We always say that the year flies by, but this last year it has been particularly true. Christmas did not go as we had planned unfortunately. On Friday 22nd Chris and Tina arrived for the family lunch the next day, but then I started getting aches in my arms and jaw, so we dialled 111; soon we had an ambulance and I ended up in A&E. I spent the next 12 days in hospital, having had a heart attack. One day was spent in Bristol having an angiogram, which concluded with 4 stents being fitted! As you can imagine it was good to get back home early in the new year. The family were wonderful and so were all of the hospital staff that looked after me.
Ambulance outside our home.
(Click any image to enlarge)
The early part of the year was fairly quiet for me, although I did go to Bath to hear Lucy Worsley talk about Agatha Christie at the end of February. By April I was back to usual and attended a book conference at the start of the month. Later that month I heard Bettany Hughes talk at the British Library.
The first half of the year was taken up by judging my usual book awards (75.9 kilograms !), which I decided would be my last. I will continue writing reviews and attending school governor meetings.
I also went to a couple of exhibitions in London as well as some book launches. This autumn I managed to get to the Bath Children’s Literature Festival and have just been to the award ceremony for the awards that I judged. We have been lucky to have looked after Chris’s dog Indy several times this year and she is actually with us at the moment.
The Waverley cruise from Clevedon Pier is something we have intended to do for several years and finally made it this June, it was a great evening out and reminded us of the last time we were on board the steamer. It was over 40 years ago, at Campbelltown, Chris was about three months old and Nick was nearly three years. Such memories.
Our holiday this year was our two-week cruise to the Baltic in July. We sailed from Dover and two days later arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden, where we spent the day. We then sailed to the island of Visby in Gotland, but could not dock because of bad weather; however the next day we arrived in Stockholm for a two-night stop.
The high point in Stockholm was a visit to the Vasa Museum, as I have wanted to see the ship for many years. It was built in the early 1600s but was to sink while still in the harbour just minutes into her maiden voyage. We then travelled back to our ship, on a boat trip around the harbour and local area.
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| The Little Mermaid Copenhagen |
Other stops were Turku and Helsinki in Finland and Copenhagen, Aalborg and Skagen in Denmark. A few days after we got back, we both got Covid for the first time; luckily it was not too bad, thanks to our inoculations.
6th June 2024 was the 80th anniversary of the
D Day invasion.
D Day invasion.
Realising that the silhouettes were to be removed in September we arranged our own trip to the British Normandy Memorial in France; we were there and back in just over 24 hours. To be able to walk amongst the silhouettes with views to Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbour was truly a privilege. We included a visit to the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Bayeux which contains graves of 4,648 soldiers. It also has a memorial to over 1,800 servicemen who have no known grave.
In November we went to Gloucester Airport to "fly" the Boeing 737 Flight Simulator, which had been Stephen’s Christmas present last year. It was a great experience.
The picture shows us taxiing at Bristol airport.
In November we celebrated Chris & Tina’s wedding in Poole, Dorset. The ceremony took place in a magnificent room in the Guildhall and occasion was full of joyfulness. It was lovely to catch up with family and friends. We have all taken away so many fond memories
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| Tina and Chris having just been married. Congratulations. |
Stephen recovered well from cataract surgery last autumn (2023), although the effects of Fuchs’ Dystrophy (deterioration of the corneas) is becoming a little more apparent. One Tuesday in February this year he saw the GP about a small lump on his forehead. He attended dermatology at the BRI on the Saturday and had surgery on the Sunday! In November he celebrated three years remission from myeloma. We are so lucky with the care that we both receive.
This picture shows us scrubbed up and about to go into the formal dinner during our cruise
We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and that next year will be full of joy.
Margaret and Stephen
