Blog - Gillian Monks

Not My Bunny!

On April 4, 2026

Although we have hares at Cae Non, none would agree to pose for me, so here is a model, along with some of my Easter baking yesterday.

What on earth has a rabbit got to do with Easter – or springtime? The answer is absolutely nothing! It is not a rabbit which is associated with Easter but the magical, sacred Hare – which is physically quite distinctive from its similar-looking but much smaller cousin. Unlike the rabbit, the Hare has a long tradition of featuring in various spiritual belief systems all around the world and throughout history, and is not merely a pretty character enacting a game just for children.

In many ancient cultures the Hare was regarded as a mystical animal linked to the Moon. As the cycles of the Moon rule the Earth’s waters, and also influence the female reproductive cycle, so the Hare became an archetypal symbol of the divine feminine, fertility, longevity, rebirth and the lunar cycle from new to full and waning to dark; from conception to gestation, from growth to decline and death.

Until relatively recently, the Hare was thought to be androgynous and laid its young in eggs. (See where this is leading?) Hare was thought to be representative of the way the Moon was perceived – in some cultures the waxing Moon has a masculine aspect and the waning Moon a feminine aspect. Even today, hares remind us of these ancient ways; they embody the natural rhythms – the very spirit – of life and such concepts as spiritual fulfilment and enlightenment.

The Hare is also often seen as a messenger of the Great Goddess, moving by moonlight between the human world and the realm of deity. In some traditions, the Hare is a god or goddess in his/her own right. Others demonstrate a belief that the Hare was somehow disgraced or denigrated, either out of jealousy or as a result of its own bad behaviour. There is always a very paradoxical element to the Hare, simultaneously seen as a symbol of cleverness and foolishness, courage and cowardice, rampant sexuality and virginal purity, femininity and androgyny, a sacred world creator and wily deceiver all rolled into one. Perhaps this element to the Hare’s sacred character only goes to reflect the generally amoral and untameable character of the elemental natural world.

If you would like to learn much more about the history of the Hare – and other traditions associated with Easter and this beautiful time of year, start off by dipping into my book, ‘Spring in Your Step’.

But whatever else you do this Eastertide, look at the ‘Bunny’ traditions in a new light. Here we have the sacred Hare, sowing the winter landscape with new life in the form of eggs – in themselves a symbol of new life and regeneration.

When I was a child, in the egg hunts around our garden, I was always directed to look for my chocolate treats wherever there was a flower in bloom – a natural assumption as spring flowers demonstrate the turning of the seasons and the return of light, warmth and light to the land, brought by the magical Hare.

So pay attention to the flowers… and perhaps look beneath their petals or leaves to find your own magic!

A very happy Easter to you all!

Snakes and Ladders… But Not as You know Them

By Gillian Monks

On March 27, 2026

In Musings of the Hearth

My first attempt at drawing my own ‘Snakes and ladders’

As an author, I frequently find myself researching all manner of disparate topics, (for which, I might add, I am often most grateful to Google and Wikipedia). This afternoon, I needed to look up when some popular children’s games came into existence, one of these being ‘Snakes and Ladders’.

Imagine my amazement when I discovered that this simple board game played by generations of small children is actually one of the oldest games in the world, originating in India around the Second Century A.D., and was originally a serious activity promoting the inculcation of moral standards and philosophy. It was called Moksha Patam (Liberation Lesson) or Karma and Kama (Virtues and Vices). Good behaviour and ethical codes were rewarded by a lift up a ladder which brought one nearer to the gods and heaven. Bad behaviour and selfishness incurred the reverse and down a snake you slid.

Unfortunately, one’s board game life does not allow for choices but is dictated by the roll of a dice over which the player has little control. Perhaps this was how life appeared to operate to more ancient peoples – even those who believed in karma.

The game was brought to Western Europe by British army officers and began to rise in popularity in the 1890s. It crossed to the United States of America in 1943 where it was rechristened and designed Chutes and Ladders – a name and format deemed less intimidating for impressionable children.

