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.

May

We came home from Florida in the middle of May, in time for me to do my day's training for SATs. Towards the end of the month we had a BBQ to celebrate Melvyn's 65th birthday English style. Sarah, Katy and Mark came to Reading for the weekend and we all had a lovely day in London before the party.

April

Once April came we drove north to our condo for the month and as usual had a birthday party for Melvyn. It now seems to be the accepted thing that April 11th is party time at the Becks' condo. Not sure what will happen next year as Melvyn isn't coming out till later in April!

I had quite a shock in April when I found out that my credit card had been used fraudulently for £8500. I had several interesting discussions with Barclycard...they didn't seem too worried about it and just wrote it off my card. I thought they should try harder to find the villain as I sent them the website of the Indian take away that authorised two payments each of over £3000 in two days and an address in Leicester where my new details had been sent to. After several letters about how concerned I was that they were happy to write off so much money....they sent me £100 to stop me complaining!!!! Needless to say I now have a different credit card company!

March

Once the end of March came, we were ready to set off to Florida again. Patti stays at our place each year till April 1st, but we like to take advantage of the cheaper flights in March, so usually have a little trip somewhere in USA. This time we went to Lake Okeechobee in central southern Florida. We enjoyed some walking and exploring a new part of Florida; very different from the coast or the theme parks that we associate with this state. The main industry seems to be in cattle and horse ranches, although a lot of the younger generation seems to be leaving their parents' ranch life for a new life in the cities.

February

February is traditionally our sixsome get away, alternating between city breaks and UK cottages. This year we went off to Berlin for a few days. I'd never visited the city before and was very impressed by it. We saw plenty of sights and enjoyed good food and the occasional tipple.

January

Sarah's house move finally happened at the beginning of January. She moved from a small flat to a super terraced house in Moseley and so finally the family was able to stay with her....not sure how good a move she thought that was! Still the four of us went up to help her settle in and hopefully we didn't hassle her too much.