Libby Fawbert

At the start of this year, veteran PM reporter Libby Fawbert was struck down by a mystery virus, which meant that she had to stop working for a time.

Even now, it is not certain what the virus was - but the symptoms were debilitating. For more than six months, Libby could not work and the PM programme has been the poorer without her reports.

However, Libby is now on the way back to health - still not well enough to appear on air - but well enough to write regular letters from the Devon town on the edge of Dartmoor where she lives.

As Libby's letters show, life in rural Britain does not always live up to the image that millions of holidaymakers have of it.

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