One of the hats I wear is that of treasurer to Highclere church. My husband helps me by counting the incoming money which always takes much longer than you think it will. There are piles of coins all over his desk, nothing quite adds up but we seem to bank more on God’s behalf than should be there which, I suppose, is at least the right way round. Now the time of year approaches when I have to produce the year end accounts (December 31st) and the prospect hangs over me. I keep meaning to sit down but so far have managed to successfully prevaricate.
Last year I had a double entry bookkeeping crisis so I rang my brother-in- law (who is now a board member at Deloittes, London) for help. We had studied to become chartered accountants together. He excelled and I “got through” the exams. I explained to him that I couldn’t work out the balancing account. He asked me for the materiality level and went quiet when I said I did not have one and I was out by £50. Caught between silence and laughter, we were back together in our first year of training and incomplete records. My number five sister, who also trained as a chartered accountant, came down for lunch and suggested a suspense account. I already had one.
Before the Christian church our ancestors clearly contemplated what it is to live and die: the remains of their lives are very visible in the landscape here at Highclere. Standing on the bare,windblown slopes of Beacon Hill looking south, it is easy to see to raised outlines of a number of burial tumuli perhaps 5,000 years old. The bodies of our those who lived here were carefully arranged in them perhaps with jewellery or perhaps some little keepsake to help them as they faced the next world and were sorely missed in this.
Apart from distributing debits and credits in the books, my small job is an interesting window into the business of the Church. The name “Downton Abbey” hints at the fact that Highclere was in truth once owned by the Church and run as a business and part of their estate for nearly 800 years at a time when the Church hierarchy was perhaps more concerned with the accumulation of wealth and power than with purely spiritual matters. For all that, it also had a much greater presence in everyday life, in the fabric of the understanding and analysis of the challenges in life. This does matter and it can aid us, giving us some harmony. Today we may assume churches are primarily here for births, weddings and death, to comfort us and guide us and give aid where it can. We can see the fabric of the buildings, know the churches which we want to support and understand that their ministers and staff need salaries to be able to go out and help others. With diminishing funds parish contributions are vital so I had better get on with it….
A couple of hours later, Geordie has finished counting his coins and I have reconciled 3 bank accounts. Two are temporarily perfect and one is out by £7. Time for a glass to celebrate.
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have a great new year lady carnarvon xx
Kudos for pulling off your yearly accounting! It can be a loathsome job, and one that you have, that finally, I don’t envy, lol! I wonder if it’s really easier now compared to 800 years ago, or if modern technology has just made it more complex and difficult. The church is lovely! I clicked on the picture and was able to see a large version and zoom in to see small details! (Very cool!)
I think there are more things to balance today ! There would of course have been no central heating or lighting bills so far fewer entries…
Highclere Church is so lovely, and this photo so beautiful. I wish I could just walk into the photograph and be there … into the dappled sunlight that gently enfolds the church.
It is a pleasure to read this. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh, I too am sitting at my desk attempting to pull together all necessary papers to prepare for our annual ritual of paying taxes to the US government. This year is complicated in that we lived for a year and a half in London (lucky us! I did manage to visit and happily pay to tour your lovely home and grounds last 1 April to my GREAT delight!). To think that we are caught up in the same daunting task (though your on a MUCH grander scale) is a wonder to me! I shall plow through as you did and hope to have completed my task during this week!
Thank you again for your interesting blogs allowing those of us intrigued by your life a little peak into it!
Take good care, Lynn B, Connecticut
I know how strict the IRS are, less of giving perhaps than God
What a busy lady you are; it’s easy to see why you would procrastinate doing the books. I am a retired teacher, and I used to do the same thing with my students’ research papers due in the Spring. I’d end up ruining part of my Spring Break grading papers.
