ttomdavison@ntlworld.com
maggiedavison@ntlworld.com
Well, here we are almost at the end of 2009, another year gone, and what have the Davison clan been up to? Certainly not as much as the previous year but plenty to keep us busy. So get ready for the annual epistle – find a good glass (maybe even a bottle) of wine and something to nibble on and lets begin…..
Over the period of last Christmas, seasonal bugs hit most of the extended clan. Christmas was spent with Judy, Glen, Andy, Ninx and Scarlett accompanied by much coughing, headaches and general malaise. Tom and I were mercifully spared the bugs during this time so just helped administer pills, potions and TLC whenever and wherever required. Ninx was so disappointed that Scarlett was so poorly that she didn’t fully enjoy all her pressies. Andy had been made redundant just before Christmas so knew he had to start the search for a job in the depressed market, so was understandably not at his best. However, we still managed to celebrate being together.
Amy, Mario and Izzy were in Germany with Winfried and Ursula and all were also under the weather, so much so that they had to delay their return by a day. Once back at Luton Airport, Amy found that the car battery was dead, but was greatly heartened by the cheerful AA man who attended very promptly, and the car park staff, who waived the extra day’s fee – better not tell BAA, they’ll probably demand it back with interest!!
Our plans to all get together at Amy’s on 29th Dec fell through because of the bugs, but again, Tom and I were still standing so helped make it a part family celebration.
On 10 January, Tom and I departed for 3 weeks in Madeira, looking forward to the “Garden Isle”. Everything went smoothly until we reached overhead the island. Due to adverse weather conditions (!!!) we couldn’t land. We circled for a while, then eventually flew on to the island of Porto Santo, only a few miles away, where we landed, in brilliant sunshine, waiting for a break in the weather at Funchal. There was almost a riot when we were not allowed off the plane (security reasons) and one couple were threatened with arrest when they actually tried to disembark. You can imagine the commotion when the pilot announced that if we couldn’t fly into Funchal within the next half hour, we would have to return to Stansted! There was not enough accommodation on this small island for us to be put up overnight, and the pilot’s flying hours would not allow him to delay beyond this time. Tom and I were quite relaxed about the whole thing – well, what can you do? – but some people got very aggressive, quite frightening, really.
Anyway, luckily, the storm above Madeira abated and we eventually landed over 7 hours later than we should have – to beautiful sunshine! The drive from the airport into Funchal is quite spectacular, and a lot smoother than in the past, as a new stretch of motorway has been built linking the two.
We could not fault the smooth operation of getting a full coachload of tired, rather irritable people into various hotels scattered around the city, but we were rather taken aback when we reached our hotel and the bus reversed up this steep slope to the entrance. We knew that Madeira is a “hilly” island, but were not warned that there were 150 steps from road level to the entrance – we counted them later!
I shan’t go into further details here, as several of you have already read the saga of our holiday from our blog (any of you who are interested enough will find it on this same website prior to this entry). Enough to say that we then succumbed to the bugs that everyone else had had over Christmas, so spent a week of our hols in our bedroom. Overall, we weren’t impressed with Madeira, but looking back, it was not the ideal time to go, as it was low season. There were flowers around but not in such profusion; every business was desperate for custom, so we were accosted wherever we went; the Euro was strong against the pound so it was expensive and we weren’t really fit enough to walk as much as we’d wanted. There were some brilliant moments but on the whole, not a place we will be returning to.
Back to UK on 1st February – to snow! We only just made it home that evening before it really hit and for once we had quite a covering in Bedford, though not as much as other places. Later in the month, we celebrated Izzy’s 3rd birthday – how time flies.
So the routine life for us retirees continues – when did we ever find the time to go to work? What with St John duties and social activities, Tom’s Masonic commitments, his monthly website work for David, my sewing “business”, cardmaking and scrapbooking, not to mention my casualty role for the St John FAW courses several days per month….so it goes on.
March saw Andy in a new job –hooray! – he’s a Contracts Manager for NCP’s street parking division, in London. He’d interviewed for a similar role before they moved to Yorkshire, but this time got the job. There was no actual appointment immediately, so he spent several weeks doing courses (including one on how to write up parking tickets!) in and around London and staying with Amy and Mario, which was lovely for them to spend some time together. Izzy fell in love with her Uncle Andy. It also meant he could babysit for her, allowing Amy and Mario a few nights out. He and Ninx decided not to try to sell the house as the market was so depressed, but would move south and stay with Judy and Glen at Wellington until there is an improvement. They got a tenant for the house so at least could just about cover the mortgage, and we now have a garage full of furniture, etc.
