Over the last week, it has felt that the only palatable orange entity left in the world has been the glowing orb that has risen and set each day over the parish. On Tuesday evening, as I stood at Beechin Wood watching the last vestiges of warmth evaporate from the sky, a solitary blackbird singing a goodnight song, I wondered what Wednesday would look like, knowing that events in distant places might spiral out of control and forever change our lives. Mercifully, the following morning, at dawn, on the edge of the rapeseed field at Great Comp, I saw the same fiery ball of hope slowly bleed through the trees into the sky, turning the landscape a deep amber. To the south, the moon hung above Hurst Woods, fresh from its encounter with four intrepid explorers who represent the great things humanity can accomplish when it works together, free of self-interest and aggrandisement.

The first Easter service at Platt Church was held in 1846, 180 years ago. The weather, much like this year, had been spring-like with warm, sunny days. Not only was it a first for the new church, but also the newly created Parish, and on Easter Sunday, the Revd Mickleburgh hung a large map of the parish in the church porch. A Vestry Meeting held on Easter Monday morning passed off pleasantly and unanimously. The atmosphere was said to be very different at the Wrotham Vestry Meeting held later that day, when “Much angry feeling and coarse language were expressed at the separation of Platt from Wrotham”.

Throughout the decades, St Mary’s has remained at the heart of local celebrations. During Victorian times, it would be decorated with flowers, greenery and early blossoms and in agricultural communities like Platt, Easter was deeply rooted in the land itself. It blended Christian belief with the lived reality of farming—marking renewal not just in a spiritual sense, but in the soil, the weather, and the rhythms of rural life.

Winter 2025/26 has been dark, wet and frankly, quite miserable. Wandering along the country lanes, across the fields, and through the woodlands over the last three days has served as a gentle reminder of how transient the seasons are, and with better days ahead, one can only hope that the influence of those who seek to divide us is equally temporary.

The crew of Artemis II are due to return to Earth tomorrow. Perhaps their experiences will inspire the next generation of pioneers. This is where greatness lives.

This is Platt during Easter 2026.