This has been a busy year, not least because of all the medical treatment that Stephen has had to go through. He has kept a blog during the last year, so people can catch up on all the treatment. Having said all of that, we have tried to keep as active as possible and to set ourselves targets for places to go and things to see.
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| The iconic domes of the Eden Project |
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| The Westminster Field of Remembrance. This is only a tiny part. |
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| The sculpture within the Bomber Command Memorial. Inaugurated in June. |
We did manage to get out to Cyprus this year. The first visit was at the end of March, still a bit chilly, but good to get away for a week. We were then given permission to travel this autumn, so spent the second two weeks in October there. The weather was great and we managed to get a lot of things done. As the house is no longer available for guests, we decided to replace some of the furniture and fittings. So I now have a comfortable sofa and a good cooker with electric oven and gas top; strange what little things give us pleasure. One of our friends also came over to the house, with his chain saw, and cut down the rest of the jacaranda tree, so hopefully we won’t be troubled by 10ft branches every time we go on holiday.
There have been several family events this year, on all sides of the family and it has been fantastic to see so many people. We hope that next year we will be able to get around to visiting people across the country, so watch out for us!! During the summer I attended my cousin Margaret’s 70th birthday tea party, which she shared with Bill, her husband who is now 75; it was a fabulous event and the weather stayed fine. Then in September my cousin Avril got married to John. It was a truly joyous event and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many people. This reminded me that we only have three years until our Ruby wedding! Perhaps we will need to plan something. We have just been over in Basingstoke for the 30th birthday of Louise (daughter-in-law), a great time was had by all.
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| Louise, Nick, Margaret, Chris and Stephen outside the "Ivy" |
For my birthday this year the boys said they would take us to a London show and also for lunch, however due to hospitals etc this did not happen until this autumn. We went to stay with Nick and Louise and then went to London on the Saturday and met up with Chris and his girlfriend. Lunch was at the Ivy restaurant and then we went to a performance of “Stomp”. It was fantastic and we all had a really great time. I am not saying how old I am, but I do now possess a Senior Railcard, but have to wait for my bus pass.
My year seems to have been quite hectic work wise, particularly when I look back through the diary. March started with an event at the central library with Michael Rosen and will finish at the same venue next week, with Simon Mayo. There have been lots of author visits and I have also attended a few book launches and parties in London, which is really good for me. During the August bank holiday I was in London for an international conference and had the pleasure (?) of running the exhibition. It was fantastic meeting people from all over the world, including Cyprus, Japan and Mongolia. However I was pleased when it finished and I could get back to normal.
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| Celebrity authors visit Margaret, 2011 The Fonz, this year Simon Mayo. |
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| New hut - now called the "Nissan Hut" ! |
We are now starting to plan for next year, although all things depend on the hospital and the regular checkups that Stephen has. All being well, we will get out to Cyprus and perhaps somewhere else. We also hope to get up north and perhaps to East Anglia as we have never been that far east and there is a lot to see. I would also like us to get to some more concerts and perhaps a couple of shows. This year I bought National Trust membership and I think we need to use it a bit more, as there are some really amazing properties out there.
Anyway I will close for now and wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year,
