Peter and Diana Hewett were my maternal grandparents. They were both teachers; Diana was a mathematician whilst Peter taught English. Their home, a converted windmill in Kirton, Suffolk – from which this website takes its name – was a literary haven for students, family and friends alike.

Peter’s autobiography, Owslebury Bottom, was published in 1991, shortly before his death in 1992 at the age of 73. After Peter died, Diana started working on a sequel, officially entitled Paradise Regained but known affectionately as What Happened Next?; but even after Diana’s ashes joined Peter’s under the mulberry bush in the Mill garden in 2000, the book remained in the loft, until my father decided that it was really time we did something about it.

It was fairly clear that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a publisher for the book, so we decided to do it ourselves and publish on the Internet.

It was a long journey for me – not least because I had to learn how to create web pages as I went along! I learned a lot about my grandparents and shed many new tears over their loss, but the journey was worth taking. The real credit for this project, however, must really go to my father, Mike, for kick-starting me into action and for heroically typing the manuscript.

I completed the original website in July 2005, just a couple of weeks before Mike lost his battle with cancer, and three months after Gale (Peter and Diana's daughter, and my mother) succumbed to a rare neurological condition. After Gale's death I worked flat out to make sure that Mike saw the website finished, and after he died as well, it was a long time before I could face even thinking about it again.

James (Gale's brother) and I took the difficult decision to sell the Mill after Gale's death, and it is no longer in Hewett family hands, but we could not have found anyone better than the new owners, who are personal friends of mine. I still feel very much part of the place, and have been back several times; the garden is loved and cared for, the upstairs Mill is now an open space with a perfect acoustic for singing, and the annexe kitchen is now a brewery. I think that Peter, Diana, Gale and Mike would all have approved!

I have felt for some time now that since the sale of the Mill I really needed to update at least the introduction to the website, and a perfect opportunity arose when my good friends Jane and Paul offered to help me bring the site design up to date and make it more accessible. My thanks go to both of them.

Owslebury Bottom, the book that started this whole project (it was named after the village in which Peter lived until he was eight), is now out of print, but I still have a number of copies; so if you’d like one, please e-mail me. As for its sequel, Paradise Regained, I hope that you get as much pleasure out of reading it as I believe Diana did out of writing it.

I do still intend to put more of Peter's poems on the site at some point, when I can find the time! In the meantime, enjoy the new site, and if you remember the family, do get in touch.

Sophie Watson

May 2008