The discovery that there was originally a deeper meaning and purpose to the game spiked my interest and immediately made it more appealing to me. I looked up some of the older boards to see what imprecations and benevolence was highlighted in the past. Thrift led up the ladder to Fulfilment, Courage to Reward, Penitence to Grace, Confession to Forgiveness, Industry to Success, Patience to Attainment, and so on. Conversely, Indulgence led down the snake to Illness, Dishonesty to Punishment, Mischief to Woe, Indolence to Poverty, Disobedience to Disgrace and Temper to Regret.

It struck me that it would be interesting to create my own updated version of this moral game. I set about thinking up more positive and desirable qualities and actions which might be rewarded, and their less attractive, more negative and potentially destructive counterparts.

What would you choose? What would you feel most worthy of highlighting or promoting? What would take precedence as the least desirable or negative behaviour?

I suddenly became aware of the necessity of not being judgemental, or implying state punishment. Real wisdom and advancement stems from self-regulation, not the rules and regulations imposed by society.

I ended up with fourteen potential qualities and attainments for ladders: Co-operation leading to Unity, Sympathy to Compassion, Hard Work to Satisfaction, Gratitude to Joy, Unconditional Love to Enlightenment, and so forth. The snakes gobbled up Waste, Gossip, Cruelty and Temper which led downwards to Poverty, Woe, Pain and Self-destruction respectively.

These were no easy choices. I attempted to make them as independent of social expectations and reflective of the effects on self-esteem and inner spirit as possible.

Hastily, I marked out a hundred squares board on a piece of blank paper, numbered the squares from one to one hundred and then began marking in my ladders and snakes… but where abouts on the board was it most appropriate to place such penalties and rewards? And should the length of the snake or ladder reflect the seriousness or importance of the topic at hand?

Great fun… and very thought-provoking.

Perhaps you might like to have a go at making your own board with what is most relevant to you and your loved ones? Get them to contribute their ideas and opinions. If nothing else, it should generate some interesting discussions!

I have yet to persuade my family to have a go at playing my more sober and adult version of the game – happy days!

Twelfth Night is Not the End!

By Gillian Monks

On January 5, 2026

In Musings of the Hearth

Today traditionally marks the time to remove our Christmas decorations and pack them away for another year. Some folk stripped their homes of festive finery immediately the 25th had passed. Others, like me, will be keeping some of the greenery until the seasons move on and spring shows it has truly arrived, for it has always been believed that the spirits of the natural world took shelter in the evergreenery through the ‘dead’ winter months, and that humanity brought them inside to further protect them throughout the worst of the weather. (Old folk in Lancashire traditionally cooked their Shrove Tuesday pancakes over fires made from the holly which had decorated their houses since Christmas.)

Nor will I be removing all trace of other Midwinter finery from our rooms – rather it will be adapted and evolve from the kaleidoscope of deep jewel colours of Christmas into something more appropriate for January… white lights and silver decorations to reflect the ice and snow, but also lots of candles to bring the still-much-needed light into our homes and encourage us to keep our spirits up.

But what exactly do you pack away when you remove your Christmas decorations?

It strikes me that as well as the trees and trinklements, much of the care, the kindness, the willingness to reach out to others, the inclusivity, compassion and tolerance which is traditionally given freer rein around Midwinter is also removed and vanishes with the baubles and tinsel. Why? Are we humans so fearful of being thought weak that we can only give ourselves permission to be kind and considerate when the World recognises such behaviour as part of a spiritual/religious/folk tradition?

What truly makes the Midwinter festival so special to so many? During the Covid pandemic and the resulting lockdowns and isolation, it rapidly became apparent that it was human contact – families and friends being able to gather and spend time together – which meant most to the majority. Yes, we all lead busy lives, but surely we can aim to strike a better balance between busyness and quality time with loved ones. Not just those close to you, either, but to strangers in the street – it takes us no more time to smile or make a kindly remark in passing than it does to maintain a stony countenance in silence… but it does require an awareness of what and who is around us, and a heart sufficiently open to respond to them.

Think: the smile or casual friendly word you give to the person on the street, or in the shop or cafe, might be the only human contact that that person receives today… and it might be their lifeline.