In April, we went to Cornwall to visit Hugh and Maggie in their new home – and had a week of rain and wind, so didn’t go out much but it was good to spend time with them after so long.
When we returned, Tom had a cancerous growth cut out of his back and spent a couple of days feeling a bit “crook”, but it was not a malignant one so all is well.
In May, it was Scarlett’s 2nd birthday, and we managed a family get-together here – the weather was beautiful and the girls enjoyed playing together in the garden.
maggiedavison@ntlworld.com
Well, here we are almost at the end of 2009, another year gone, and what have the Davison clan been up to? Certainly not as much as the previous year but plenty to keep us busy. So get ready for the annual epistle – find a good glass (maybe even a bottle) of wine and something to nibble on and lets begin…..
Over the period of last Christmas, seasonal bugs hit most of the extended clan. Christmas was spent with Judy, Glen, Andy, Ninx and Scarlett accompanied by much coughing, headaches and general malaise. Tom and I were mercifully spared the bugs during this time so just helped administer pills, potions and TLC whenever and wherever required. Ninx was so disappointed that Scarlett was so poorly that she didn’t fully enjoy all her pressies. Andy had been made redundant just before Christmas so knew he had to start the search for a job in the depressed market, so was understandably not at his best. However, we still managed to celebrate being together.
Amy, Mario and Izzy were in Germany with Winfried and Ursula and all were also under the weather, so much so that they had to delay their return by a day. Once back at Luton Airport, Amy found that the car battery was dead, but was greatly heartened by the cheerful AA man who attended very promptly, and the car park staff, who waived the extra day’s fee – better not tell BAA, they’ll probably demand it back with interest!!
Our plans to all get together at Amy’s on 29th Dec fell through because of the bugs, but again, Tom and I were still standing so helped make it a part family celebration.
On 10 January, Tom and I departed for 3 weeks in Madeira, looking forward to the “Garden Isle”. Everything went smoothly until we reached overhead the island. Due to adverse weather conditions (!!!) we couldn’t land. We circled for a while, then eventually flew on to the island of Porto Santo, only a few miles away, where we landed, in brilliant sunshine, waiting for a break in the weather at Funchal. There was almost a riot when we were not allowed off the plane (security reasons) and one couple were threatened with arrest when they actually tried to disembark. You can imagine the commotion when the pilot announced that if we couldn’t fly into Funchal within the next half hour, we would have to return to Stansted! There was not enough accommodation on this small island for us to be put up overnight, and the pilot’s flying hours would not allow him to delay beyond this time. Tom and I were quite relaxed about the whole thing – well, what can you do? – but some people got very aggressive, quite frightening, really.
Anyway, luckily, the storm above Madeira abated and we eventually landed over 7 hours later than we should have – to beautiful sunshine! The drive from the airport into Funchal is quite spectacular, and a lot smoother than in the past, as a new stretch of motorway has been built linking the two.
We could not fault the smooth operation of getting a full coachload of tired, rather irritable people into various hotels scattered around the city, but we were rather taken aback when we reached our hotel and the bus reversed up this steep slope to the entrance. We knew that Madeira is a “hilly” island, but were not warned that there were 150 steps from road level to the entrance – we counted them later!
I shan’t go into further details here, as several of you have already read the saga of our holiday from our blog (any of you who are interested enough will find it on this same website prior to this entry). Enough to say that we then succumbed to the bugs that everyone else had had over Christmas, so spent a week of our hols in our bedroom. Overall, we weren’t impressed with Madeira, but looking back, it was not the ideal time to go, as it was low season. There were flowers around but not in such profusion; every business was desperate for custom, so we were accosted wherever we went; the Euro was strong against the pound so it was expensive and we weren’t really fit enough to walk as much as we’d wanted. There were some brilliant moments but on the whole, not a place we will be returning to.
Back to UK on 1st February – to snow! We only just made it home that evening before it really hit and for once we had quite a covering in Bedford, though not as much as other places. Later in the month, we celebrated Izzy’s 3rd birthday – how time flies.
So the routine life for us retirees continues – when did we ever find the time to go to work? What with St John duties and social activities, Tom’s Masonic commitments, his monthly website work for David, my sewing “business”, cardmaking and scrapbooking, not to mention my casualty role for the St John FAW courses several days per month….so it goes on.
