Kate has posted a very thoughtful and reflective Christmas message on her official site, attempting to find the Christmas spirit in a troubled world! Lovely to hear from her, as always. Happy Christmas, Kate!

I hope you’re all looking forward to Christmas – just around the corner now. I wasn’t much looking forward to it, but in the last few days, I really am.

I was very excited to see the positive feedback about the reissues and the redesign of the website. It’s been a lot of work, but when you see such lovely comments, it all makes it worthwhile. It really does. Thank you so much.

What a year it’s been. I’d always hoped that the human race would become more spiritual, gentle creatures as we moved into the future but it has proved to be the absolute antithesis.
The world is at war while the planet burns…. What is going on?

I‘m among a group of friends who don’t watch the news any more. It now seems to be a global trend. Of course we want to stay informed but sometimes elements of the visual reporting feel horrifically voyeuristic.

I’ve tried to write this piece three times so far, looking for something positive to focus on, but that’s been hard to find.

I stand in awe of running water. Especially hot, running water. It is a miracle. You turn on the tap and hot, clean water gushes out of the tap. A miracle! Yes, but then I think about the people caught in the many wars that are raging right now and at the very heart of these are the children caught up in the wars. They don’t always have clean water and they really need a miracle. Christmas is a time for little children: a time of wonder and the promise of magic… looking towards a new year, to a future.

It makes me feel so lucky that we can celebrate Christmas in the way we do, but also so sad. The effect of war on all people is massive, but on children…

It’s so incredibly important that charities like War Child, UNICEF and the NSPCC are there to support and help children. Their incredible work might be more important than it’s ever been when the modern world seems to make few concessions for children at the hands of evil created by adults.

I hope you all have a really wonderful Christmas, with the promise of magic, and let’s all pray for a year ahead that brings us some opportunities to talk about happy things.

Best wishes,

Kate