Nor need we suddenly and peremptorily cease to come together, to gather, to spend some of our leisure time in activity together – whether that is simply relaxing with a warming drink while we chat, or playing games, or any other activity which we can indulge in within our domestic domain.

Or you may wish to spend some precious time planning the coming months: seeds and plants for your garden, places you might visit, or events you might take part in later in the year, or holidays you might take. We are still in the darkest time of the year which is good for resting… and dreaming.

When most of us dwelled in rural agrarian communities – and especially in the Celtic lands – feasting and communal enjoyment regularly went on until the end of January while the winter weather did its worst and little could be accomplished out-of-doors. Reading, games, storytelling, acting and verbal competitions were regularly used to entertain those gathered around the only source of heat and light – the fire pile high upon the central hearth.

It is pointless fretting over the dark evenings, the bad weather, the fact that ‘merry Christmas’ has passed. Enjoy today, especially as currently, parts of the country are at a standstill due to ice and snow. Yes, many were planning on returning to work, college and school today. Yes, at some point we will all have to catch up and it might mean extra work for a day or two. But look out of your windows.

Banish those January blues! Go out and breath in the crisp, clear air. Have a snowball fight. Whip up a sweat and get some exercise by shovelling your path or drive clear, and perhaps make a snowman or two in the process! Understand that these are suggestions for the adults. Where are the children? Nothing like playing in snow for healthy exercise, invigorating the appetite or inducing peaceful sleep. Many of us have been given a whole day in which to cleanse and make ourselves healthy. What a gift!

And when darkness begins to fall later this afternoon, don’t simply withdraw into your self-imposed shells. Switch off your appliances and get out the playing cards or a board game. Invite a neighbour in to join you for a glass of wine or a pot of tea. In so doing you will rediscover the true essence of what we were treasuring in our Christmas celebration.

It isn’t really Christmas that we celebrate – we are celebrating life – and each other – and that is to be enjoyed and made the very most of every day of the year!

Make 2026 a Good ‘Un!

By Gillian Monks

On December 30, 2025

In Musings of the Hearth

As we approach the beginning of a new year, how many of us are assessing all that 2025 brought us, acknowledging all that we achieved in the past twelve months, and, perhaps more importantly, realising all that we meant to do… and didn’t.

The pace of life appears to accelerate ever faster, and there is so much to occupy our attention and fill our time – so many amazing activities, so much to see, do and participate in. How many of us have ‘to do’ lists which hardly ever get touched, diaries with notes of gatherings, meeting and events we sincerely meant to attend but never actually got to, fascinating books to read, films to watch, foreign journeys to make… which simply never happen.

Have you ever stopped to consider why these activities rarely seriously feature in your schedule, why you never get around to attending certain meetings, or why you never actually accept certain invitations to meet up with friends, and so on?

Could it be that while our rational mind decides that something might be feasible, enjoyable or even desirable, we don’t really want to engage with those activities or people. So, we prioritise everything else and continually shove all the wonderful things we never have time for to the back of the queue.

For example, since my teenage years I had longed to learn more about a certain healing therapy, but at that time there were very few people teaching it and those that were didn’t even happen to be in the United Kingdom. Thirty-five years later, it came to my attention that just the sort of course I had longed to attend was being finally being offered in the south of England. Eagerly I signed up for it immediately, with the proviso that there were a couple of other commitments which I had to attend to first before I could proceed with my new studies.

I have always led a full and busy life, but in this particular instance, the months drifted on and I still had not activated the distance learning beginning my new course. I felt conflicted and frustrated. At the end of a whole year of arguing with myself and justifying my actions to myself, I eventually reached the understanding that I no longer held my dream of such studies and didn’t actually want to do the course at all. The confusion and guilt which I had been experiencing suddenly melted away, and I also realised what a weight I had been supporting internally through my unidentified true feelings and unacknowledged decision not to go ahead with it.

For that is another great drawback to all the things we think we should be actively participating in but cannot persuade ourselves to engage in – they carry such an emotional and sometime spiritual weight of expectation, guilt and disappointment that we can sometimes be driven to mental inertia or total paralysis resulting in levels of stress which can produce a dire effect on our mental and physical health.

