Whenever I find myself at this time of the year surrounded by the Christmas celebrations, mainly when significant conflicts occur worldwide, memories of when I was in charge of the biggest crèche in Spain in Gran Canaria come rushing back. The crèche was built due to the "tourism boom" on the island when thousands of mothers were called to work in the hospitality business and found themselves without a place to leave their children while they were working. I was initiating the Open University for the local government then and was asked to organise the crèche. Later, I became responsible for 465 children and 30+ personnel, including teachers, cooks, cleaning staff, etc.

It was an incredible experience, not only because of the mammoth responsibility but because of the novelty of it all. Never before had an enterprise of this magnitude been tried on the islands. Nevertheless, and I am glad to say it, the biggest and most important lesson I learned from it was what the children taught me. Those 465 children were not only local children but also children from mainland Spain, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, England, Holland, France, India, Colombia, Turkey, Ecuador, and many other places that escape my memory now.

Their ages ranged from 6 months to 5 years old, and they taught me that there were no differences or beliefs regarding languages and religion at that age. Being able to play together and to communicate didn't matter in which way, and simply enjoying the beauty of any religious festivity was their main priority. How did they do it? I am still asking that question myself. Neither could I explain how we kept such a harmonious system of running the crèche, teaching the oldest ones how to write and read while overcoming the language barriers. The only answer I have is that both the children and we had a common objective; the children aimed to have fun and make friends, and our purpose was to support a generation growing up in a world that not even their parents had experienced before.

Similar opportunities have come my way because of the many countries I have lived in. More recently, thanks to the initiative of this paper's previous and present editors, I have again realised that when there is a common objective, language, race, and background are not impediments to achieving something different or unique.

If I decided to write on this subject this week, it was not because I sought recognition for the work done past and present. Just the opposite, I would like to publicly thank those who, for the last two years, and significantly Dave Stevens, have broken the language and cultural barriers and haven't seen me as somebody different but have collaborated with me, given me their trust and time to produce something together in the hope that the readers of this paper would enjoy and help them to appreciate that our aim was not other but to support the traders of this town by letting that world out there learn of the beauties and benefits of Ottery, its treasures, its secrets, its customs, traditions and festivals and the many things we wanted to share with our visitors and newcomers.

I have gained a lot from the experience; as I said at the beginning, it allowed me to learn the secrets of mutual understanding and respect, make numerous friends and give something back to the town that had welcomed me.

I thank all those who kindly agreed to collaborate in this column's production and the entire Sidmouth Herald team for their understanding, patience, and professionalism. May 2024 bring happiness, health, success, and peace to you all. If more could only learn the lesson and appreciate the legacy given to us by those children in the playground of a crèche in the Canary Islands, what a great world this would be.