Sara Ward on Living the Good Life December 2024

Shhh! Can you hear it?

Guest blog by Sara Ward

As we are now officially in Advent, Christmas is coming loud and strong. Though before we get completely caught up in jingle bells and Ho Ho Ho, it’s good to make sure that we listen to the quiet voices as well as the loud.

I absolutely love Christmas – bring it on, but not at the cost of overlooking those who find it a difficult time of year. Sadly, a number of my friends have lost loved ones in recent months, for them, Christmas is unlikely to be the same again. There’s also those in our community that don’t have a permanent home, for whatever reason, and as the temperature continues to drop, nights can be far from jolly.

Then others live with challenges affecting their health and or relationships. Let’s be aware of those less fortunate than ourselves and offer help where we can, sharing a little peace and goodwill at this time.

See support and resources at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve been following Hen Corner for a while, you may have popped down to our Friday bakery in Brentford. We started in October 2015 and have been pleased to bring Real Bread, hand made with no chemicals, along with honey and preserves to our local community; we have really appreciated the support of our customers over the years.

Who would have thought that our accidental bakery would have served so many people over nearly a decade? I’ve just checked – It’s over 1,530 households! Running the bakery simply because local people wanted to buy my bread has been a real honour.

We don’t bake weekly anymore, as we are prioritising our encouragement of as many people as possible to live sustainably through our courses, events and writing, more news to come next month…

However, as promised, we are having a special bake day in the run up to Christmas, on Friday 20 December, allowing you to order the unique products that we’ve created (that you just can’t get anywhere else) like our award winning Apricot Couronne. Do take a look at our Christmas Collection, each item will be made/prepared ready for you to pick up, there will be limited numbers of each product available – so get your order in soon.

Whilst we are busy with the last of our festive courses at the moment, our usual classes (baking, cheese, preserving, chickens and bees) have got dates scheduled in for the new year, so feel free to have a browse and put your own little wish list together.

This year, at home, our family are buying experiences for each other as Christmas gifts. Obviously, I can’t give specific details as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for them, but if you are looking to buy a unique sustainable gift for someone else, check out our Hen Corner Gift Cards – for a Course at Hen Corner allowing the recipient to choose their favourite activity on a date that works for them.

If I don’t see you before, may your Christmas be filled with love and peace.

Sara

Local Support at Christmas:

Remembering Loved Ones

Thursday 5 December, 6.30pm – 7.30pm at St Paul’s Church Brentford

A quiet, reflective service hosted by Lodge Brothers Funeral Directors to help us remember loved ones we’ve lost. This is held during Grief Awareness week in recognition that Christmas can be a difficult time of year for those who are grieving those they’ve lost. You’re invited to stay for festive refreshments after the service.

StreetLink – Connecting people sleeping rough to local services. A referral service that anyone can use to help those sleeping out at night.

Crisis – Crisis Skylight London supports people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.

Samaritans – Whatever you’re going through, a Samaritan will face it with you.

Coming up at Hen Corner:

Making Christmas Wreaths

At Hen Corner: 10am & 1pm Saturday 7 December

+ Making Christmas Food Gifts

At Hen Corner: Tuesday 10 December

+ Introduction to Christmas Baking

At Hen Corner: Tuesday 17 December and Wednesday 18th December

All courses can be found at HenCorner.com

Follow us on social media @HenCorner

Sara Ward is the owner of Hen Corner and author of Living the Good Life in the City: A journey to self-sufficiency

Hen Corner is a member of The Chiswick Calendar’s Club Card scheme, offering discounts on her courses and on her book Living the Good Life in the City.

See her Club Card offers here: Hen Corner Club Card offers

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