We started off with Nicholas celebrating his 21st birthday in January. He had a party in town and we just acted as chauffeurs and hoteliers. I think there were 10 assorted bodies sleeping in the house, plus Stephen, myself and the dog. It was a very tiring weekend, but I think they enjoyed themselves. In fact Nick is having a very busy time in general. He has now started his final year at University and the work load is very heavy. He has still managed to work during the summer and has done the Bristol Balloon Fiesta as well as quite a few concerts. At the moment he is working out which direction he wants to go in when he leaves university.
Christopher has reached the grand old age of 19yrs and has started his second year at Bournemouth. The work is very hard, but he is enjoying it and also the town itself. He has moved in to a different house, which is in better condition and the landlord is much easier to contact. For the last couple of years Chris has worked for Burtons/TopShop at the weekends, but this summer he made the move to Next. He really enjoys it and will be back there in December. He has also been given some work down in Bournemouth, so this helps his finances a little bit.
This year I finally finished my MA in history and I will be going to the awards ceremony in Cheltenham next April. It is so funny to have some time to myself. I am actually catching up on some of the reading that has been piling up for the last couple of years. Work has been quite hard this year, especially as we were short of one neighbourhood librarian, so I and a colleague had to take on extra work. Luckily we are now back up to strength. I am also secretary of the South West committee of the Youth Libraries Group, part of my professional organisation. We plan and organise training for colleagues throughout the south west. It is quite tiring, but I have made lots of new friends and it is very satisfying.
About three weeks ago I had someone drive into my car, which was not a pleasant experience. I had stopped to let a minibus through a narrow section of road and he got his distances wrong. He ended up taking out my driver’s side front lights, the bumper and a small area of the bonnet. I then had to have a hire car for over a week whilst mine was repaired. The main problem was that the insurance company made us use a garage on the other side of Bristol. Still I have my own car back now.
On a happier note, Stephen and I went to Florida in May. We went to the north east coast and then crossed over to the gulf coast.
A manatee swims past - slowly
A dolphin follows our boat at Cedar Key
I think the high spot of the visit was seeing Manatees and Dolphins. The scenery along the coat was lovely and it was not as consumer minded as the Orlando area. Mind you we did hit the Outlet Malls on a couple of occasions. Stephen also spent some time flying, which he always enjoys.
For us no visit to Florida would be complete without Epcot
This week we have just got back from a short trip to Calais. We went over on the Monday, stayed overnight and came back on the Tuesday lunchtime. The hotel was excellent and the channel tunnel was very easy to use. We will definitely be doing it again. We think that we saved the cost of the travelling on the wine etc which we bought. I think a litre of whisky for less that £7 is not bad at all.
Stephen has yet again been working hard around the house, but notably in the back garden. He and the boys dug out a large area of soil in order to create a patio or veranda area and by the end of September Stephen was laying block paving. It is a huge area and will be great for entertaining in next summer. The calculation is that we got rid of 7 tons of rubble in a skip and then Stephen moved 4 tons of sand and 4 tons of blocks in order to create the terrace. We still have to create a loggia at the back, which will enable us to use the space for longer periods of the year. Of course the other thing we have to do is start planting up the beds which have been created. We have already got lots of herbs to go in and we have also planted some roses which will climb up trellis near the French windows outside the lounge.
Thankfully this has been a happier year than 2000. Most of the family gatherings have been for Weddings and Christenings this year and it was great to see people from all sides of our families. We hope that next year will be as good.
We hope that everyone will have a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
