It’s turned December, it’s raining and I’ve a couple of hours to wait before I can put the final coat of paint on the wall I’ve just decorated, so this is an ideal time to look back on the year and think about what you, the reader, might find interesting amongst the cliché-ridden self-referential balderdash that is my annual Christmas letter. So let’s start with the children, although at 14 and 13, they are now young adults with lives of their own, although, alas, not washing machines nor cookers of their own. Emily’s continued interest is dancing, for which she trains three times per week, with an additional cheerleading course thrown in for good measure. She has a dancing exam soon, so it is a tense time just now. She’s also started on her GCSE work, and has already submitted two course work papers.
Laurence made a difficult decision in October when he realised that the Panto rehearsals and football matches clashed once more. This year, he chose to concentrate on football and did not even attend the Panto auditions. Emily did attend and was given a very minor cast part. She went to one rehearsal, and came away so unimpressed with the small amount she had to do, that she also chose not to take part in the 2007 production. I was not too disappointed, because although the Panto in February 2006 was very successful, it was stressful, and in the closing weeks, none of us really enjoyed it. I say none of us, because, as regular readers will remember, I’d been roped in as Assistant Stage Manager, and Geraldine as Chief Make-up Artist. The organisation was so chaotic that tempers became increasingly frayed as the performance drew closer, which isn’t something we shall miss.
The children and I squeezed in a couple of trips away to Youth Hostels in February and May. The winter trip was to Malham, where we enjoyed a couple of walks round the limestone country in the cold, but dry weather. The trip to Hawes & Kettlewell in May was just as enjoyable, and the weather much warmer in the hills. We enjoy all aspects of these holidays, including the self-catering when the children can try their hand at cooking. It was this that helped us to persuade Mum to try Youth Hostelling in the summer.
The trip I planned was rather self-indulgent, since I have wanted to return to Northern Scotland in each of the 15 years since we were last there. Geraldine only agreed to come with us if I booked hotel rooms for the last couple of nights in Edinburgh during the Festival. So we travelled all the way up to Achmelvich Beach (which is about an inch down from the flat bit at the top of Scotland on most maps) in glorious sunshine all the way. It did rain, but only at nights when we were safely tucked in our bunks. Achmelvich Beach has to be seen to be believed; pure white sand, blue sky and emerald sea became the backdrop to an evening picnic on the beach for the four of us (and we were just about the only occupants) where we ate smoked salmon (from the local smoke house), oatcakes and drank chilled white wine (or cider). Hard to believe that we were in the wilds of Scotland.
Edinburgh was far better than I had expected since the fringe was in full swing, and there was ample to keep us all interested. I fully expect that we’ll be back next year, although I don’t think Mum will be going Youth Hostelling again.
Laurence’s football team did really well at the start of the season, leading the table until February, when they were gradually overhauled by teams who had games in hand. They finished the season in third place, just outside the promotion zone. So far this season they are in the middle of the table, but are really enjoying the matches. Emily is in the school hockey team, but they have only played four matches and Emily missed two of these through illness (tonsillitis, which she thankfully kept to herself).
Both children signed up for school trips in the summer, but with consummate bad planning, the school contrived to send one child to Spain who only returned the day after the second child set off for France, thus preventing Mum & Dad having a few days alone together. Emily thoroughly enjoyed her time at a watersports centre near Barcelona, although I doubted the school’s claim that it was educational. Laurence spent four days on an activity holiday in Brittany before spending one day in Paris and another at a theme park. Both came back bleary eyed and sun-tanned, so I expect they had a good time.
Emily also joined the working class in the summer, securing herself a summer job in the tea room at Hoghton Tower. She was scandalised by the sight of people buying large portions of carrot cake and then leaving half on the plate. She also occasionally works as a glass collector at the Brindle Community Hall, although she complains that the hours and pay are inferior, but as Treasurer of the hall, I have no sympathy.
The new Community Hall was completed in March (check out www.brindlecommunityhall.com) and we opened for business at Easter. I had a busy year, writing cheques for eye-watering amounts of money. The whole bill was some £240,000, and I’m really glad that it is behind us now. Just got to get the accounts passed at the AGM and by the Charities Commission and then I can relax.
We disappointingly picked the wettest day of the summer for our Grand Official Opening ceremony. The Brindle Brass Band chose to move indoors rather than play in the gazebo which we erected especially for them. They reckoned that rainwater in their instruments would adversely affect the sound quality. Can’t see it myself – it’s not like they were playing violins. I think they just wanted to be in the committee room, which they noticed has a bar. At least the Morris Men danced outside, not caring how the rain might affect the bells on their breeches.
Talking of people who wear breeches, Geraldine was asked to help out on the Royal Horticultural Society stand at the Tatton Park Garden Show in July. This was a cushy number, because while she was manning (womanning?) the stand there was time to see some of the show during her breaks, and she also received a generous travel allowance and two tickets to see the show on another day. So we both returned for free on the following Saturday, which was great. Geraldine expects (hopes?) to be invited back next year.
Once more, I spent summer Sundays taking tourists round Hoghton Tower, and in July was shown the proposed dates of the autumn ghost tours. I mentioned that I wasn’t available for the first three dates, and was then surprised to be presented with three new dates. It seems that my vaguely sardonic delivery is well received by the paying guests, and the Tower wanted me to do all of the tours. I enjoy doing them, although the last event did leave me feeling rather uneasy. One of the stories I related caused a very odd reaction in two people and, without going into detail, my erstwhile scepticism regarding ghosts was seriously tested. I’m very glad that there are no more tours until January to give a chance for the memories to fade. (If you want to read an account of the incident, I’ve written it down in the Hoghton Tower ghost file – email me for a copy). Or click here.
We managed to get away as a family at Easter and in the summer, hiring a friend’s property in the Lake District. We did quite a bit of hill walking and sightseeing since we hit very lucky with the weather on both dates. Geraldine visits the cottage quite frequently with her girlfriends, leaving me to look after the children – she’s very trusting!
We were also very pleased to be able to return to Provence in late October and were delighted to find that the weather was glorious: 22°C with dawn to dusk sunshine.
After the building work in 2005, we spent the early part of this year decorating our bedroom, and the recent months have seen us replacing the floor in the conservatory and re-equipping the utility room. For the past few years, we’ve held off doing any decorating knowing the builders were coming, but it took so long for the work to be completed, that we now find that the whole house needs redecorating. For an idea of what it’s like, just flick through any 1980s Laura Ashley catalogue. Since I’m not exactly the quickest worker, I now fully understand the quote “it’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to decorate it”. At least wielding a paint brush keeps me out of mischief.
Geraldine doesn’t need such distractions, since in the summer she was promoted at work and was requested to work full time once more. Prolonged negotiations eventually led to a compromise solution of 34 hours per week, which means that she now has no time for mischief.
You’ll be pleased to hear that the rain has stopped, only to be replaced with high winds, so it looks as though I’ll be staying in once more tomorrow. At least it means that I might get the Christmas cards written in good time this year. I hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2007