What a glorious weekend! I hope you've been able to enjoy the beautiful weather in the garden, beach or countryside! We've said it before, but it certainly lifts the spirits to have a bit of sunshine, and springtime is particularly special with all it promises for the year ahead.

We are certainly privileged to be able to enjoy a relaxing weekend when we listen to all that is happening around the world, and things certainly don't seem to be getting any better on many fronts. 

While my reading recommendations this week aren't particularly buoyant, they do speak into our current situation with some hope and positivity, I think, in keeping with the message of this Easter weekend.

For example, we may choose to ration our intake of news from the usual sources, but in 'We Are Bellingcat' we are encouraged to take better ownership of what information we receive, and are encouraged to interrogate it with authority and insight. It's very liberating and encouraging, I think.

And the children's book is all about having 'Too Much Stuff' - a great message for me this weekend as  I was forced to have a bit of a clear out, a spring clean!

Getting rid of things we don't need frees us up for new opportunities, not least some of the places we might go and people we might meet in the coming year.

Arts and literature festivals are in our diaries again and we begin next weekend with the INK Festival in Halesworth.

I have very happy memories of visiting The Cut arts centre and wandering from one studio to another to see a wonderful array of short plays on offer. After the two year gap, things are a little different this year - there are now stages all over the town! You can read more about it in my article here. Or take a look at the programme and book your ticket here. See you there?

But this month is flying by and it's time for a reminder of our forthcoming book group meeting. It's just a week away, so if you would like to come along to discuss 'Barcelona Dreaming' on Monday 25 April, please reply to this email and I'll send you the details.

Thank you for reading.