We live in a society which offers us almost limitless choices. Intellectually, you know that some of these are opportunities too good to be missed and that you should be gleefully grabbing them with both hands – so why aren’t you? The answer lies deep within your subconscious. our intuition is telling us ‘No!’, often for reasons which we cannot identify or understand even if they were explained to us, but at a deep level it knows what is best for us.

So, while you are looking at your new calendars and diaries and perhaps beginning to plan your new year ahead, spare some thought for how you feel – what makes your heart truly sing and what makes you feel flat and depressed. Listen to yourself. Trust yourself. Go with your gut feeling. Prioritise what matters most to you. Be honest with yourself – and possibly others around you who perhaps you have kept having to make excuses to.

Begin this year with the clear intention of being true to yourself. You will function far more efficiently, be a great deal happier and also release others from empty expectations which you can never realistically fulfil.

Happy 2026 – may this be the year in which you find your true self and the path you are happiest walking!

When and What is Christmas?

By Gillian Monks

On December 9, 2025

In Musings of the Hearth

Is time moving too quickly for you? Are you feeling harassed by how fast Christmas appears to be approaching? Do you feel the need to slow time down, or stop it all together while you catch up?

Perhaps one antidote to this is by telling yourself how many days you still have to accomplish everything, not how few days there are left to you. Perhaps you also need to prioritise and decide to leave something out this year. Within reason, only try to do what you can. And before you become desperate, ask for help.

I would just like to point out that ‘Christmas’ is a whole season which contains many events. It is not just one day – the 25th December – but encompasses the whole of that month (and often the end of November as well), as well as the original Twelve Days of Christmas which only end on the 5th January.

How does one define Christmas anyway? For me, it has never just been about decorations, gifts and lots to eat… it is how we feel while we are engaged in these activities. It all depends on our perspective and outlook on life.

My Christmas begins with washing all my pots and dishes on my kitchen dresser sometime in November, riding them of any residual summer dust. This never fails to fill me with joy as I know what the action signifies – the beginning a wonderfully warm and happy time. Then there is the baking of the Christmas cakes on Stir-Up Sunday. It is also in the shortening days, teatime dusk, stormy grey skies and the nip of frost.

Writing seasonal cards and letters, completing making gifts, choosing, sorting and wrapping, cutting the first evergreenery to bring inside to deck the halls – and yes, the planning, the making of lists and menus, the cleaning, cooking and shopping… to me, this is all Christmas, and can bring just as much fun and pleasure as the main day itself, in its own way… given the chance.

Turn back the time to childhood. Youngsters feel the magic of Christmas – that indefinable promise, excitement and presence which lurks in candlelit shadows, snowy scenes and the marvellous anticipation. It threads its way through all the schemes, surprises and plans that we each make… it dodges in and out of our dreams of perfection, it peeps at us from the burgeoning shops filled with decorations and echoes to us from a well-loved Christmas carol.

What we need to do is to catch hold of this ephemeral magic and bring it into our everyday lives. Making the very most of each little situation and occasion is a good way to begin. Play some seasonal music, burn some spicy incense, make yourself a hot chocolate or pour yourself a little glass of wine to help get you in the mood and set the scene. More than that, include someone else, make someone laugh, compliment someone on how they look, lift someone’s spirits, phone them, tell someone how much you care for them… reach out to others…

And don’t forget yourself in all of this: nurture and care for yourself and make sure that you find something satisfying, joyful, and yes, even magical, in the proceedings. This may just be by sitting still and quiet for five minutes and allowing yourself to simply ‘be’.

Remember the natural world, too. Feed your wild birds and mammals which might not have hibernated fully, take extra care of domestic pets, especially those who are growing elderly and might find the cold, wet months more of a strain on aging painful joints. Retreat out into the fresh air as a way of regenerating your energy, and give joyful thanks that it is all there, just waiting to support and heal you.

