Singleton Family Newsletter 2009
SINGLETON FAMILY NEWSLETTER – 2009
Bernard and Christine Singleton
When I retired two years ago and decided to draw down an income from my SIPP, my financial adviser told me I needed a large pension fund and nerves of steel. How right he was! I now have neither! Despite the economic woes we are both healthy ( relatively ) and 2008 was a good year despite the weather.
For me 2008 was the year of the allotment. With a friend of ours Angela I took on an allotment that had not been touched for years. The ground had to be cleared and dug over and by the end of the year we had asparagus beds in, fruit frame built and a serious glut of beans and courgettes to show for our efforts. Work continues – as the allotment is opposite Ross’ there is hot competition.
Apart from this new venture I have continued to play tennis four times a week which is fitted in round my house managers duties, got involved as a School Governor, become a trustee of a dyslexia organisation and done a fair bit of reading and gardening.
In March I went with a pal for a walk round the foothills of Lake Balaton in Hungary. Did 141 klms in six days.About 140 klms more than I am used to. Got the blisters to prove it. In April it was Portugal for the usual tennis jolly. In May I went to the Ypres Salient in Belgium to visit the WWI battlefields at Paschendael. Very moving. In August we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a trip to Dubai Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Very self indulgent.
Christine has continued her work at the Rehab Centre and was appointed lead clinician in charge of 196 other clinicians – as this is traditionally a doctor’s role she did well to get the post as a “mere” physio. She continues with her private practice as well which is useful as we are still struggling to get two children off our payroll.
Edward and Charlie turned 24 this year. Edward’s work in the fashion photography world went well. He is still working as an assistant but has had a few commissions of his own. Whilst the pay is poor there are other compensations – travel to Miami, Milan ,Germany etc ( this weekend it is New York –again ! ) staying in the best hotels working with beautiful scantily clad young ladies – so boring ! The start to this year has been awful and Mum and Dad have been the Bank of last (and first) resort !
Charlie finished his tour of duty in Kosovo and came away with a certificate of commendation from his C.O. for a particularly successful arms raid he led. He was then posted to Cyprus for Afghanistan training but to his great disappointment and our intense relief the posting to Afghanistan was changed and he was sent to Pirbright to train new recruits.
Robert (22) is about to finish his Masters degree in civil engineering at UCL. He has enjoyed his time in London. He has worked at weekends at the Cafe de Paris becoming an accomplished cocktail barman. He has also enjoyed organising the university fashion show – not least because it has brought him in touch with loads of girls, who are a bit thin on the round in the engineering faculty. Unfortunately he has managed to pick the worst time in living memory to be a graduate arriving on the jobs market. Back to the Bank of Mum and Dad! Maybe its time to pay ourselves a bonus!
Jill and John Forrest
In the Spring of 2008 we enjoyed a cruise entitled ‘Britain and Ireland in the Spring’ which started from Leith docks in Edinburgh and finished in Portsmouth (handy for us !) On the way we visited gardens in the Orkneys, the Summer Isles, Skye, Iona, Dublin, Waterford, Tresco and Agatha Christie’s garden in Dartmouth. The highlight of the cruise was our morning visit to Fingal’s Cave using the ship’s Zodiac boats, when 4 or 5 basking sharks, up to 30 feet long, were gliding around our little boats feeding on plankton: I fished some out of the water and it was like marbles made from transparent jelly.
The Autumn of 2008 was dominated by plans for John’s ‘Jolly’- a party for the eight principal supporters of his Tilt-Dam invention during its development years. With wives we numbered 16 and had a most memorable evening celebrating both his 75th birthday and his second retirement. Much to my complete surprise, the evening concluded with John unveiling an abstract sculpture, carved from alabaster, which I had so admired in an artists’ display in Agatha Christie’s garden. How this was done without my knowledge is another story in itself! ‘Buoyant’ is the name given it by the Sculptress, and it now sits on a purpose made plinth of spiral paving slabs in our garden. It glows a soft peachy-pink when the sun shines on it and is illuminated at night by a spotlight, which we can switch on from indoors.
Earlier in October we watched another memorable spectacle when the QE 2 finally departed her home port of Southampton and steamed out into the Solent followed by Queen Mary 2 (with my sister, Judy, and her husband on board, sailing to New York on their first cruise !) It was perfect weather that evening, with the sun beginning to set in the West, lighting the sky behind these famous liners as they progressed majestically past the waving crowds massed at the waterside.
