this must have been one of the longest winters ever? At least, that is how it seems to me. Just when we think that spring has sprung, along comes another batch of snow!

This wonderful image of Silbury Hill and its surrounding countryside was taken by Simon Young on Sunday 18th March this year. It illustrates winter in all its wonder and I understand that he battled the freezing wind and snow to climb all the way up to the top of Waden Hill to look down to take this fantastic picture. Freezing, but my goodness it was worth it!

In order to assess what is happening in the fields, I chatted to a farmer this morning who tells me that nature has a marvellous way of adjusting itself, and as the weather forecast is for the mid 20’s Centigrade this week, the crops may suddenly start shooting up quickly.

If you would like to come on either of my summer crop circle tours, please remember to book as soon as you can. The first one, with the optional extra of a wonderful private evening entry to Stonehenge taking us right up to the stones, is on the 24th of July. The second tour, on the 1st of August, has the optional extra of flying over the circles after the tour. This is a fabulous way of seeing the circles from the air and includes flying over the famous Silbury Hill and the ancient Avebury stone complex. Both tours are filling up.

If you would like to share one of my helicopter flights please let me know. They often happen at quite short notice as I never know when a circle is going to appear. It is an experience of a lifetime and something you will never forget. I will write to you as soon as anything exciting happens.

My love and all best wishes,
Lucy

Have you ever found that weeks can seem to have disappeared from your life?

This is exactly what has happened to me in January and I will try and explain how and why.

I spent the most joyous Christmas at home with my elder son arriving first from Sydney, and my younger son and family coming from Bangkok later.

I had spent quite a lot of time preparing for a full household and also thinking about what everyone might like to do during the short seven days that my younger son Angus and his family were here from Thailand. Elder son Sloane was over until the 18th January — a wonderful added bonus.

The Bangkok contingent arrived on the 23rd December, Alice’s 18th birthday — great excitement despite jet lag — we started off decorating the Christmas tree before Alice opened her presents and then devouring a scrumptious celebratory chocolate birthday cake. Ever since my two sons were young, the Womble candle holders have taken pride of place and they did yet again, coming out of their special container. Wise Great Uncle Bulgaria, Handyman Tobermory, Chef Madame Cholet and the lazy and rather naughty Orinoco all found their places on the icing. I don’t know where the others have gone. Polar bears also joined the Wombles.

The next day was Christmas Eve and final present wrapping etc. as the excitement increased. Cooking preparations were the order of the day for me - such a stuffing the turkey and preparing as much in advance as possible. Everyone mucked in and the kitchen was abuzz.

I produced a wooden Wentworth jigsaw puzzle; a difficult one of the crop circle called the 2002 Druid’s Knot which remained unfinished despite all combined family efforts. This formation was one of the most energetic I have ever visited and it wreaked havoc not only with a Norwegian TV team’s camera equipment (they said it had never happened to them before) but also wiped clean the hard drive on Dr Roger Taylor’s computer during our Scientific Research Day experiments.

A costly repair, but the diagram below shows the electrical spike that probably caused this disaster.

Shopping on Boxing Day, much to the grandchildren’s delight, and good buys to be had particularly for things that are not available in Thailand and then, joy of joys, we woke up to snow the following morning.

I am keen on instilling a bit of culture, so as I live close to Winchester, a visit to the Cathedral was the obvious choice. The cathedral is magnificent and renowned for its splendid Gothic architecture. The original building dates to 642 and site lies just to the north of the present cathedral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Cathedral

This photograph shows the extraordinary ceiling work, almost resembling the skeletal structure of the inside of a whale, running along the whole nave length of the cathedral.

The Crypt is one of my favourite places in the cathedral and contains a beautiful sculpture of a man by Antony Gormley. The Crypt is only open if no services are being held. Often the water laps right up the leg of the man but despite all the recent rain the water table must be currently very low. It is place of immense calm.

We also saw one of the most beautiful illuminated bibles, (kept safely under lock and key in a glass case) that I have ever seen. When one thinks of the cramped and limiting conditions under which the scribes and monks were working in in those days, using candles, the sheer beauty and artwork becomes even more impressive. Dating back to the 12th century, it is one of the oldest surviving English Bibles. We are told that a single scribe worked on the Latin Text but that several monks performed the exquisite artwork. It was clearly a work of great significance and no expense was spared as gold leaf and the costly lapis lazuli were used in its production.

The grandchildren are getting older, and it is such a joy for me to see them eager and interested in soaking up new information and visiting places that might not have held such interest and appeal to them a few years ago. A wonderful day much enjoyed by us all and despite having visited this cathedral many, many times, I am continuously struck by its sense of wondrous peace and welcome.