That’s quite an image of Lord Carnarvon you provide, sitting at his desk counting coins. Somewhere there is a children’s rhyme about four and twenty blackbirds and a King counting his money. “The Queen was in the parlor, eating bread and honey; the King was in the counting house, counting all his money; the maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes; along came a blackbird and plucked off her nose.” Whew, it took me awhile to recall that…there was also something about blackbirds baked in a pie to begin the thing. Ah, the things our brains remember.
Your photographs are wonderful and this one of the church is quite well done. Also, thank you for the new word, “tumuli.” I will look it up and own it before long.
Spring is beginning to burst forward in Kansas and so far today, March 1st has come in like a lamb. Enjoy your spring too.
The main thing is not to interrupt the counting.
I’m glad you were able to get through a dreaded yearly chore. I have enough of a challenge with my personal bank accounts, let alone being responsible for others!
The continuity of faith and belief – in a higher authority, whichever version you believe in and whatever path you take to celebrate and revere that belief – is a timeless human characteristic and ingrained need. I love the history you described of how that belief has been expressed in your piece of the world.
Love the pictures, as usual! Have a wonderful week, Lady Carnarvon!
I think we all wanted to feel rooted and part of something and Highclere illustrates such a strong sense of place
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for a most lovely read.
Kind regards,
Errol May.
Loved today’s post–connecting the past and the present so very well. Where is the Highclere Church located? Looks like another side trip for my next England adventure. Thanks again for such interesting posts!
What a daunting task–always a relief when it’s done! What a lovely pic of the church! The surrounding walls look like it was made of shells! I agree with a previous writer..would love to step inside that picture & smell the air! It looks like a peaceful place to rest my mind & soul! Have a lovely day, Lady C!
I wish to thank you for your interesting blogs makes you feel as if you were there only wish I could.
Good morning, Lady Carnarvon! My father was our church Treasurer for many years. I recall being told to be really quiet when dad was ” doing the books” and being essentially banished to my room for a while so as to not disturb his concentration.. Last evening as I was taking a walk with a friend in our small Florida town, we passed a white steepled church. The night lights lit up the beautiful stained glass windows. How genuinely peaceful it all was!
Stained glass windows are inspiring. The care taken to create them and the colours in them give moments to pause for thought. There are some old churches in Cornwall on the moors which my father used to take us too. The churches were full of stories and the blue colours in glass are something I always remember
Hello Lady C,
I’m the treasurer of our village church and I’m pleased to see that you also have a table full of invoices,files and assorted papers. Those PCC meetings come around too often, don’t they !
Fingers crossed, February A/cs were spot on.
Now I’ve to try and get some VAT back from LPoW…..big headache.
Kind regards
Peter D
Today’s post made me laugh, I’m in the same boat working on my accounts to settle up taxes with the government. I have absolutely no accounting background, and run into the same issue. Accounts not reconciling, or where did that $100 come from?
The picture of the church looks so serene, wish I were there to stroll past. Thanks for sharing!
The post made me smile. I work for a church here in the States, but, thankfully, not in the finance department! Church finance is challenging job for certain. We visited Highclere July 2014 but didn’t see this beautiful chapel. We spent hours strolling the grounds around the castle that day. Thank you for sharing this photo.
I hope you manage to get the accounts to balance. Taking care of the books can be a challenge. I love the picture of the Church – lovely. I’m glad your blog was about your duties regarding the Church. These days people are so busy being “politically correct” that they wouldn’t consider mentioning Church or religion. Like you I have no problem doing just that. It plays a large part in my life and the way this world is going we need Him more and more in our lives. Anyway, I’m off my soapbox. Hope you stay well.
It agree that positive disclosure is regarded as inappropriate. The BIble stories, the language are there to help us, they are not easy to follow but perhaps help bring us back towards a kinder path.
Ugh. I did all the tax preparation a couple of weeks ago for my Independent Contractor job, etc. I stress over it every year and spend a few weeks procrastinating before finally sitting down to do it. It is always a relief to hand off the paperwork to my tax preparer. I can’t imagine doing books for Highclere.
Enjoy your blog and really enjoy the photos you post!! The best to you!
