Well, a Happy
Christmas and Wonderful New Year to all our Family and Friends,
This year our
communication is going to be a little bit different. We have closed the web
page with our previous letters, but have created this blog which contains the
same letters and which also has space to include photos that are relevant to
our activities. Hopefully this will make
the letter even more interesting to everyone.
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| At a very special place! All will be explained. |
As I mentioned in our letter from last year, Nick and Louise moved down to Dorset about 18 months ago. This meant that they were able to host an absolutely fantastic Christmas get-together last December 25th. There were at least 10 of us for Christmas lunch, followed by lots of talk, a brisk walk and the odd drink for those who were not driving. It was lovely to enjoy such company and not to do the cooking. This coming year is going to be much quieter as the following section will explain, however we will still be sharing the Christmas spirit with our family at a distance.
As we write this, Stephen
is preparing to go into hospital, hopefully coming home in time for
Christmas. He was last given a stem cell
transplant for his myeloma in July 2012 and subsequently received a maintenance
drug which resulted in remission. At a
routine monthly appointment in spring last year his blood test suggested
relapse. It was not until April this
year, however, that he developed a symptom; pain in his breast bone. A scan confirmed that this was due to myeloma
and a whole series of tests then ensued to qualify him for another clinical
trial. He recently spent two days having
his stem cells collected. It has been a
hard slog travelling up to Bristol for the various appointments but he is now
ready to receive further high dose therapy and a stem cell transplant.
The New Year started off beautifully as we were able to host our nephew Gary, his wife Amanda and the two children Charlie and Alisha. It is always a pleasure to see them when they are down this way, as they actually live in Cheshire.
Unfortunately
things went a bit downhill after this. I
had been feeling as if I had a bad cold for several weeks and had some bruising
that was unexplained, so I mentioned it when I went for a regular blood
test. Later in the evening I had a call
from the out –of- hours doctor saying that she was referring me to the hospital
and that I would get a call from them in the morning. After various calls the next day I ended up
in A&E where they confirmed that my blood platelet count was dangerously
low and I ended up in hospital for three days.
I have been on a medical trial since then, but luckily it seems it was
just a one off (due to a virus), not a long term condition. Since then I have been OK (touch wood!!)
Needless to
say we wondered whether our health issues would prevent us having any of our
much enjoyed holidays, but luckily we only had to postpone one of them. This was to have been our main trip of the
year and was a cruise along the Douro River in Portugal, visiting the old Port
houses and vineyards on the way. I am
delighted to say that Saga were able to put the holiday on hold and we have got
it booked for the coming summer; we are so looking forward to this.
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| The wonderful architecture of Bruges |
At the end of
April we went off for a short break to Bruges, something I have wanted to do
for quite a few years. We travelled by
Eurostar and coach as part of a tour group. The guide was a lovely German lady
who really knew the town and the other sites we visited. The first day was a
walking tour of the old town, which is stunning and very easy to walk
around. Later in the afternoon we went
for a cruise along the canals, which gives a different perspective on the
buildings, some of which date back to the 14th and 15th
centuries.
The town is also full of art galleries, museums, breweries, chocolate shops and
waffle stalls. The shops tend to be
small and full of amazing original items for sale; I think Stephen could have
spent the whole day in the beer shop, or the olive oil emporium. On the second day we had a much more serious
trip out. This started with a visit to
Tyne Cot Cemetery, then the Passchendaele Museum before visiting the quite
wonderful town of Ypres, which was completely rebuilt after the Great War. As
you can imagine this was a very poignant day, but so worthwhile. The final day was chance to look around the
town again and then the trip back to London.
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| Just one of the many Breweries in Bruges. Stephen just had to visit this one |
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| The very beautiful Cloth Hall in Ypres which was rebuilt after the Great War Photo by Marc Ryckaert IAW Creative Commons |
The middle of
May saw the two of us up in London for a few days. It had started out when I booked us to go to
a “Dambusters” commemoration and showing of the film at the Royal Albert Hall
for the Thursday. We then had the great
honour of being invited (or at least Stephen was) to a Garden party at
Buckingham Palace on the Tuesday, so we decided to stay over and do some
sightseeing on the Wednesday.
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| Margaret in the Palace gardens |
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| Stephen with tie in recognition of 100 years of the Royal Air Force |
The Palace
was amazing, but there must have been about 7,000 people there, so we only caught
glimpses of the royal party.
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| Margaret, perhaps less than comfortable swinging gently at 295 feet over the Thames |
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| Stephen rather more at ease in the cable car ! |
On the Wednesday we went on the Emirates Air Line over the Thames and used a Thames Clipper to go from Embankment to the O2 and back. During the trip Tony Robinson and a film crew came on board, so we might be seen on his next TV walking series.
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| The amazing Imperial War Museum - well worth a visit. |
The Thursday was taken up with a visit to the Imperial War Museum and the the Dambusters event in the Albert Hall. All told it was a fantastic few days.
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| Presented by Dan Snow in the Royal Albert Hall, this re-worked film was an extraordinary experience. |
Our final trip
of the year was to Cyprus, the first time in 18 months and since we sold our
beloved Villa Berengaria. We stayed at
an apartment complex in Erimi, which was very comfortable and easy to get
to. Once again we were able to meet up
with several of our friends and had lovely meals out with them. We also visited Laatchi, Limassol and several
of our favourite restaurants in Pissouri.
Despite the hot and humid weather we had a lovely time and will no doubt
visit again.
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| One of our favourites - the Kyrenia Beach Restaurant |
My year has
been very busy with lots of conferences, book launches, book festivals and
other book events. I was given an Art pass
for Christmas last year, so have used it to go to a range of wonderful events
at places such as the Royal Academy, Queen’s gallery, Bodleian Library,
National gallery and British Museum; I feel quite cultured at the moment, but I
am sure that won’t last. A high spot has
been going to one of my 2018 Christmas present events. Last week Christopher and myself went to
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”; it was fantastic for any Potter fans and
the special effects were stunning. It
was a present well worth waiting for.
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| A real treat for any Harry Potter fan |
Despite his myeloma
treatment, Stephen is as busy as ever.
He is still a JP and secretary to the local Magistrates Association
branch. He is also treasurer for the
local branch of the Light Aircraft Association.
Having decided to sell his beloved aeroplane, he decided he still needed
something technical to keep him occupied; a project. In his late teens he had owned a (frog-eyed)
Austin Healey Sprite which he had driven around the country roads near his then
home in Yorkshire. Much later, and
whilst we lived in Cyprus, he had seen and coveted a Mazda MX5. After several abortive attempts he finally
bought one. After much thought noting
its registration, which starts “BG” the car was named Brabinger after the
butler who served Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in the TV series “To the Manor
Born”. This should keep him occupied for
some considerable time !
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| Called Brabinger and painted Racing Green, this is Stephen's pride and joy ! |
We are now starting the run up to Christmas, but this means events at the local
primary, where I am still a governor and deciding what we would all like Santa
to bring us (although this never gets any easier).
Do have a wonderful Christmas and we hope
that the New Year will be full of happiness for everyone,
Margaret and Stephen.