In November John and I were invited to a social evening by the local branch of the Royal British Legion. I was touched to be presented by a Vice Admiral (no less !) with a poppy brooch on completing 25 years as a poppy seller.
On my birthday in December, which happened to fall on a Sunday, I was received into the Catholic Church, having followed the RCIA course both here in Bishop’s Waltham and in Romsey. After 47 years of marriage and my Convent school years, it seemed the right time and with Charles’ support, together with John’s, I am now a ‘fully paid up’ member !
As to John’s activities on the Tilt-Dam front, I can report that members of the Family who are shareholders in Tilt-Dam Ltd. have been kept informed of progress, the key item being that the first contract was awarded on 7th January 2008 and completed 2 hours before the time set by the contract for 5:00 pm on Friday 25th April. A slightly busier time than usual during that period !!
Peter and Valerie Hughes
Peter and I continue to stroll through the years doing our own thing.
I went for a 4-day walking holiday with HF Holidays, to the Peak District – it rained. So a friend and myself played hookey and ‘did’ Bakewell and Buxton and all places in-between. In October, Peter went for a week’s walking holiday to Glencoe, also with HF Holidays. We have to take separate holidays so that the dogs (2 collies and a whippet) have someone left to look after them.
In November I am going on a 4-day walking trip to Cricket St. Thomas, in Somerset, staying at a Warner Hotel - no screaming kids!
I have given up the allotments and brought as much as I could home – rhubarb plant, blackberry, red currant, and gooseberry bushes, raspberry canes and 4 apple trees. Going to the allotment involved a 6-mile round trip and, as an everyday commitment, it lost it’s glamour.
I did a lot more stints of the Cotswold Way and have only the final stage to go – only 2 miles – to Bath Abbey. It has been a most exhilarating experience. I started out owning no camera. Peter brought me back a small digital camera from his stay at Glencoe. It had no viewfinder and, in bright sunlight, the screen acted as a mirror so the only thing I saw was my face instead of the lovely view I wanted to preserve for posterity. So I splashed out and bought a top of the range all-singing, all-dancing Fugi – the results are fantastic even with my idiotic experience. I am thinking of returning to the superb subjects I have seen and passed on the Cotswold Way to photograph them, just to remember them by. My next target is the South Downs Way and I will certainly have my camera handy!
Our official holiday together consisted, as usual, of day trips to here and there. Being retired, our holiday can last as long as we like and this year we had 4 weeks before normal working was restored. One of our trips was to Alrewas to the National Memorial to all those service personnel killed in conflicts since the Second World War – all have their names and rank carved in stone in massive panels – the sad thing is the number of spare panels for future names. If you can it is well worth a visit. The setting is in 100 acres and beautifully and tastefully set out. We visited the ‘Shot at Dawn’ memorial site – every man was represented by a stake and his name, age, regiment and date of death was inscribed on a cross on it. This memorial has to be visited alone. There were masses of other areas of the interest. The Arctic conflicts were represented by a wonderful polar bear statue. Do go!
I continue to garden – always another big improvement project to accomplish – and am still heavily involved as Programme Secretary for the local branch of the U3A. I have to provide a Speaker a week for 39 weeks of the year – a real challenge. Early in 2009 our next door neighbours informed us that they were submitting a Planning Application to have a 2-storey extension not only at the back of their 2-bedroom house but also down the side between our 2 premises. We inwardly groaned – we have fought against 3 such applications in the past, and although we had always been successful, it had left us drained for a long time. This time was to be the worst as the East of England Regional Policy is to fit as much housing as possible on as little land as possible. The neighbours got all the big guns professionally who, as a man, said there would be no problem - the application would go through on the nod. Peter took up the practical work and I did the administrative stuff. He got out his theodolite (again) and his surveying kit, his camera et al. His main objections were that we would lose the ancient lights to the bedroom on that side of the house. The foundations of our house were at risk as the gap between the houses would be less than 1 metre, also leaving no room for erection of scaffolding to maintain that side of the house and the chimneys that can only be approached from there. Also the sewage pipe, that served the 6 terrace houses of which the end house was that of our neighbours, would have to be re-sited down this small width and so further endanger our foundations. Even those bodies that we consulted about the application said we had no grounds to object.