Lovely post. Congratulations! My husband was a church treasurer and recognized much of what you were going through. Thank you!
Good morning! I’m enjoying these posts very much. And I’m pretty confident that you were able to successfully procrastinate–not “prevaricate”–regarding year-end accounts and taxes!
Well done! I’m with the other US commentator in groaning my way through the annual pull-together-papers-for-the-taxman.
But I’m reminded of a story from a friend of mine who “loaned” her accountant to a small, non-profit dance company on whose Board she sat. She dropped by their offices and found him surrounded by shoeboxes of paper, notes on the backs of cocktail napkins, etc. He looked up at her from his labours and said, “Well all I can say is that you folks really mean it when you say “non-profit!”
That is a great story !
I would suggest a BOTTLE to celebrate – never mind a glass! Final accounts do have a habit of hanging over you.
doing the same thing here, tax prep, yesterday-today-tomorrow, ugh! i find that taking a break and coming back later helps clear the mind when fog sets in. be sure to reward yourself for a job well done, we so often forget what’s really important:)
Happy 2016!! I love to hear your interesting stories about you, Geordie and Highclere, you are very generous to share your life and home with us. Keep those tales coming, when a see a post in my inbox from you I am thrilled.
Good job to the both of you. Balancing books is a headache of a job most of the time, but such a worthy cause. God bless you for your determined efforts!
Bless these tasks for which we burdened with. As a young girl math and money didn’t sit well with me, but as life would have it I’m now a bank manager! So I sympathize with keeping books and sanity in hand, best of luck and enjoy the glass
I love reading about your life!!
The church is a lovely look on the eye.
What a tranquil view of the Church of St. Michael and the Angels at Highclere! At a time when there is the hustle and bustle, stress and anxiety of balancing books, filling out tax forms,etc., ’tis nice to stop and reflect on the quieter side of life. Thank you, Lady C. for taking us down the country road to church, and up to the windswept Beacon Hill to see the continuity of humanity at the Bronze Age burial sites. Truly enjoying all that you write about Highclere!
Highclere Church is very tranquil, it is so easy to forget to be a little bit peaceful sometimes. I do not go enough but enjoy the key church seasons..
What beautiful photos you’ve chosen to share with us. Thank you. You struggle with balancing just as we do, and by the sounds of most responders, we are all doing the same thing now.(!) I noticed your desk area, both of them. I wish mine looked so neat this time of year! You’ve given me hope though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One day I truly hope to visit Highclere. Thank you for sharing.
My desks are not neat and I just move round and make another messy desk. My husband gets really cross with me!!!
Me Too!!! I feel like I just did my all my adding up for my taxes – it comes around way too quick!!! Thanks for the insight into the Church – love your telling of the historical significance of everything…Enjoy your glass – you have definitely earned it – no pun intended – HA!
Although I am never sure the figures work quite so well after the odd delicious glass..
Dear Lady Carnarvon; This blog made me both laugh out loud and heave a sigh of relief. I manage a small hospital gift shop here on Prince Edward Island. Part of this is the bookkeeping, and everyday when I turn on Simply Accounting, I feel a banner will pop up and say “Not you again, please go away immediately and find someone competent!!” After four years of plunking numbers here and there and hoping for the best, I only sometimes balance and sometimes not. Thank you so much for sharing both your struggles and the wonderful history you are steeped in. Enjoy!
Dear Lady Canarvon,
I am from England originally and now live on Vancouver Island. Two questions: Did you go to the Holy Child Convent for a short time because I think I might have met you there as a teenager? Are you in Vancouver at the moment and if so will you be coming to Vancouver island at all during your trip?
Wonderful memories of our evening with you at your outstanding lecture about the history of Highclere Castle the end of October at your church!
Aloha… Greetings from Hawaii!
Your book,Lady Catherine,the Earl,and the Real Downton Abbey …kept me company on the 11 hour flight from the East coast of America to Pearl Harbor ,Hawaii….a Great read!
Will hope to finish on the return flight back to the U.S. Mainland in a few days!
