Let me start with a confession: Sometimes, I feel like I’m juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle…and the unicycle’s got a dodgy wheel. Between worrying about my husband’s health, trying to keep the community centre from falling apart (or at least from running out of biscuits), being a mum, Nana, housewife, and whatever else God decides to throw my way, my life can feel a bit like the world’s most exhausting circus act.

But do you know what keeps me from toppling off that unicycle? It’s you. Yes, YOU! Our wonderful community. You’re my safety net, my cheer squad, and, quite frankly, the reason I haven’t run away to live in a shed with only my kettle for company (tempting as it sounds some days).

Those little chats we have, even if it’s just about the weather or the price of carrots, those moments matter. The smiles you give me when you pop into the centre, the stories you share about how the pantry store has helped you save a few quid (or, as one of you put it, “enough for a chippy tea!”) those are the things that fuel me. Honestly, I think I run on community spirit even more than caffeine. And that’s saying something.

I’m only human (despite what my grandchildren think, “Nana can do ANYTHING!”). I get tired. I worry. I have days when the washing pile looks like Mount Everest and the only thing I want to do is curl up with a biscuit the size of my face. But then I remember: if it weren’t for you lot, I wouldn’t have this amazing, messy, meaningful chaos that makes life worth living.

So, thank you. Thank you for letting me be part of your lives, for trusting me with your stories, and for reminding me every single day why this community centre and this community matter. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be. Probably still looking for my keys and muttering to myself, but I’d be a lot lonelier and a lot less inspired.

Here’s to more chats, more laughs, and more biscuit-fuelled adventures together. You keep me going, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

With all my love (and a healthy dose of dry humour),

Let me know in the comments section below, how much the centre and pantry mean to you!

Love From

Kate x

Mrs Katy Batten BA (Hons)( Pronouns: She/Her), International Best Selling Author and Admin Management of New Pasture Lane Community Centre, Registered Charity No 700422.

DISCLAIMER: These blog posts are in no way, shape, or form to provide any professional advice and are for entertainment purposes only. The author/s take no personal responsibility or liability for any person/s who chooses to use the methods in their own lives.