Peter lodged his objection – technical drawings, photographs of the houses now, and his written screed of objection- to both the Town Council (who only have an advisory role) and to the District Council (who make the actual decision albeit taking account of the decision of the Town Council). Peter attended the Town Council meeting, had his 3 minutes to explain his objections, and the application was passed to the District Council with the recommendation that the application be refused. Peter asked when he should attend the hearing of the District Council and was told there wouldn’t be one for that application because it was to be refused due to factors contrary to the building regulations, namely the lack of a firebreak between the houses, the damage to the foundations of 315 (us), the re-siting of the sewer pipe, the lack of off-street parking for the number of bedrooms, and more. It surprised us that the neighbours didn’t attend any of the proceedings – we deduced that they were arrogantly sure they would get their Planning Permission. Now they can only appeal to the Secretary of State which will cost them a bomb, take forever (even a Conservative government will be in power) and most likely fail. They will sell up and another lot will buy this ‘delightful 2-bedroom Victorian farm cottage’ and the whole thing will start all over again in about 8 years time!! Cynical? Yes – realistic? Definitely. At the moment we just heave a huge sigh of relief. (The extension would have knocked about £300,000 off the value of our house!!!)
In January, Peter slipped on some ice and severely injured his left shoulder. Some years ago he injured the rotor cuff of his right shoulder and, as it was not diagnosed and operated on quickly enough, he has now only limited use of it. After his injury in January, suspecting rotor cuff damage in the left shoulder, he was treated very quickly and the diagnosis confirmed. It is not responding so it is likely that an operation will be next. For the moment he is struggling, but as a hands-on chartered mechanical engineer, he is determined not to give up his use of his workshop and machines. Apart from that , so far both of us are in rude health and have not been affected by the financial chaos. By the way, as from 6th May 2009 there are 396 days to the maximum time for a general election!!. Peter crosses each day off the ‘demob chart’ with a drawing of a St. George’s flag!.
Maria and David Rowell
Life pootles on contentedly in Hemel Hempstead, and as Alex is now 20, we have been here 20 years! I have become an old aged pensioner. To celebrate I had my ears pierced and took up singing lessons, both highly successful. I continue to work part time at the local library, enjoying dealing with the diversity of customers and eating lots of cakes at tea breaks.
David volunteered himself for redundancy in December 2007 and after a year of reading, writing, running) and DIY has decided they will now be his permanent activities. Check out his blog at www.runningmatters.blogspot.com
Alex has almost completed two years at Manchester University studying Geography. She did an Easter field trip in Crete and is looking forward to six weeks field study in a game reserve north of Johannesburg in the summer.
In October David and I went to visit his sister in Canada. We all took part in a road race event in Victoria on Vancouver Island. David did the full marathon, his sister and brother in law did the half marathon and myself and my niece did 8km. I was particularly chuffed to do my first race and to be 10th in my age group and to finish ahead of half of the field. Like many others I am trying to grow my own veggies this year in raised beds. Having got a book from the library on square foot gardening, I hope to get maximum cropping from a small space.
Clare and Eric Orger
Our main news is that Eric has given up engineering. He was a victim of the recession but decided to view this positively as an opportunity to do something different. He is now trading as "Able Handyman Services". He has been doing this for the last six weeks (two of which he was out of commission following a hernia op) and already has a sound client base.
I continue to work at the library even though I am now of official retirement age, plus keep my weekly commitment at Oxfam doing all the book donations. (There is a theme here!)
Thomas continues to enjoy London life at the BBC. He is now working on a new soap for the teenage audience, all of whom watch via their computers on BBC Switch.
Suzie is just coming to the end of her second year at Art College and is busy setting up an exhibition in one of the Leeds hospitals.
We continue to go to our house in France whenever we can which is about three to four times a year - don't forget it is available for a reasonable rental!
Otherwise we enjoy life with our allotment, our wine tasting classes and a wide circle of good friends.
Richard & Hilary May-Hill
At lot of what has occupied us in 2008 stems from activities which were commenced in earlier years; in some cases chickens coming home to roost!
I entered upon my second year as the Wales Representative of The Friends of the Historic Houses Association (HHA) by spreading my wings to mid Wales. In addition to two day trips in the south we had two very successful visits to Bryngwyn and Vaynor Park, near Welshpool, which have now encouraged me sufficiently to venture into north Wales in 2009. These involve even more time as they require a “recce” involving an overnight stay.
Rupert and Sarah were able to join us on our annual visit to Tresco in April. We managed to prolong the wedding celebrations by holding a lunch for those islanders who had assisted at the wedding the previous year, the organist, flower arrangers, restaurant manager etc. We held it in the same room with the identical menu on the exact anniversary. It was a wonderful way of saying thank you and hugely enjoyable.