Raise a toast to you!!
Betty Rehme
Virginia Beach,Va USA
I spent 22 years as a school secretary where I had to balance the budget. It was not always and easy task. Then I moved from California to Colorado and spent 6 years as a Church Secretary where it was my duty to count the offering, send out the tiding requests so that we would be able to balance income to expenditures. I like to think we had a Godly intervention because we always found enough in our collection plates to do God’s work. Thank you for sharing the many sides of life at Highclere.
Thank you your Ladyship, for the lovely picture of St Michaels & all Angels at Highclere
as a lad I sang in the choir and rang the bells the Rec Wormald was the rector then
oh happy days love to read your blogs sincerely PJMills
Greetings from a distant American relative, Lady Carnarvon. Your husband’s maternal ancestress, Lady Bridget Bennet, wife of the 1st Earl of Portsmouth, was the great-great-great granddaughter of Sir Thomas Kempe, the elder, of Olantigh, Kent who is my mother’s ancestor as well through the Skipwith baronets, formerly of Prestwold, Leicestershire. Our family fled Cromwell’s interregnum after 1650 and we have been established in the United States since. The Kempes are also ancestral to Princess Diana and the marquesses of Hertford, Londonderry, and Exeter. I have enjoyed reading your blog and know of some of your family here in the U.S. They only live hours away in Wyoming. There are still groups of us littered throughout the country and, unfortunately, none of us have met.
Wishing you the best as you keep things going at Highclere with the “wind-down” of Downton Abbey and keeping things going for your visitors!
I have to take care of our IRS issues soon…finding all the parts here and there!! Your post made me think of my Mom who until her death was treasurer of our small church (21 yrs ago) and as a child I watched her count the coins of a Sunday. Happy memories!!! Some fine day I hope to visit your amazing home. After watching DA all 6 seasons, buying every DVD, watching again and again, I have fallen in love with Highclere!!!
I am late at finding your website, but had made up for that by reading every written word since you began your blog. Thank you for sharing your home, life,activities during the years, and lastly for sharing beautiful photos and explaining the history that surrounds them. I live in a small town in Oklahoma U.S.A.,and am a retired teacher so most of your life is very different from mine, with just a few things we can match up. I am also doing my yearly income taxes. My sons will laugh their heads off when they find jars, and boxes of coins after I am gone. We will have to change our clocks forward one hour for Daylight Savings time(which I have hated every year) and am wondering if you have to go through that. I don’t have lots of clocks as I’m sure you do. The King of England , not sure which one, gave my relative Stanley Tipton a castle as a reward for being such a fine soldier in his army. A while later he gave it back because he couldn’t afford the upkeep. All my life I have wanted to know the name of the castle.I always chuckle when I hear discussions about the expensive upkeep about your Abbey. Downtown Abbey finished up tonight and I never missed an episode. May you have a blessed spring season.
My thank you your Ladyship for these blogs. Just thought I’d look up Highclere Castle to see what else might be on line, and here are all the lovely pics and your thoughts. Had heard about the Bronze Age Tumuli, and am happy to see a close up, and would love to attend your church. I had wanted to attend one in Kirkcaldy where my daughter lives, but there wasn’t enough time. I have a “thing” for Britain, perhaps because so many of my ancestors hailed from England. Again, my thanks – I’ll keep reading.
I am glad to read your blog and see what your daily life entails…even if I feel like a stalker about it.
There must be a million different things you can do from day to day. Never bored I will wager.
Someday I hope to come visit on a tour and see things up close and personal. What a blessing that will
be!
Have a wonderful day your Ladyship.
Can you imagine Carson with a coin counting machine? It’s kind of sweet to think of the people giving their coins. We mostly use checks here – yet our church secretary must produce an accounting for each giver at the end of the year for their taxes to reclaim a refund. This can be hundreds of reports. High finance – whoever sits on high imagines these games we must play???? No finances in Heaven – Aleluia!! It’s ALL been paid for.