This has been yet another totally packed year, so I decided that the best way to describe it was to just take you through, month by month.
The year started quietly enough, although Stephen had a rotten cold and my car started having problems. Otherwise it was a mix of keeping warm and getting on with our respective voluntary positions. February saw much the same, although we had both families stay with us before going on a joint skiing holiday; when they came back the following week Nick had got flu and Becks had broken her wrist.
March saw us up to Bristol for our first concert of the year – “The St Matthew Passion” which was excellent but quite tiring sitting in the concert hall. This was also the month that saw me start looking for a replacement car, as my old faithful was declining to start at some awkward moments. We also had Nick, Louise and Finley over for the Easter break, which was lovely. By the beginning of April I had decided on what I wanted to buy and it came down to a Hyundai iX20, which has the seats in a slightly higher position than most cars; I got it at the beginning of April and drove up to Birmingham on the first day!. I must say that so far it has been a real pleasure and I am very happy with my purchase. Later that month I went up to Telford for a weekend conference on Children’s books and had a great time.
May was one of the high spots of the year. The month began with us driving up to Scotland for Chris and Becks’ wedding. It was held at Auchan Castle, which is in Dumfries and Galloway. The scenery was wonderful and the castle itself was very ‘baronial’. The families had the entire venue for two nights, which meant that both sets of relatives had time to chat and get to know each other. The ceremony was brilliant and there were quite a few hankies being used; both the Bride and Groom were positively glowing.
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| A very happy day |
While we were in Scotland we visited two of Stephen’s cousins, one near Dumfries and one in Edinburgh, which was lovely as we had not seen them for quite a while. We then stayed in Leith and visited the Royal Yacht Britannia as well as taking a boat trip on the Firth of Forth and going over the bridge to re-visit Pitreavie where we used to live – it has changed so much, we really didn’t recognize it
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| On the deck where once the HRHs trod |
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| The Maid of the Forth on which we cruised the estuary |
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| The Royal Air Force Association memorial at the National Arboretum |
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| The SR71 Backbird at Duxford. First seen by us at Farnborough in 1974 |
However we did not have much of a rest because on the following Wednesday we flew out to Cyprus for our first visit of the year. We had ten days and managed to catch up with all of our friends.
When we got back life seemed to get quite hectic. We had a couple of spectacular concerts in Bristol; one of which had indoor fireworks ! The music was all popular classics, with the addition of the ‘Star Wars’ theme to add a bit of dramatics. June is also the month that I attend the School Library Association conference and this year it was in South Gloucs, only 45 minutes up the motorway, so lots of local friends attended. June was also the month that I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but luckily it can be controlled by diet and by tablets.
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Each year celebrity authors visit Margaret,
In 2011 the Fonz, in 2012 Simon Mayo, in 2013 Sir Tony Robinson
2014 Michael Rosen, last year it was Julian Clary and illustrator David Roberts
This year 3 authors: Clare Balding, Sir Christopher Hoy & Chris Packham |
So far I have lost over 10 kilos and am feeling a lot healthier. At the end of June we had a short break in Northern Ireland. After 40 years we went back to Strangford, the village where we really started our married life and we found that it is even lovelier than it was then. The people were great, the scenery stunning and Mount Stewart house was well worth the visit. We also went around Castle Ward house and the Titanic Museum in Belfast.
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| Key Lane in Strangford. Our former home, with the Loch just below, is the one with the post box |
The summer was fairly quiet although we did attend a family celebration in the Cotswolds which was a really lovely event and great to catch up with everyone there. We also attended a choral event at Bristol Cathedral and met up with an old friend that we have not seen for a few years, it was a great day out and the choir was beautiful . We discovered a beautiful piece of music call "Seal Lullaby". At the end of August we were delighted to see Gary and Amanda, (our nephew and his wife) who popped in with the children on their way back home from holiday.
September and October were very busy with conferences and book events, and I was elected to the board of the School Library Association, but the major thing was a week in Italy; we spent three days in Florence in a wonderfully central hotel and met up with our friend Elisabetta and her family.
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| The Duomo in Florence, (as well as huge crowds) |
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| Wonderful view from our hotel in Lerici with La Spezia in the distance |
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| Just one of the villages clinging to the cliffs of the Cinque Terra |
We then stayed on the coast at Lerici and visited the War graves in Genoa, where Stephen put crosses on the graves of his uncle and his crew members. We also returned to Polverara, where he put a cross on the memorial in the village. The high spot was a day spent sailing up the coast on the ferry that serves the villages of the Cinque Terra region.
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| 70th Anniversary Dinner of the Light Aircraft Association held in the RAF Club
On getting home we then went up to London for the 70th Anniversary Dinner of the LIght Aircraft Association which was held in the RAF Club on Piccadilly. An amazing venue and a very enjoyable evening.
We the had a second visit out to Cyprus and managed to do a bit of relaxing. The house is still on the market and we showed two families around but as yet we have not had any offers.
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We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and that 2017 will prove to be a good year for all our family and friends.
