I think the Fairacre series is the closest thing that I’ve come to binging nowadays. Although I am reluctant to read them too fast because once I’m done, I’m done! But since I won’t be able to head to the library for a while, I guess I won’t be going back to Fairacre village anytime soon.

In Village Centenary, Miss Read discovers that the school village is about to celebrate its one hundredth year! That’s a cause for celebration and festivities. But with a dour new teacher, a leaky skylight, and the usual hustle and bustle of a village, can Miss Read get everything organised in time?

Although this story was centered around the Village Centenary, it follows the one-year time frame of the earlier books, starting in January and ending in December. That helps us to settle into Fairacre life quite comfortably and engage ourselves with the various happenings, such as:

• The vicar keeping bees
• Minnie Pringle’s domestic troubles
• Poetry readings and poets at Amy’s house
• Joan Benson selling her house and what her tenant, Miriam Quinn is going to do about that

Speaking of moving, it’s pretty clear that even though Fairacre is a small village, there has been quite a lot of change through the books. Major Gunning, who helped to organise quite a bit of things in Fairacre Festival, has moved out of the village! At the same time, Simon Mawne, from White Robin, seems to have grown quite a bit in boarding school. And let’s not forget that though the Mawnes are leading figures in the village now, they actually moved in only a few weeks back! It made me think of what Miss Marple said in A Murder is Announced – the times, they are a changin’ (okay these aren’t her exact words)!

As usual, this has been a lovely escape back to the village of Fairacre. I don’t know if any place like this still exists, but it’s nice that I can visit whenever I want just by opening up the pages of a book. Saves a lot on airfare as well.