THANK YOU! Thank you for all your support in so many various ways since we last wrote. So much – to mention a few: kind hospitality, home baked delights, your time, well-being advice; taking things to recycling, fixing and filling; building and clearing to sending encouragements. As I write, the woodland is bursting with life, insects, birds, seed and leaf – the understory obscures the wandering deer and wily fox, and the slowly dying ash canopy is being replaced with hazel, oak and sycamore; elder and hawthorn – with the wild cherry always in competition never too far behind.
Windsor Hill Wood relies on your time, financial generosity and prayers. The aim and impact of the refuge remains true to the original vision – ‘a Christian home offering hospitality, and refuge to people who are finding life difficult; who may be suffering from anxiety, depression, bereavement, addiction issues; maybe homeless; or have lost confidence and need to regain self worth, learn new skills – or anyone in a period of difficulty who would value time away to re-evaluate things until they feel that they are able, once more, to contribute to their community or the wider world.’1
If your time is short and you would like a ‘quick look’ please find us on social media:
A Shout Out to Our Guests
Our great guests have battled on through wind, rain, hail, storm and sun – to grow, tie, mend, chop, cook, invent, feed, tend to, problem solve… They are amazing through the peaks and not so peaks of life– here is a place where, inevitably there comes a point of – ‘The only way on is through2.’ The community here can hold each other up – through tea, great coffee, natural cordials and always creative, tasty food made lovingly – but maybe most of all... just being there. Laughter, frustrations, victories, failures, hope and despair – sounds like life – and here is where you learn to face it, connected with others. Our guests don’t really like being photographed but there is lots to see on insta and fb – go and be nosy.
Fruit of The Spirit
We grow a lot at WHW! And as you know we have a Thought For The Day at 9am and our focus for the last six weeks has been the Fruit of The Spirit – Fruit that we can’t grow without God’s help! …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.3 We are in Faithfulness this week and our thought was quite massive today: …faith is being certain of what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see4. And ‘Faith is a gift5.’ And it can be as small as a mustard seed6 – so let it grow! Our chapel times have moved to after lunch – all are welcome of any faith or none yet, often we simply sit in silence and listen to the ever-changing sounds in the wood.
Our optional, but popular, varied and creative bible studies continue on Monday evenings.
2 Robert Frost, American poet
3 Galatians 5.22-23b
4 Hebrews 11.1
5 Ephesians 2.8c
6 Matthew 17.20
The Hime family at Grace’s final year textile-design degree show at Chelsea College of Art, London. Emmanuel now 6’4” – told you he was good at being tall.
What else has been happening – life in the woods remains challenging and fully full on, we now, however, have a new Assistant Warden to take some of the load – Lisselle, who has thrown herself into social media posts, the poly-tunnel, baking, making, creating, cooking, labelling, pyrography-ironing, treasure hunting… Not a lot she can’t do really... And she enables us to have a day off a week and holidays and high days – it’s great to have her on the team.
The busyness remains constant though – but in that, I still like to think of one of the quotes of the guests, a quote similar to many guests since the beginning of WHW, and that it is the most startling truth worth repeating again in this letter:
‘This place has saved my life. Simply that.’
The future and 2024. The vision of holding the place through winter and into spring has come to pass, and summer
will soon be over as we head back into the ochres of autumn. A great deal has been accomplished some, yet to be
finished, but lots to celebrate:
The Woodland Retreat is coming on amazingly – it’ll be warm and fully functional in time.
Ethernet cable is in
Electric and water laid down underground
The biomass building is completed to amazing spec
The main log store is extended by two extra bays (over 65% previous capacity)
New pond fence is nearly completed
Dead ash trees around ‘Holly & Hawthorn’ forest school are nearly all down – eight to go
The team at WHW is so grateful to all the many volunteers that come on a Wednesday afternoon that have made,
baked, cooked full meals, shifted, sorted, lifted, felled trees, chopped wood, drank tea, eaten biscuits – and been a
total integral part of the fabric of so much that is helpful, thank you for all that you give – you give us a boost!
Potential New Projects k Things to Do:
Totally revamp, the chicken, goat and duck enclosure
Build seven more log stores in order to rotate the woodland on two-year cycle.
Cross-cut and roll rounds for splitting at Rock Farm to WHW
Fell more trees
Coppice the wood
Make (and sell again?) our own charcoal
Bring back woodland ways crafts
And has anyone got a spare pick-up they can give us? Yes, the red-pickup has finally given up after 12 long
extended years of its life.
Make forest steps in the woodland
So, as ever, there is a lot to do but it is all worth the while. If you can help please email: contact@windsorhillwood.co.uk
Hope to see you soon!
Tobes & Hez, Lisselle, and all at Windsor Hill Wood
Windsor Hill Wood Sort code: 30-99-29 Acc.No: 24939960 Overseas BIC: LOYDGB21398 IBAN: GB97 LOYD 3099 2924 9399 60
Donations go towards: Guest therapy, hospitality, renovations – exciting plans coming up for 2024, 2025 - give here or please ask us for more information. We are happy to arrange a visit and a tour with a cup of welcome.
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