Nothing’s Changed … But Everything Has

Here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life, so much has changed, just as it has across the UK, and the world, due to the pandemic. But in a way, nothing has changed, because Spring has arrived, lots of wild and garden flowers are coming into bloom and there are lambs in the fields. 

The horses and ponies are still being cared for and exercised, the hens are laying and eggs are being graded.  The Farm Shop is open and busy with customers calling to collect food. The phones are ringing and some things need to carry on “as normal”. 

But everything has changed, because the Farm is such a quiet place without all the many ladies and gentlemen who would normally attend therapeutic projects here, right through each weekday.

There is no noisy chatter, or sudden outburst of laughter and there are very few cars around. The other social enterprises are closed and there is hardly any aircraft noise either. So the sounds of Spring can be very clearly heard, as skylarks sing over the farm and curlews call. We would far rather have a noisy farm, and we very much look forward to the day when people will be able to return to their activity projects. In the meantime, a small team continue to care for the livestock and the farm, and key workers are kept extremely busy ringing each person, staying in touch, dealing with issues and sorting the delivery of essential food, medication and so forth for those who cannot leave home at all and have no other help in place.

We pray for each of those supported by Caring For Life, that they will be assured we are still here for them, but that they will put their faith in God and His unchanging love.

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It Must Be Nearly Spring

Although the official start of Spring is still a week or so away, here at Caring For Life, we are gearing up! We all look forward to the weather being a little warmer, but it’s also the signs of Spring that can perk us all up a bit!

One of the gentlemen on the agriculture project recently saw two juvenile mute swans on the lower pond here at Crag House Farm and took a photo. Not a sign of Spring, but the first time we have seen swans on our ponds, so it was well spotted.

For some time, people in ArtShop, our therapeutic art project, have been busy creating a “Springwatch” display. Every year, people attending the daytime therapeutic projects at Caring For Life race to be the first to spot various signs of Spring. ArtShop produces some beautiful creations to advertise the competition and to help everyone know what to look out for. The display went up this week, so the competition is officially open! The wild daffodils are already putting on a lovely display of their own, and the first frogspawn has been sighted here on the Farm, with its location kept top secret, so that someone can be the first to spot this early sign of Spring.

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Unearthing the Past

One of the young men who attends the Agriculture Project here at Crag House Farm got quite a surprise a couple of months ago, when helping to shift rubble to clear a small area of land. Something which he spotted in with mounds of earth and stones, turned out to be something really special; an almost entire clay pipe. Pipe bowls or stems have sometimes been discovered on the Farm, particularly when ploughing land or repairing drystone walls, but never one in as good a condition as this.

Old clay pipe found by our Agriculture Team.

Having sought advice on cleaning the pipe, (being grateful to have a trustee who was formerly a museum curator), the pipe was carefully handed over to our very own “Repair Shop”, otherwise known as the Art Shop Project here at Caring For Life. They did a wonderful, delicate job of restoring it and the clay pipe now looks magnificent, showing something of the markings of use around the bowl, and clearly showing the spur underneath.

Although we cannot be clear as to the exact age of the clay pipe, it is thrilling to be able to see something which was once used by someone working here at Crag House Farm. It appears to have been a good quality pipe, and someone must have been sorry to realise they had lost it! 

With all the history attached to Crag House Farm, it is unsurprising that we find objects such as this beautiful pipe, occasionally coins, old field drains and even a quern-stone. 

Farming activities have taken place here for centuries, and it is rather wonderful to see how a little piece of history was unearthed by a young man now working on the Agriculture Project here at Caring For Life. Crag House Farm is providing a safe haven and a sense of belonging for so many people, and we thank God for this.

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