Karen Wright: Highs and lows and some great family fun

​ As I could see the late summer bank holiday looming in my diary, I took the plunge and decided to hold a party to celebrate the good,

the bad and the darned right ugly that this year has decided to challenge me with.

The highs have been plentiful. I have enjoyed a few trips away in this wonderful country we live in, spending time with my mum and my husband in fancy hotels plus loads of trips to our caravan in Ripon which has been a real treat allowing me to relax, write and work in my very favourite environment - a campsite!

We have had visits from our two daughters and our two oldest grandchildren, and the most wonderful arrival of a new granddaughter was the cause of great joy in July. However not all clouds are light and fluffy, and I have been dodging the grey, heavy clouds caused by a cancer diagnosis in March.

I underwent five weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in May, and this was made more difficult as we had to move house right in the middle of treatment. The blessings around this were the incredible support I received from the team at St James Hospital and my family and friends. As I await an update from the team at the hospital, I decided to throw a party! What an amazing afternoon it was. More than sixty people from new baby Juliet to my ninety-two-year- old mum came to the party and friends, family and neighbours ate, drank, sang and chatted in our lovely new home.

My cousin Heather made it all the way from Australia where she lives with her husband and children, as she is back in the UK for an extended stay. Heather is young enough to be my daughter, in fact she is the same age as my eldest and they have been close, like sisters since they were babies. It was wonderful to see them back together again. I made a huge grazing table which looked fantastic, we made merry and I made memories to take me forward into the coming months. Now I look forward to Autumn’s bounty, another lovely season beckons!