James kept up his annual unescorted visits to his grandparents in August with the highlight this year being a trip to Big Pit where we all descended 200 feet for the 50 minute tour underground. It was just as I had hoped to celebrate my birthday! A while ago Rupert, being a glutton for punishment, accepted the position of chairman of the national Young Professionals Advisory Board of The Institute of Chartered Accountants. This was one of only 5 newly created boards that cover the whole of the Institute world wide. It has resulted in considerable additional work but also involved him rubbing shoulders, at the highest level, with the President and Chief Executive etc. His father, who has attended many Institute meetings over the years, is very jealous as he has never been party to the best port and pudding wines from the President’s cellar!
This chairmanship is about to end after several years as Rupert is resigning to take on the Presidency of The South Wales District of the Institute on 19th May. In this he will follow his father who was president in 1995/96. There have only been two previous cases of fathers and sons holding these offices. As Richard is still on the committee there should be some interesting meetings.
Richard is still much occupied with his position as Chairman of the SA Brain Pension Scheme with the combination of increasing regulation and decreasing investment values making life extremely difficult. At the same time the demands of the Welch Regiment Museum at Cardiff Castle are increasing as the new premises are virtually complete and the change from traditional museum to new style inter active participatory exhibition is approaching fast.
We have continued to take as many holidays as we can fit in, most recently a hugely enjoyable cruise on the river Douro.
Tina Davis
Time sure passes so quickly and here we are already in April 2009! I seem to have been caught with all sorts of things and treading water with my little business in the current economic crisis has been challenging but, I am a good swimmer! I am blessed with one remaining but, very loyal client (in the security field) that I am sub contract Sales and Marketing Manager for and that keeps me going. When things pick up as no doubt they will before too long, I shall then be able to concentrate much more on my writing side of my little business. I run my little business from my little home next door to Mum and Dad's which seems to work well.
Since early January this year, I have been collecting donated books to send out to those less fortunate in Marigot Bay, St Lucia - where I have had 2 wonderful holidays in the past 2 years. The local ladies there have formed a development committee and my friend Judith whom I stayed with has been actively involved with the project too. A Library is now going to be built to house the books I have collected - over a 1000 of them and all in very good condition, the main bulk coming from my kind parishioners of my Church in Twyford. A few days ago having put out feelers for a sponsor a month or so ago, I had the good news that from my contact with His Excellency The High Commissioner for St Lucia in London that he and his office have arranged shipment of the books and they are to leave sometime in May for their voyage. I have had great help from Ready Steady Store in Wokingham whom have not only donated boxes but, have also given me a 25Sq ft storage unit to use and will also be helping to deliver the books to the docks for shipment. It is a wonderful feeling for the project to finally all come together and great to know that so many will benefit.
I have also been sewing too! Altering the official outfit of Lady Elizabeth Godsal - The High Sheriff of Wokingham and it has sure been a challenge! A very grand velvet suit so, one has to be very careful and it has/is taking many hours to do but, will be finished by the end of April. So, with the book project and the sewing it is so good to have both completed by mid May. Kept me out of trouble!!
It has been tough since Dad died and he is missed enormously but, we know he is nearby and that brings much comfort and I am sure Pat is caring for him too in heaven, bless her.
The reunion seemed to go really well last year and the weather blessed us with a glorious sunny day which hopefully will be the same this year and same venue too. Looking forward to seeing whomever can make the date - for it is sure to be good.
Stephen Davis
For us 2008 was undoubtedly a year to forget, and we don’t often get them. Not only was it the first year of the global crunch it was a year where plans did not quite gel together. The onset of the global crunch meant we started the year in a cautious manner, now skiing holiday, no plans for a summer holiday, plans to sell the Porsche and get something a little more sensible: planned cut backs all over the place, just in case.
It didn’t take long to realise the folly of it all: in times of great stress then it is those breaks that make the day to day trudge more bearable. As it turned out we all went to Centre Parcs in the end and had a wonderful time (albeit expensive in the end!). Then later in the year Vicky took Arti and James to Spain along with a friend of hers; I stayed and worked, sadly. And even more sadly, the Porsche just didn’t sell, so after 6 months the decision was taken to drive it over the winter and try again early 2009 (losing £1k per month!). We also had plans to sell the company but had to give up in the end, just not the right time.
