I like wearing a hat, but when I met someone I know wearing his, I did not recognise him!

There are many places worse than Leiston to live. But if you’ve always been here, you perhaps don’t appreciate how lucky we are here.

It’s tragic that people are swayed by nasty posters like this. Luckily, there’s a brilliant charity I’m now working with, who use facilitated conversations to challenge racism and prejudice.

I’m happy that in Leiston, people know me as Michael Easy’s son-in-law, rather than as the charity troubleshooter I was before I moved here.

I’ve never felt that I belonged, and have preferred always to observe and often write objectively about what I see and hear. But Leiston is different, and I keep meeting interesting people with strong connection to my past, and more often then not, to Belinda’s family, who have lived here for generations. I think I might have finally arrived at the place I need to be.

Blaxhall church features on the cover of my latest book, and I was happy to accept an invitation to attend a communion service. But when it came to actually taking communion, I felt unable to go up to the altar rail so stayed in my pew. As a Quaker, taking communion would somehow not have been authentic.

I’ve been exploring Snape Maltings, with my friend Peter and his camera! This is the video we produced.

Our new home, Dunn’s Barn, is a few yards from Leiston church, and yesterday we met the vicar for coffee and conversation. The church and Quaker Meeting House face similar challenges, being costly to maintain and with too few turning up on Sunday mornings.

One of my goals in moving to Leiston was that I would focus on my writing, and leave the world of social enterprise behind. But then I discovered that 50 yards from my front door, a young couple have created a bold vision, and a community interest company through which it will be delivered.

Can you judge a town by the quality of its bread and coffee?

One of my goals for 2023 is to learn to relax, and not stress about things that probably won’t happen. This is taking me longer than I thought!

Both Ronald Blythe and Paul Remarque wrote from experience, about things they felt strongly about. This shows in their writing, and the popularity of their books. This gives me a clue about the subject of my next book.

The biggest lesson I am learning from Ronald Blythe’s latest book, is the value of belonging. That means accepting, listening and joining in. Can I really do that? Let’s see!

A friendly robin kept me company while I worked yesterday. I enjoyed his company and hope he enjoyed mine. Finally, I feel the pace of life slowing down, which I hope will help my creativity as a writer.

We can learn so much about our future from our past, and as we all strive to live more sustainably, a good place to look for ideas is my book, in which I follow the example of George Ewart Evans.

We no longer need to burn fossil fuels to heat our homes. Dial Corner, as well as our new home in Leiston, will be powered by the sun, which provides all the energy we need.