This is the time of year when it’s traditional for people to greet clergy with a cheerful, “This is your busy time of year!” And I nod and smile and get my own back by saying the same thing to the young men at the butcher’s. Being busy for me involves a lot of administration. May Mr T have a robin redbreast on his tombstone? Is it essential to disseminate the deanery development planning materials more widely across the parishes to facilitate active engagement? Has that wedding document made it safely to Shire Hall? Yes, probably not, yes, in that order. Here come two irritable emails about the parish magazine. The landline rings. It’s a funeral director. Since there’s so much admin, all the things that take me out of the rectory and onto the high street—or into the pub, the village hall or the church—are a joy.