On the brighter side, it was a fantastic year to see Arti grow up, to watch him start crawling and then his first steps; 2008 was the year he started to turn form a baby to a little boy and both Vicky and myself are hugely proud of him. Meanwhile William continued with his studying, although I still don’t think he studies enough (he has subsequently had two conditional offers from Winchester University and London Metropolitan University, so let’s hope he gets the grades!). William also started to drive so should pass his test in 2009 sometime (hopefully). As for James, he continues to be distracted at school, but then he is only 9 so what do they expect. Vicky is concerned and has tried to get those ‘disruptive influences’ moved to at least give James a chance. Time will tell whether things will change eventually change in 2009. Oh and another good thing to happen was the building of a new garage with office above completed the week before Christmas (although the planning permission allowed a full extension too, the mortgage company were not so keen!).
As for everything else during 2008, we got two goats (seemed like a good idea at the time), lost eight ducks to a local fox or two, got more chickens (and two cockerels, one that for a long time thought he was a duck!). Sadly one of the liveries had her horse put down right before New Years (that was then followed by two more during January! was not a good start to life at Silverhill Stables in 2009); fortunately things have got better and everything has settled down now.
So that’s about it, 2009 will be a better year for sure, holidays are on the board, landscaping the garden is planned and a new bathroom that is long overdue – and a bright positive attitude throughout the year for us all.
Andrew Davis
It’s incredible how the last 12 months has flown.
Mum and I had a memorable experience at Bernard and Christine’s cottage in Mid Wales following the Wokingham family reunion last September.
We were blessed with warm sunshine throughout our stay, and for me, that meant an infinite number of early morning photo opportunities at the nearby stone circle and ancient oaks of the Rheidol Gorge, and for mum, the chance to admire the beauty of wild Wales from the comfort of her room with a warm cup of tea at hand.
The camera clicking Wood Anemone spectacular proved an impressive sight earlier in the year as were the bluebells in late April. The main orchid season (May/June) proved fruitful for my photographic missions as did the glowworm firework display on the South Downs in July (so if you see someone rummaging about the hedgerow near you with his head stuck down a rabbit hole this Summer, it could well be me).
The good news is some progress was made with my ongoing projects, and when conditions are right, the green shoots might just appear.
I could go on and on, and I usually do, so I’ll leave you for now and look forward to catching up with all at this year’s reunion, until then, I send love and inspiration as always.
Charles and Rebecca Forrest
The highlight of 2008 was Rebecca's Surprise 40th Birthday holiday on which we embarked with only 1 out of 5 of us knowing what was going on. After a day in London, we took the Caledonian Sleeper train to Fort William, and thence to various Inner Hebridean islands by car and boat. Great fun.
Rebecca has continued "puppy-walking" for the Guide Dogs organisation. We said a fond goodbye to Ace in January 2009 and now have "Tally", a yellow labrador bitch who has a completely different temperament. She is less crazy than Ace (and less strong, thankfully) so we have high hopes for her. Ace has (we think) narrowly avoided getting thrown off the subsequent training course but it's anyone's guess as to whether he finally makes it. Only time will tell...
Hannah now in Year 9 (= 3rd Form) is taking the first of her GCSE's (German) two years early. She is also being confirmed this year at our church in Bishop's Waltham.
Joseph went to big school to join Hannah. Man Of Few Words - and most of those are to do with Liverpool FC.
Thomas is now in Top Class in primary school - and has recently joined the others serving at Mass on Sundays. Thomas received First Holy Communion as a rather mature recipient aged 9 in June.
Victoria Forrest
2009 hasn’t been good to me so far – at the end of January I was made redundant after the US law firm that I worked for decided that they could outsource property work to another law firm rather than pay my salary. I am still a lady of leisure and anticipate being so for the majority of 2009 given the fact that there are no property jobs around. After 14 years hard slog its unusual having time to myself but I am getting used to it! I wasn’t the only person to leave my job so I have plenty of other friends who are in my situation. Manish works in Luxembourg during the week – there are hardly any banking jobs in London either – but he comes back every weekend which is good.
I am off to Rio for 5 days later this month – I am lucky enough to have a friend who works for BA and I am on her travel concessions which means that I get to fly for a ridiculously low price. Otherwise no other holidays planned. No other exciting news to report – perhaps 2010 will be different!
Giles, Wendy & Joshua
The past year has been an exciting (and sometimes exhausting) time for all of us. Following Joshua’s birth in September 2007 our lives changed from being DIY enthusiasts to doting parents. Every week was something new - changing nappies, winding, singing, and learning to sleep with limited broken sleep!