Yes, Christmas often means lots of extra work, exhaustion, frayed nerves, an empty purse and being at odds with one’s nearest and dearest, not to mention having to cope with awkward and uncooperative people. This is simply life, but all the difficulties are suddenly magnified by that insistent little spirit of Christmas magic which refuses to leave any of us alone during these early winter months. and which spurs us on to increasingly more… but also encourages us to seek that indefinable magical element of Christmas.

Give yourself a few moments. Smile. Open your heart to your tasks, to your people, to yourself… this will allow the magic of Christmas to come to your aid, to enter in, to flourish… and then I can promise you that you can expect the totally unexpected and, yes, a little magic to come your way.

Try it and see…

Bounty of the Natural World

By Gillian Monks

On May 10, 2025

In Out and About

Just looks like a patch of weeds, doesn’t it? But this self-sown little wilderness holds many magical secrets. In among the rampant forget-me-nots are no less than seven medicinally beneficial herbs – difficult to see because they are still quite small at this stage:

Greater Celandine – good for pain, inflammation, warts
Figwort – good for skin conditions
Broad Leafed Willow Herb – prostate health
Mullein – lungs and membranes
Feverfew – headaches
Dock – a blood cleanser and good for skin conditions
Marigold – good for everything

What a wonderful medicine chest, seeded and grown naturally by nature herself!

It is even more precious as,

Apocalypse, or a New Beginning?

By admin

On May 7, 2025

In Uncategorized

Are you finding life more than usually challenging and tough? Are you deeply troubled by all that is going on in the World right now? Are you downhearted, exhausted, fearful? Take heart!

Click on the link below to discover exactly what is taking place – and why – and your part in it.

I have gathered together a great deal of information from many sources: scientific facts, esoteric theories and historical predictions all newly interpreted in the light of modern knowledge and perception, plus current information now available to us. To this I add my own freshly channelled insights about our position and purpose in the on-going history of humanity and the unfolding development of life on the Earth.

What I have to say may surprise you, but I sincerely hope that it will bring you clarity and understanding of what we all need to do, and inspiration as to what the outcome can and will be.

I expect nothing more than to bring you reassurance and peace of mind, and, hopefully, a new sense of purpose and direction. I have no political agenda. I do not speak from any religious standpoint. We are all equal and equally loved… and equally responsible for where life on Earth goes to next.

The future is in YOUR hands. Take heart and go forward with courage, joy, and most importantly, LOVE.

Click on the link below and listen to what I have to say – and don’t just listen with your ears but with your heart.

With my admiration, gratitude and love to you.

Fire on the Hillside Revisited

By Gillian Monks

On March 28, 2025

In Musings of the Hearth

One of the wildfires which we experienced in late March 2022. This one was about three miles away – photo taken from one of our upstairs bedroom windows.

First of all, I would very much like to thank everyone who expressed their concern, left comments, sent messages and emails in response to my previous blog post about the wildfire near our village last week. I was deeply touched.

I have to add that when viewed in daylight, the fire was actually further away than I had originally thought, due to an extra fold of land on the hillside which wasn’t apparent in the dark – although in my opinion, it was still too close to the village for comfort.

Strangely, for all my experiences of fire, I am in no way repelled, frightened or traumatised by it – I love bonfires, campfires and my open fire in the grate at home – but I do highly respect it. Fire is a potent and powerful energy which is largely uncontrollable once it escapes humanity’s carefully preserved boundaries.

What struck me most forcefully at the time, was that I felt that we should all be doing something to assist in the protection of our community, not simply shrugging our shoulders and piking off to bed to leave a mere handful of much stretched and over-worked professional fire fighters to battle it out alone on our behalf. If these kind of out-of-control fires are going to become more common place, might I suggest that every able-bodied adult keeps a fire beater in the garden shed or garage and at the first sign of trouble, we all turn out to deal with it, before such fires grow and get out of hand. (I believe that these types of measure are already taken in other countries where wildfires are more prevalent.)

I feel that it is time for communities to show more self reliance and responsibility for their own organisation and welfare. Simply sitting back and waiting for ‘them’ to come and sort out our problems is no longer enough. Yes, the services prefer us to keep out of the way in case we get hurt and cause more distraction and emergency work for them, but the type and severity of natural events and disasters that we are now experiencing regularly are beginning to make this unsustainable.