March saw Andy in a new job –hooray! – he’s a Contracts Manager for NCP’s street parking division, in London. He’d interviewed for a similar role before they moved to Yorkshire, but this time got the job. There was no actual appointment immediately, so he spent several weeks doing courses (including one on how to write up parking tickets!) in and around London and staying with Amy and Mario, which was lovely for them to spend some time together. Izzy fell in love with her Uncle Andy. It also meant he could babysit for her, allowing Amy and Mario a few nights out. He and Ninx decided not to try to sell the house as the market was so depressed, but would move south and stay with Judy and Glen at Wellington until there is an improvement. They got a tenant for the house so at least could just about cover the mortgage, and we now have a garage full of furniture, etc.
In April, we went to Cornwall to visit Hugh and Maggie in their new home – and had a week of rain and wind, so didn’t go out much but it was good to spend time with them after so long.
When we returned, Tom had a cancerous growth cut out of his back and spent a couple of days feeling a bit “crook”, but it was not a malignant one so all is well.
In May, it was Scarlett’s 2nd birthday, and we managed a family get-together here – the weather was beautiful and the girls enjoyed playing together in the garden.
.
.
Izzy growing up too fast?!!
Scarlett holding court!.
.
The terrible twosome - pink's the thing!!.
Despite the fact that they don’t see each other very often, they are so close, and it’s a real pleasure to watch them interact. We had a little bit of drama when Izzy ate some cashew nuts, and showed the early signs of an anaphylactic reaction! Amy, Mario, Tom and Izzy disappeared to A&E with great haste, but returned less than an hour later with Izzy all sorted. The hospital staff were amazing, whisking Izzy off as soon as they saw the problem and after a strong dose of Piriton and a consultation with the paediatrician, all was pronounced sorted but to keep her away from any nuts until she’d had some tests. (These have since been carried out and she is sensitive to cashews and pistachios, but no others, she just has to be careful. We are so pleased she doesn’t have the severe allergy that some people have.)
The following weekend, Tom did a sponsored walk for St John round Stewartby Lake, about 8 miles from here, dressed as a clown. Unfortunately, it was a horrid day, so no other walkers nor supporters turned out to cheer him on! But he walked 15 miles and raised £840 all on his own (not least thanks to Fitch for donating £500 from their charities fund), coming home soaked and very tired, and rather dispirited.
At the end of the month, it was Liz’s 60th celebrations, so we stayed with her and
David and enjoyed a weekend of good company, wonderful weather, fine food and lots of laughs. The rest of our side of the family arrived for the afternoon on Sunday, and the 2 girls played in the pool and ran around until they were almost too exhausted to move! A very fine time indeed.
June saw us once again on the way to the villa with Bruce and Carole. This time, we drove down through France to the west of Paris, stopping off in Chartres on the first night and travelling over the Millau bridge – truly an impressive edifice – down to Narbonne for the second night. Thanks to Dora the explorer (our TomTom), and of course Tom’s brilliant driving, we had un uneventful journey and arrived at the villa in glorious sunshine. (David had been down there the week before and they experienced some of the worst storms the region has ever had!) Then followed 2 weeks of relaxing, soaking up the sun and generally overindulging ourselves – well, that’s what holidays are for, aren’t they?!
On the return journey we once again stopped in Chartres and had time for a visit to the cathedral and a short walk round the old city centre. The cathedral is awe inspiring but will be even more so in a few years time when they have finished cleaning it all up. The few areas they have already worked on show how amazing it was originally.
July was once again back to routine with still plenty activity to keep us from getting bored. At the end of the month, Amy started her new job. For some time she’d been fed up at Fitch where she was doing a data inputting job (on her old PA’s salary! as they hadn’t wanted to lose her.) Her old boss, Kim, had asked if Amy knew anyone who was looking for an office admin job. Kim and her partner, Henrietta, had set up Lily’s Kitchen, an organic animal food company in March and it was doing so well, they needed an extra pair of hands. Amy leapt at the chance and although the post meant she would have to take a drop in salary and work an extra day a week, after consultation with Mario, it was decided she should apply. She had what she says was a “proper interview”, and was offered the position there and then! She started at the end of July and has been so happy since.
We saw both sets of children and families in August although separately, then went up to Teeside to spend a week with Ruth and Kit. The weather was very mixed while we were there but we managed to get out for a couple of walks, and visited Castle Howard too. It’s such a lovely area of the country.
