About time....

...we wrote a bit of an update, I think.

What's been going on around here?  Well, the election has come and gone and Edward still has a job, thank goodness.  Gill wrote a blow by blow account of the day on her Elegant Sufficiency blog if you missed it.

We've finally found buyers for Edna's bungalow in Cottingham and now have the unenviable task of clearing it ready for the new owners.  We've put it off for so long but finally, the day has come. 

We've just returned from a cruise around the Black Sea, from Istanbul to Athens.  Our travelling companions had a good time, too.

There has been a cracking response to the two Raff CDs recorded in Sweden last year and Mark is thrilled by the outcome of both projects.  The first was selected as The Independent's recording of the week and the second is already receiving favourable attention, even though it's only been out a couple of weeks.  Of course, Mark's website has more details and he himself, would be delighted to give you chapter and verse.

We have further travel plans for the Summer and look forward to long sunny days with friends.  As usual, more frequent updates can be found over on Gill's blog but, in the meantime, here's hoping for plenty of alternatives to football!

Weather update

The snow arrived around lunchtime last Tuesday, the 5th.  Within a couple of hours, we had quite a thick layer over the garden

By dusk, the air was still and peaceful.  We settled in and felt relieved that we'd done our supermarket shop yesterday.

 

On Wednesday morning we went sledging with our small friends.  We'd forgotten what fun it can be!  You can see, our lane wasn't passable.

Yesterday, the garden was looking like this, with a thick accumulation of snow remaining and not showing any signs of thaw.

 We ventured out and walked over to Eastcombe stores for our paper this morning, noting that the snow is breaking up on the village roads revealing a layer of thick ice underneath.  As I write, more snow is falling and I suspect that the snow isn't going anywhere yet.

Neither are we.

25 years ago

Last night, we sat watching the snow fall, having the same conversation we have every January 5th.

"It was about now we decided to grab a bag and go, wasn't it?"

"Oh yes, do you remember how we took down all the decorations and then thought "this is it"?!

"It was snowy then, too, wasn't it?"

Indeed it was.  In fact, Mark was so excited when he returned to the hospital the following morning that he skidded into the car in front, somewhere in Stroud.  When he explained the reason for his distraction, the woman whose car he bumped simply smiled and said "ok, no worries".  The snow and low temperatures meant that Stroud Maternity Hospital was the place to stay for five days and we three Mums and our babies enjoyed excellent care.

Twenty-five years later, here we are again then, me old duck.  Sitting here with a few inches of snow outside, remembering that day and feeling very proud of our lovely clever, opinionated, funny, gentle son.

Happy Birthday, Edward!

Warm Wishes

The view from the garden today is a truly wintry scene and prompts us to offer our warmest wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

December update

for those of you who just got a Christmas card and are curious to know what's going on around here.

We are well.  The real nitty-gritty of our year can be found in Gill's Elegant Sufficiency blog and a few thousand photos in our online album but for those of you who'd simply like to cut to the chase, here's a potted version.

It's been quite a fun year all things considered!  We are keeping pretty busy - Gill still features on the payroll of the County Council and though the WI doesn't feature quite so large in her life as it did, she still trains craft judges, advises the NFWI Education committee and assesses certificate work.  All of which keep her out of too much mischief and allows plenty of time to go travelling.

(photo taken from our hotel window in Umea at 10.30pm)

Mark's major project this year has been another Raff recording.  We were fortunate to be there in Umea, Sweden, when it was recorded in June during the Nordic summer - 24hrs daylight - and the finished result has been enthusiastically received.  Much of that is down to the talent of our dear friend Tra who "played with the kind of conviction that suggests she has known the music all her life", to quote one reviewer.  It was one of two Raff-related trips to Sweden, the first was to Karlstad to hear his 3rd Symphony, a fine reason for taking a week to explore the country beyond Stockholm. Mark is heading for the third Raff/Sweden week just before Christmas, to record a second CD with Tra and the Umea Orchestra.  This time, he'll experience the Nordic winter - no daylight, snow and sub-zero temperatures.

Some of you might have seen our contribution to The Hairy Bikers programme, filmed in Fairford last April?  Great fun if a rather lengthier process than we - or the producers - anticipated.

New places discovered this year include Southwold, which we loved.  Gill was judging at Suffolk Show  so we spent the weekend at hotel inspector Ruth W's place at Orford and enjoyed a few days exploring an area new to us.  We enjoyed a great weekend at Harome and loved The Star Inn so much, we can't wait to go back in January when Gill's doing WI stuff in Thirsk. 

We also discovered Lisbon, in particular the custard tarts and spent our summer holiday on what seemed like a beer and dumpling tour of Northern Europe.  Later in the year, we worked through our favourite dining locations in Los Angeles and New York too - not to mention the culinary challenges of Tokyo last October.

It's been fun to spend time with Edward, who joined us in Lisbon and then again on holiday this Summer.  He's still in Westminster, doing his best to keep the cogs running smoothly for the time being.  Once an election is called, all bets are off and though he will see through some kind of transition, he hopes to be able to climb a little higher on the slippery slope.

We love spending time with friends and have been delighted to spend happy days with Aussie friends Sandy, John and Wendy, with John's son Ben and his mate Andrew and with Fiona and Wayne who somehow squeezed a couple of days with us into their Baltic cruise itinerary too - I guess that when you've made your way from Wellington NZ, a couple of hundred extra miles is only a slight detour?  Mary's been over from California and others have ventured south from places as remote as Lytham St Annes and Skipton. 

So, who has time for work?

Plans for 2010 include more Raff, starting with a concert in his birthplace Lachen, Switzerland in January.  We've booked a cruise to the Black Sea in June and are currently planning a long weekend with Edward in Libya in February.  WI stuff will take us back to Harome at the start of the year as previously mentioned, and no doubt, we will find ourselves tempted elsewhere as the year progresses.

Oh, and if you know anyone looking for a beautifully situated three bedroom bungalow in Cottingham, near Hull, we'd be delighted to hear from them!