Sadly, the time went all too fast and Angus and his lovey family departed on the 30th December. After a wonderful New Year’s party to welcome in 2018, I was struck down by one of the many infections that are currently circulating and since then the whole month seems to have disappeared in a haze. Being reduced to having to go to bed is not my thing but sometimes it just has to be. I am normally so fit and well, and I am told that often we are the ones to go down the hardest when hit by something as virulent as mine. Still suffering from extreme tiredness, I wanted to send you a brief message that I am well on my way to full recovery and feeling cheered that the planet Jupiter is in all our astrological houses this coming year. To me it is a planet of expansion, love and opportunities.

A brief mention that my calendar is still available and selling well, and that the dates are my crop circle tours this coming summer are as follows:

Please book early as tickets are limited

Tuesday 24th July Crop Circle Tour
24th July evening Private Entry Visit to Stonehenge

It is a mystically wonderful experience to see the sun set over the stones and feel the magic of this ancient place.

Wednesday 1st August Crop Circle Tour which has an optional extra of flying over the circles

This is an incredible way of seeing circles in all their majesty from the air, together with the surrounding countryside, which depending on where the circles are, might include flying over the famous stone complex at Avebury and the sacred Silbury Hill, the largest man-made hill in Europe.
I also take a few private tours at different dates as requested.

The Christmas lights have been turned on in Petersfield the little market town close to where I live, and so I know that Christmas is definitely not far off.

I knew that my village was extremely old dating back to Roman times, but I had no idea that Petersfield was really old at all, so it came as quite a surprise when I looked it up and found that it was 'founded during the 12th century by William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, later chartered by his widow, Hawise de Beaumont, and confirmed by charter in 1198 from "John, Count of Mortain" (later to be King John). In 1415 King Henry V granted the burgesses of Petersfield freedom from toll, stallage, picage, pannage, murage, and pontage throughout the realm of England. All charters are preserved in the archive files at Petersfield Town Council.'

There are also burial mounds on Petersfield Heath which may be up to 4,000 years old; their distribution being mainly to the east and south east of the Heath. There are 21 known burial mounds - otherwise known as barrows - 15 Bowl Barrows, 4 Saucer Barrows, 1 Disc Barrow with 2 tumps and 1 Bell Barrow. They form one of the largest and best preserved barrow cemeteries in the South of England.

Careful archaeological excavations have been conducted recently and a significant ancient artefact was discovered, which is considered to be the best example of its kind ever found in England. It is a burial urn, complete and undamaged dating back to 1800 BC. It is 50cm high and 30cm across. It was scanned at Salisbury Hospital to ascertain its contents, and cremated remains were found inside. Other broken urns were also found. They can be seen in Petersfield Museum.

The excavations will continue next summer and our expectations are high.

I will tell you more about Petersfield in another letter.

One of the reasons I am writing to you is to let you know that the last mailing will soon be upon us. However, please don’t worry too much as I will be posting calendars and other wonderful goods from my web site right up until Christmas and afterwards. To make sure that you get your orders, please place them as soon as possible.

I will write you another very short message before Christmas.

Yesterday we heard the good news about Price Harry and Meghan Markle. I am thrilled to bits and so glad that Harry has found happiness at last and Meghan seems a lovely girl and up to scratch for the royal job.

Now is the time of year for wondrous autumn colours and roasted chestnuts and snuggling up in front of the fires as the days draw in. Many people find this time of year depressing but I think I must be lucky, as to me, it has a beauty and quality all of its own. It is time of putting the garden to bed, of putting on extra clothes and for shuffling with and kicking up the leaves as one walks along. For seeing the sun glinting through the golden leaves in a splendid firework display of glorious colour. For watching the birds come to the feeders and delicately picking up each seed before flying away and then returning for more.

And for the short time the berries are on the trees before the birds have their annual feast.

Early one morning I took a silhouette picture of a pigeon sitting in a nearby tree gazing maybe in contemplation towards the rising sun.

About a week ago, I visited a wonderful place called the Winkworth Arboretum, Near Godalming in Surrey https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/winkworth-arboretum not too far from where I live. It started off as being a glorious sunny Sunday morning but sadly the clouds soon appeared so any good photography of the amazing selection of wondrous autumn colours and the lake soon faded and any hopes of stunning pictures were dashed. However I did manage to get a couple of pictures of glorious acers both in soft focus due to a strong wind.

As I write this I am also reminded of Christmas presents. I try and buy mine over the period of the year as if I see anything that might be just exactly what someone might like, I buy it then and there; but there are always the difficult ones and so may I suggest you take a good look at all my unique goods which can suit nearly all ages; most especially my wonderful 2018 Crop Circle calendar with a thought provoking quotations for each month and containing stunning pictures of this year’s best circles. It is selling very fast as always.

I will write again next month to give you more news.

With love and best wishes

Lucy

When one thinks of Halloween, we tend to think of tricks, treats and scary monsters; when maybe should take a look at the history behind this festival.