Once again back home, we signed up with the Retirement Education Centre, Tom to do a German course so he can converse a bit better with Ursula and Winfried when they visit and me to do Tai Chi as I want to do some exercise but find it hard to get up from the floor once I get down! The Rothsay Ramblers are part of the REC and we joined them at the same time. Walks are arranged every Monday and range from 3 miles to 6 miles, divided into groups according to fitness and ability. These activities all started in September so added to our already full schedule.
We had a lovely day with Jane and Peter Edwards and their extended family on a beautiful Sat in Sept. Nick and his family were back in UK for a visit from NZ. We hadn’t seen them since we were out there last year and the 2 children had grown so much. Peter and Jane’s daughter, Angela and her husband, Nick, were there too with their very new son, Connor. It is so nice to be included as honorary members of their family.
Later in September we heard the sad news that Dorothy, wife of the retired Head of Musical Services in the RAF, Barrie Hingley, had died and we attended her funeral on the 23rd at Ruislip. She was a lovely lady, one of life’s really nice people but had suffered from MS for over 25years.
At the end of the month I spent a week with Amy and Mario and went to work with Amy! As I already said, Liliy’s Kitchen was only started in March, but with its sudden take-off, they had not got round to setting up a proper computer accounts system. I was brought in to enter all the customer data and accounts history. I was using an Apple laptop (different layout to Microsoft) on a MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) system which I had never seen before. On top of that, it was wireless and the connection was bad so it kept stalling. For the first couple of days I think I entered about a 20th of everything I’d been asked to, but once Kim had sorted it out, I finished it all and added all the data that Amy had collected during the week. Although it was hard work for a retiree (!! – all that travelling on the tube) I enjoyed it and it gave me an insight into what Amy was doing.
Ruth’s daughter, Angela was posted to the Falklands from mid-November for 4 months, so we went up to Grantham to visit her before she left. Mitchell, her and Curt’s son, would be 2 shortly after she left so they had an early birthday party for him. As things have turned out, she was told 2 days before she was due to go that the posting had been cancelled and just to go back to work! Such is life in the armed forces these days – short notice postings and even shorter notice cancellations! Talking of armed forces, I hope all of you are wearing something red on Fridays to show your support for all the troops currently posted in war zones. We may not agree with the reasons behind their presence, but we certainly support them. I find it hard to watch the bodies being brought home and feel so much sympathy for the wounded and maimed who come home, and their families – their lives will never be the same. Meanwhile this b****y government seem to be more concerned about running our lives with more and more “elf” and safety measures which can no more be policed than fly in the air… Here endeth the party political rant!!
Hugh and Maggie came to visit us in early November, but on the way here, Hugh suffered a mild stroke. He was fortunate in that, when it happened, although he was driving, they were in Milton Keynes, on a roundabout and right behind them was an ambulance! Talk about getting help FAST! They were also within a few hundred yards of the hospital. We were able to get there within an hour and spent the next 8 hours in the hospital. Their daughters, Debbi and Jenny were able to get there too. After a night spent there, Hugh was allowed home to us where they both spent the next 2 weeks, waiting for Bedford to organise an MRI scan, which never materialised. So, having improved tremendously, Maggie drove them home to Helston where he has started the procedure to get a scan in Truro. I feel the NHS is failing sadly in many ways and it was so difficult to sit and watch while Hugh was so let down. There is so much emphasis put on getting help FAST, then the system doesn’t follow through. There is nothing worse than NOT knowing what’s happening. I think we can all deal with even bad news when we know what it is.
After our rather worrying time, it was nice to go to Norwich to Pat and John for a weekend culminating in an RAF band concert in the Theatre Royal. It was superb but we did miss Barrie Hingley’s sure touch as conductor. Their star soloist, Matthew Little, whom some of you may have seen perform at the Edinburgh Tattoo, is a wonderful singer and as for the xylophone player – Evelyn Glennie, eat you heart out!! We all waved our Union Flags with gusto during Land of Hope and Glory, some of us with just a trace of dampness in the eyes. The only downside of the w/e was that Pat’s neighbour reversed into the back of our Mondeo, taking out the offside light cluster and damaging two of the panels! She says she saw that P and J had visitors, then just got in her Range Rover and reversed straight into it!! It was drivable but not entirely legal, but we got home in daylight on Mon without being stopped. It has since been fixed.
