This photograph was taken five years ago almost to the day. It is inside St Edmund’s Church, Fenny Bentley, a small village near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. It was the day after their Harvest Festival and this simple window display was perfect for a quiet rural church, typical of so many English village churches.

The following day we were in Florence and within days of arriving we were overwhelmed by the ornate churches, elaborate architecture, countless statues and galleries. We were uncomfortable with all the hustle and bustle of an overcrowded tourist city. (Is there a name for tourists who complain about a place because there are too many tourists?). The contrast between the two locations could not have been greater. Of the two, I know where we would rather be, and it doesn’t require passports or boarding passes.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of Florence’s most famous residents and it was interesting to see this quote on a wall in the bookshop at the city’s Leonardo da Vinci Museum.

‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’. – Leonardo da Vinci.

Now in my book, that makes the sleepy Derbyshire village of Fenny Bentley far more sophisticated than Florence!