It is suggested that we consider Christian worship and practises dating back to pagan times and pagan festivals, when it is thought the origin dated back to the Celts who lived 2,000 years ago in Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, and who celebrated the pagan festival of Samhain, meaning 'Summer's End' which was celebrated at the end of the harvest season. France, celebrated their new year on November 1st.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest, and was the beginning of the dark, cold winter; a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

It is interesting how this festival is viewed in other time periods and different countries - again going back to ancient times the ‘Gaels believed that it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through, come back to life on the day and damage their crops. Places were set at the dinner table to appease and welcome the spirits. Gaels would also offer food and drink, and light bonfires to ward off the evil spirits.’

However, the Christian origin of the holiday is because it falls on the days before the feast of All Hallows, which was set in the eighth century to attempt to stamp out pagan celebrations. Christians would honour saints and pray for souls who have not yet reached heaven.

Warding off evil spirits has always been part of a universal tradition and the Celts dressed up in white with blackened faces during the festival of Samhain in order to trick the evil spirits which they believed would be roaming the earth before All Saints' Day on November 1st.

Moving into the 11th century - clad as angels, demons or saints - children would go from door to door asking for cakes in exchange for praying for the souls of departed people in order that they should be released from purgatory. The cakes were marked with a cross on the top. This would appear to be the origin of the Trick and Treat custom that we see today.

We tend to think of pumpkins as being a modern introduction but in fact the carving of pumpkins originates again from the Samhain festival, when Gaels would decorate the pumpkins in order to protect their houses from invading and unwelcome faeries or spirits.

The origin of bonfires dates back to the time of the Druids who dressed in costumes such as animal heads and skins and who built enormous fires to honour the event. Crops were burnt and animals were sacrificed to appease the deities.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

Apart from America and Europe, more distant countries such as Czechoslovakia, Austria, Japan, and Manilla (Philippines) all have their traditional customs of celebrating this ancient event.

Please don’t forget to order your 2018 calendars. They are very popular and the orders are coming in fast.

Also, please do take a look at the other exciting goods on my web site which could help you solve your Christmas present worries for all members of the family, such as the famous wooden Wentworth wooden jigsaw puzzles, the magic cubes (always a favourite) and other super goods. I have also just introduced a new item, a wonderful ET Mouse Mat.

With my love and blessings

Lucy

As I sit down to write to you, I just wanted to tell you that I DID remember to say ‘rabbits’ this morning as it is the 1st of September, the beginning meteorologically the first day of autumn. As a child I was taught that on the first of every month, before you spoke to anyone, it was lucky to say either ‘rabbits’ or ‘hares’ depending on whether there was an ‘r’ in the month or not. I forget now which was which, so I said both this morning just to be on the safe side.

The crop circle season appears to have come to an end and a rather abrupt end it seems, with a final fling, a complex and elaborate event containing as yet undeciphered hieroglyphics at Rochford, Essex. Sadly, I could not fly over it as the cost was beyond my purse. The last one I flew over was the Wooton Waven circle which appeared on the 7th of August.

My Canon camera lens with autofocus and stabiliser had thankfully just come back from being repaired, but sadly it still would not focus properly so had to be returned yet again - it still is not right. I drove up to Wellesbourne in Warwickshire where HeliAir have their head office. It was a glorious morning, one of the few sunny days we have had this summer. As we will fly low, if conditions permit, the airfield have to notify and get permission from the police before taking off. I flew with a pilot with whom I had flown several years ago, so it was good to renew our acquaintance. Unlike the pilots at Thruxton, where I sit beside them in front with my door off, he liked me to sit behind him so that he could be on the same side and be able to put me in the right spot; but that presented a bit of a problem to start with as all I could see was his back!!! However, we sorted that out and all was well, and as there was no-one in the circle, or any animals anywhere, we were able to hover very low; which is always a huge help and a great excitement.

Wooton Waven has a very ancient church dating back to the 7th century and well worth a visit. The original building was probably of wood and thatch, but a stone building was soon built to replace it and survived the probable depredations of the Vikings. We don’t know the date of the Saxon tower base that forms part of the current church.

Wooton Waven is also very close to a very small tranquil village called Alveston, tucked away in the country where I lived for several years as a teenager with my parents and sister. It is close to Stratford on Avon and we were right on the doorstep of the wonderful Shakespeare plays. I remember punting on the River Avon and also visiting Charlecote, a splendid and rather grand 16th century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, Warwickshire.

So what sort of crop circle season has it been? We have certainly had fewer circles than for some years, and indeed I have been reliably informed that the last time we had so few was back in 1973. It is hard to conjecture why; is this a waning phenomenon - who knows? However, we have had some special ones amongst the few and I will write more about them in my annual article in the spring.

Since I last wrote to you we have had the yearly scientific research day. The results have not come back yet so those again will go into my annual article. It takes a long time to compare and analyse them properly and accurately.

I have also been working hard on the new 2018 crop circle calendar which hopefully will be ready by the end of September/beginning of October. I do hope you will like it.