So here we are in December again. I have made ALL my Christmas cards, many recycled from all the lovely ones we received last year and once again am putting this letter on the blog as it saves paper, printer ink and most of all, paying lots of extra postage. I do miss receiving the annual letter from those of you who don’t seem to have the time anymore. We may not manage to meet up but I still like to think of you and your families in your various “doings” so buck up and get writing!!
We have several Christmassy events between now and the Day, which we are both looking forward to and I’m sure most of you will be celebrating at least once, so bottoms up whatever you’re drinking. We shall be spending Christmas Day with David and Liz, and getting together with Amy and Andy and their families on Boxing Day with Judy and Glen at Wellington. We’re all hoping that none of us is ill this year and we hope the same for you all too.
One piece of good news to leave you with is that Amy is pregnant again. It is early days but the signs are good, but after 2 miscarriages, we all have our fingers crossed for them, and if any of you pray, please add her to your prayers. Baby no. 2 is expected in July.
So on that hopeful note, we wish you all a very happy festive season and hope that 2010 will be at least a peaceful and enjoyable year for you.
The following weekend, Tom did a sponsored walk for St John round Stewartby Lake, about 8 miles from here, dressed as a clown. Unfortunately, it was a horrid day, so no other walkers nor supporters turned out to cheer him on! But he walked 15 miles and raised £840 all on his own (not least thanks to Fitch for donating £500 from their charities fund), coming home soaked and very tired, and rather dispirited.
At the end of the month, it was Liz’s 60th celebrations, so we stayed with her and
David and enjoyed a weekend of good company, wonderful weather, fine food and lots of laughs. The rest of our side of the family arrived for the afternoon on Sunday, and the 2 girls played in the pool and ran around until they were almost too exhausted to move! A very fine time indeed.
June saw us once again on the way to the villa with Bruce and Carole. This time, we drove down through France to the west of Paris, stopping off in Chartres on the first night and travelling over the Millau bridge – truly an impressive edifice – down to Narbonne for the second night. Thanks to Dora the explorer (our TomTom), and of course Tom’s brilliant driving, we had un uneventful journey and arrived at the villa in glorious sunshine. (David had been down there the week before and they experienced some of the worst storms the region has ever had!) Then followed 2 weeks of relaxing, soaking up the sun and generally overindulging ourselves – well, that’s what holidays are for, aren’t they?!
On the return journey we once again stopped in Chartres and had time for a visit to the cathedral and a short walk round the old city centre. The cathedral is awe inspiring but will be even more so in a few years time when they have finished cleaning it all up. The few areas they have already worked on show how amazing it was originally.
July was once again back to routine with still plenty activity to keep us from getting bored. At the end of the month, Amy started her new job. For some time she’d been fed up at Fitch where she was doing a data inputting job (on her old PA’s salary! as they hadn’t wanted to lose her.) Her old boss, Kim, had asked if Amy knew anyone who was looking for an office admin job. Kim and her partner, Henrietta, had set up Lily’s Kitchen, an organic animal food company in March and it was doing so well, they needed an extra pair of hands. Amy leapt at the chance and although the post meant she would have to take a drop in salary and work an extra day a week, after consultation with Mario, it was decided she should apply. She had what she says was a “proper interview”, and was offered the position there and then! She started at the end of July and has been so happy since.
We saw both sets of children and families in August although separately, then went up to Teeside to spend a week with Ruth and Kit. The weather was very mixed while we were there but we managed to get out for a couple of walks, and visited Castle Howard too. It’s such a lovely area of the country.
Once again back home, we signed up with the Retirement Education Centre, Tom to do a German course so he can converse a bit better with Ursula and Winfried when they visit and me to do Tai Chi as I want to do some exercise but find it hard to get up from the floor once I get down! The Rothsay Ramblers are part of the REC and we joined them at the same time. Walks are arranged every Monday and range from 3 miles to 6 miles, divided into groups according to fitness and ability. These activities all started in September so added to our already full schedule.
We had a lovely day with Jane and Peter Edwards and their extended family on a beautiful Sat in Sept. Nick and his family were back in UK for a visit from NZ. We hadn’t seen them since we were out there last year and the 2 children had grown so much. Peter and Jane’s daughter, Angela and her husband, Nick, were there too with their very new son, Connor. It is so nice to be included as honorary members of their family.
Later in September we heard the sad news that Dorothy, wife of the retired Head of Musical Services in the RAF, Barrie Hingley, had died and we attended her funeral on the 23rd at Ruislip. She was a lovely lady, one of life’s really nice people but had suffered from MS for over 25years.
