December

As I'm writing this blog, Katy, Mark and Jack are back home in Bristol ready to start their new life together. Thank goodness for Skype....we've just been talking with them and watching as Katy snuggles Jack. Melvyn and I are planning on spending some time in Bristol during the next two weeks. Sarah is also going to offer her services. Mark breaks up for Christmas in a couple of weeks and then we're all planning on spending the holiday in Birmingham with Sarah.

Life continues to be good. Melvyn is still keeping well, Sarah is still working at Birmingham and Katy and Mark have a wonderful new baby. I'm a big believer that we need to have some worries in our lives to appreciate the good times.....I just think I've had my share for a while now. I'd like life to calm down a bit please!

Hope this Christmas finds you all healthy and happy. Take care and love to all.

November

Katy and Mark's baby was due on 10th November, but that day came and went with no arrival. In the end she was induced and finally Jack was born on 25th November, over 2 weeks late. During the birth, he became stressed and was rushed to intensive care and put on a ventilator. Bristol hospital was especially busy and once he was out of danger, he was transferred to Taunton and kept in their intensive care unit. Katy and Mark went too and were given a room to stay in. You can imagine the stress we all felt, but over the next few days he built up his strength until he was able to spend 2 nights in their room. One positive thing that came out of their week long stay in Taunton is that they were supported by nurses as they learned how to look after a baby.....something that always happened when I had the girls, but seems lacking now as mums are discharged more or less as soon as they have given birth.

October

We came back to England in mid October, in time to enjoy the excitement of the approaching new baby. Katy had kept well through her pregnancy, despite being tired and once she gave up work, we tried to get over once a week to spend some time with her.

September

We spent a couple of days in Florida before flying up to Denver, picking up a car and then driving to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This is a part of America that I've wanted to see for many years, but often the roads are closed because of snow. Because we went to Florida earlier than usual it was a perfect time to visit...a lot of facilities closed soon after we left. I can't describe how wonderful it is there....the geysers and hot springs are like something out of another world. We spent 3 nights in the park and then drove south to Grand Teton, staying one night in that park, again completely overwhelmed by the fantastic scenery.

The rest of the month in Florida was wonderful: socialising with good friends, theatre trips and even a day in Disneyland.

August

Buxton, our cat of 17 years, had begun to get quite ill by August and so sadly we had to have him put to sleep. I have to say that I really missed him and often looked for him when I got up in the morning....he'd always waited outside our bedroom door in a morning. Having said that we decided not to get another pet as we had to rely on neighbours looking after Buxton while we were away in Florida which wasn't fair on them or the cat.

By the time the end of the month came, we were getting ready to fly off to Florida again.

July

During July we had a holiday visiting family and friends. We started with a few days at Sarah's in Birmingham, enabling us to congratulate her on winning an Early Career Achievement from the BPS. Where does she get her clever brain from? From there we went on to Harrogate, spending time with a lot of our immediate family and also meeting several good friends from many years ago. From Yorkshire we drove down to Norfolk and spent a couple of days with other friends at their house near the coast...a lovely part of the country which always includes a seal spotting trip.

June

A lot of June was taken up with a complete refurbishment of the rented house after a family moved out! Enough said! However we did have time for some relaxation including a bit more of the Thames Walk. By now we were approaching home ground so were able to do a short walk along the Thames without having a long drive before and after.