The other thing which quite surprised me was that, apart from gathering together useful or necessary items in case we had to evacuate the property quickly, I looked around the house at many much-loved things and didn’t feel any particular desire to try and ‘save’ any of them. It suddenly seemed that the house and all its contents – my home – came as a single unit, and if I couldn’t save it all, I wasn’t terribly bothered about any of it – the really important aspect of the situation to me were the animals and people – my loved ones… and if they were okay, then the rest was very much of secondary importance – in fact, didn’t really matter at all.

Also in March 2022 – Mynydd Mawr, one of the mountains at the head of our valley and just across from Y Wyddfa (Snowdon), was on fire. All the dark area to the left of the line of fire is land which had already been burned – the fire went on to consume that entire side of the mountain.

At this point I would also like to make it clear that while the dates for controlled burning of agricultural (and other) land only end on the 15th March (lowland areas) and the 31st March (upland areas), anyone entering into such activity must submit a burning plan to the relevant authorities for approval between 24 and 72 hours beforehand, and ensure that sufficient persons and equipment are present to control and regulate the fire. It is also illegal to set such fires between the hours of sunset and sunrise. There are complicated stipulations for limiting the amount of land burned at any one time and the juxtaposition of such natural features as streams, rivers and lakes.

I cannot be one hundred percent sure, but I should think that the fires we have experienced this past couple of weeks have all broken these regulations in some way, especially the huge fire which swept across the mountain a couple of miles away from us and the smaller fire near our village – both of these were lit well after dark, so were unlikely to be either farmers attempting controlled burning or accidental spontaneous combustion from sunlight.

I was brought up in an isolated rural area in the middle of farms and woodland, and I have lived here in this valley for nearly forty years. Apart from a similar few days of fire and smoke in late March 2022, (see photos) I have never seen anything like this wholesale burning of whole mountainsides. Farmers are officially allowed to burn land from the beginning of October (lowland) and the start of November (uplands). Why should they choose to wait until the very last few days, when the natural world is already well into the spring mating and nesting season, earlier now with the change in seasonal/environmental conditions, than when the government regulations were last updated in 2008.

Then there is the question of why there is a local presence of certain high-ranking officials who are looking very concerned and taking these events rather seriously.

We do indeed live in ‘interesting times’ – and it is now our opportunity to metaphorically stand up and be counted. Now is our chance to shine! Be that person who takes responsibility… who can be counted on… who focuses on the positive. Allow our care, humour and love to inform everything we do throughout each ‘ordinary’ day. Enjoy each ‘mundane’ moment to its fullest extent. After all, what is the alternative?

Make today your very best day yet!

Fire on the Hillside

By Gillian Monks

On March 23, 2025

In Musings of the Hearth

This morning I awoke to the blessed sound of rain gently falling, soaking the land and cooling the air. In recent days, Wales has become the ‘land of fire’ as wild fires have swept across our moorland and mountains – from north to south, east to west – there have been at least six fires here in my own valley, some of them extensive…

…And one personally frightening. Thursday had been a beautiful day of balmy sunshine and warm winds. It was officially the Vernal or Spring Equinox, (although my dear husband had informed me that the daylight had actually begun to grow longer than the darkness from Tuesday onwards), but we had decided to mark the occasion with celebration on Saturday so that our druid grove members with weekday working hours could also be with us.

I was preparing for bed late that evening and thought that I would just check my messages in case there was one from my son who was away from home that night.

I was saddened to see a post from a friend living in a nearby village who was commenting on the the huge wildfire currently blazing across her side of the mountain a couple of miles away. On my way to the bathroom, I went into the back bedroom – now used as an office – and was immediately confronted with a line of leaping flames racing across the lower hillside towards the village!

There are a couple of rows of houses between us and that approach to the village, but with pictures fresh in my mind of devastating fires around the world, and most recently the destructive wildfires in California, I immediately sprang into action.