At the end of the month I spent a week with Amy and Mario and went to work with Amy! As I already said, Liliy’s Kitchen was only started in March, but with its sudden take-off, they had not got round to setting up a proper computer accounts system. I was brought in to enter all the customer data and accounts history. I was using an Apple laptop (different layout to Microsoft) on a MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) system which I had never seen before. On top of that, it was wireless and the connection was bad so it kept stalling. For the first couple of days I think I entered about a 20th of everything I’d been asked to, but once Kim had sorted it out, I finished it all and added all the data that Amy had collected during the week. Although it was hard work for a retiree (!! – all that travelling on the tube) I enjoyed it and it gave me an insight into what Amy was doing.
Ruth’s daughter, Angela was posted to the Falklands from mid-November for 4 months, so we went up to Grantham to visit her before she left. Mitchell, her and Curt’s son, would be 2 shortly after she left so they had an early birthday party for him. As things have turned out, she was told 2 days before she was due to go that the posting had been cancelled and just to go back to work! Such is life in the armed forces these days – short notice postings and even shorter notice cancellations! Talking of armed forces, I hope all of you are wearing something red on Fridays to show your support for all the troops currently posted in war zones. We may not agree with the reasons behind their presence, but we certainly support them. I find it hard to watch the bodies being brought home and feel so much sympathy for the wounded and maimed who come home, and their families – their lives will never be the same. Meanwhile this b****y government seem to be more concerned about running our lives with more and more “elf” and safety measures which can no more be policed than fly in the air… Here endeth the party political rant!!
Hugh and Maggie came to visit us in early November, but on the way here, Hugh suffered a mild stroke. He was fortunate in that, when it happened, although he was driving, they were in Milton Keynes, on a roundabout and right behind them was an ambulance! Talk about getting help FAST! They were also within a few hundred yards of the hospital. We were able to get there within an hour and spent the next 8 hours in the hospital. Their daughters, Debbi and Jenny were able to get there too. After a night spent there, Hugh was allowed home to us where they both spent the next 2 weeks, waiting for Bedford to organise an MRI scan, which never materialised. So, having improved tremendously, Maggie drove them home to Helston where he has started the procedure to get a scan in Truro. I feel the NHS is failing sadly in many ways and it was so difficult to sit and watch while Hugh was so let down. There is so much emphasis put on getting help FAST, then the system doesn’t follow through. There is nothing worse than NOT knowing what’s happening. I think we can all deal with even bad news when we know what it is.
After our rather worrying time, it was nice to go to Norwich to Pat and John for a weekend culminating in an RAF band concert in the Theatre Royal. It was superb but we did miss Barrie Hingley’s sure touch as conductor. Their star soloist, Matthew Little, whom some of you may have seen perform at the Edinburgh Tattoo, is a wonderful singer and as for the xylophone player – Evelyn Glennie, eat you heart out!! We all waved our Union Flags with gusto during Land of Hope and Glory, some of us with just a trace of dampness in the eyes. The only downside of the w/e was that Pat’s neighbour reversed into the back of our Mondeo, taking out the offside light cluster and damaging two of the panels! She says she saw that P and J had visitors, then just got in her Range Rover and reversed straight into it!! It was drivable but not entirely legal, but we got home in daylight on Mon without being stopped. It has since been fixed.
So here we are in December again. I have made ALL my Christmas cards, many recycled from all the lovely ones we received last year and once again am putting this letter on the blog as it saves paper, printer ink and most of all, paying lots of extra postage. I do miss receiving the annual letter from those of you who don’t seem to have the time anymore. We may not manage to meet up but I still like to think of you and your families in your various “doings” so buck up and get writing!!
We have several Christmassy events between now and the Day, which we are both looking forward to and I’m sure most of you will be celebrating at least once, so bottoms up whatever you’re drinking. We shall be spending Christmas Day with David and Liz, and getting together with Amy and Andy and their families on Boxing Day with Judy and Glen at Wellington. We’re all hoping that none of us is ill this year and we hope the same for you all too.
One piece of good news to leave you with is that Amy is pregnant again. It is early days but the signs are good, but after 2 miscarriages, we all have our fingers crossed for them, and if any of you pray, please add her to your prayers. Baby no. 2 is expected in July.
So on that hopeful note, we wish you all a very happy festive season and hope that 2010 will be at least a peaceful and enjoyable year for you.
