So we've taken ourselves off for a week to an artist retreat to concentrate on writing. I'll have pictures next week.
Our world is so full of fear these days. My thoughts go out particularly to all my American friends who have this very divisive election coming up tomorrow. The politics of fear seems to be rife everywhere in the world at the minute.
So, not to add more to it, today I wanted to share with you some music and stories that have passed through the periphery of my vision over the past few days and have brought a smile or a tremor of joy.
Firstly this most wonderful rendition of Here Comes The Sun featuring James Taylor. A lot of the comments to the video were castigating the changes made, but I adore it.
To my shame I didn't know who the dignitary was sitting beside Michelle Obama - so after a bit of research I found it was Yo Yo Ma, the Chinese American Cellist. So here's a piece from him - the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 - this moves me to tears every time I hear it, and he plays it beautifully.
Lastly, there have been several posts on Facebook over the past few weeks, about the first person with Down's Syndrome to qualify as a pre school teacher - how absolutely wonderful. This story comes from Argentina, and there's another one from Gaza - both young woman had so many adversities to overcome. Surely a lesson for us all.
I hope your week is full of wonder and joy as the nights get darker and the days shorter up here in the Northern Hemisphere and as you pass into the season of sunshine and warmth down in the southern regions of this wonderful planet.
"One hot fiddler!" - Cyndi Lauper; "Hauntingly emotional vocals"L.A. Times; "Genius!" - Pete Seeger
"Describing Niamh Parsons' singing is like to trying to describe color to a blind person." 
A special pre Christmas folk club featuring the gorgeous traditional and classical sounds and songs of the Avalon quartet featuring the vocals and uilleann pipes of Brendan Monaghan. Not to be missed.