Rousing my already slumbering husband from his warm bed, I began to collect important documents and artefacts, along with changes of clean clothes and other immediate everyday essentials. I then spent much of the night sat in the dark in my son’s office chair, staring through the window at the ever-encroaching line of fire, monitoring its progress, and as calmly as possible making further plans to possibly evacuate and/or house elderly neighbours from further up the mountain – one old gentleman who is bedridden and who’s cottage I suspected was directly in the path of the voracious flames. I was also mentally tussling with the dilemma of how to transport our four cats from the site when in possession of only one cat carrier.

I have had several experiences with fire, the first being at the age of two and a half, when my mother rushed me through a wall of flame which had engulfed the stairs to the bedroom after an elderly pet had accidentally knocked over a paraffin heater. Two years later, the woods around our cottage caught fire, and my mother and her little daughter were discovered valiantly bucketing water from the river in a vain attempt to control it until the fire brigade arrived. On that occasion, the authorities surmised that the conflagration was started accidentally by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt. However, the fire which totally destroyed our family home of fifty years back in 2010 was no accident but an act of arson resulting from a bungled burglary. (We had faced break-ins before, as we lived in an isolated spot, but never in my wildest dreams had I anticipated the possibility of anyone actually ‘stealing’ the entire cottage!)

Periodically, I would now traverse the sleeping household on sorties to the Aga downstairs to make myself sustaining cups of tea.

The hours ticked away. Mercifully, the blustery wind was driving the fire diagonally across the slope along and behind the village, but if it changed direction… Sometimes, the flames would die right down and I would wonder if the danger was actually passed, but then another gust of wind would come along and bright fluorescent orange and glowing scarlet would bloom in distressing patches along a very long line. Occasionally, a particularly large gorse bush or small tree would catch light and the flames would leap twenty or thirty feet in the air and light up the whole side of the hill.

I watched in fascination as lights flashed across the hillside and along the line of fire. Although I couldn’t see them, I knew that the fire service was out there valiantly fighting to save more destruction to the natural world and to human habitation. Endeavouring to ‘walk my talk’, I found myself sending out unconditional love to the element of fire, letting go of all fears and trusting that all was unfolding as it should… whatever happened. This might sound overly dramatic, but I found myself seriously wondering if my time had come to have my life completely turned upside down as so many other millions of souls have in recent years. Was this ‘it’ for me and my loved ones?

Mastering my emotions was a challenge, and I found myself pouring more positivity and love towards those who were battling out on the hillside on my behalf, than being grateful for the cleansing qualities of the fire itself.

I looked down on the houses below us and had the almost irresistible urge to go banging on all the front doors to waken the occupants and get everyone out on that hillside where the struggle seemed so drastically weighed against the puny human. To me, it appeared almost morally indecent that we should all be cosily snoring in our beds, totally unaware of the huge effort being made on our behalf – having been brought up in the countryside, I have been trained to get out and sort one’s own problems, without necessarily relying on help, official or otherwise.

Eventually, around 4.30.am. I felt sure enough that everything was under control to actually relax sufficiently and go to bed, although I had little sleep that morning, especially as the local council decided to arrive early to dig around in the road outside my bedroom window and fill in holes in the tarmac.

What, or more accurately I should ask, who, is setting these fires no one seems to know, but they are widespread and numerous. Humanity rarely suffers but it is the wildlife – now in full mating and nesting season – which suffers so dreadfully. The long-term damage to the environment is incalculable, especially where peat beds take light – some of them have taken thousands of years to form and are dozens of feet deep… and can burn for months.

So, yes, today I am rejoicing at the gentle grey clouds and damp conditions. We put away our concerns for now, lick our wounds, and face the uncertain and challenging future which 2025 has promised to bring us.

Take care, and be aware of what is going on around you, and of our joint responsibility.

With my love.

Gillian Monks

'Making Fairytales Come True'

Not My Bunny!

Snakes and Ladders… But Not as You know Them

Twelfth Night is Not the End!

Make 2026 a Good ‘Un!

When and What is Christmas?

Bounty of the Natural World

Apocalypse, or a New Beginning?

Fire on the Hillside Revisited

Fire on the Hillside

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