Joshua took a while to sleep through the night, but after seeking some professional advice just before he was six months he got into the routine of sleeping from 7pm through till 7am. Just in time for our two week holiday to South Africa and Zimbabwe where we were treated like royalty at Wendy’s brother’s and attended Wendy’s cousin’s wedding. Joshua also went down a storm and loved the weather and swimming pools!
Wendy went back to work when Joshua was 12 months, but the commute with him into central London on crowded trains during rush hour wasn’t good for anyone, so shortly after we decided the best thing would be for Wendy to be a full time Mum. In December 2008, after putting some finishing touches to our house in New Cross we decided a change was in order for Joshua’s sake and we made the move to Woking, Surrey where it is a lot less busy, the air is cleaner, and lots of activities available to Joshua.
Giles’ commute to Barclays Capital in Canary Wharf has increased from 25 minutes to an hour and a half, but it now gives him half an hour of exercise walking to the station and half an hour of comfortable travel on the train. His job is now a lot busier (fortunately, given the market), having recently become Global Head of Equities Projects. Now Joshua is just over 19 months he is running, talking and loving being the centre of attention – and we are enjoying every minute with him.
Amanda Gillard
We welcomed in 2008 in a large converted barn in Norfolk with friends. It was lovely although slightly dampened by the fact that our car’s suspension had gone at 4.30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at Holkham beach. The rest of our stay in Norfolk was dominated by the car problem as the local garage failed to find the fault. By the end of the week the car had still not been repaired and returned to London on the back of a lorry. The boys were ecstatic about driving to London in the lorry – Paul and I less so since the AA had refused to pay the cost of the lorry on the basis that they had already recovered the car from Holkham and delivered it to the garage. Unsurprisingly, the garage in Battersea found and fixed the fault within 24 hours of our return.
After the drama of the car, things settled down. James was now in Year 1 at school and discovering an aptitude for maths and Henry was the oldest boy at nursery and teacher’s helper. Sadly for Henry, he was permanently tired as he had difficulty breathing at night. We had already seen a specialist when he was 3 who said there was nothing wrong with his adenoids and we were working on the basis that the problem must be allergy related. However, the hypoallergenic bedding, the hoovering of the mattress and the removal of cuddly toys did not seem to make any difference. Back to the specialist again, who thought this time that maybe his adenoids were very slightly enlarged and it could be worth removing them. At the end of the spring term, Henry had his adenoids removed and the specialist admitted that they were quite large and they had been hanging incorrectly and blocking the back of his nasal passage. Hurrah – Henry finally started sleeping through the night at the age of 4½! A couple of weeks later we were off to a cottage on a fruit farm in Kent with Paul’s mother joining us for the Easter weekend. The boys took their bikes and James cracked cycling without stabilisers as he hared around the farm dodging the tractors and dogs. A great holiday for the boys as they got to ride on the horses and more excitingly (for them) the tractor, dumper and JCB.
The summer term passed quickly in the usual haze of concerts, sports days, cake sales and summer fairs and suddenly Henry had left nursery. We spent our usual 2 weeks in Devon in the summer passing the time on the beach, in the pool or on the tennis court.
On our return from Devon, Paul decided to put into action his latest building project which was converting our loft into an additional bedroom and bathroom. He had been preparing for sometime already offloading much of the contents of our loft onto Rupert and Sarah. The remains now had to be cleared and we had a busy time selling things on eBay and visiting the charity shops. We also spent one Sunday at a car boot sale where we cleared a surprising amount. The Polish builders moved in and were fast and efficient even if it was impossible to have a conversation with them. Most of the autumn seemed to be spent dealing with builders, bathroom suppliers and the tile shop (which I visited so often that they started greeting me by name!).
Henry had now started school and seemed to settle well although he refused to play with children in his class and insisted on joining James and his classmates every playtime. With Henry in school and the loft completed I thought I could have some time to myself but Clifford Chance asked if I would consider working full-time again. We compromised on a 4 day week and any chance of having time to myself disappeared again.
All too soon, we had attended James’s recycling assembly and Henry’s nativity play and the Christmas holidays were upon us. We set off for Cardiff loaded to the gunnels (to the extent that Paul had to take the train!) where we spent Christmas with my parents, Phil, Rupert and Sarah before heading off to a freezing medieval manor in North Devon for our traditional New Year week with friends.
CHANGE OF CONTACT DETAILS
Tina Davis - e-mail now cmdinspires@hotmail.co.uk Victoria Forrest - e-mail now victoria.forrest@hotmail.co.uk
