2015
has been a difficult year for many – shootings, bombings, floods, flight from
home and country. If ever the world needed the message of Christmas, it needs
it now as it has at so many dark periods of human history. But Advent is a
season that invites us to envisage and anticipate a different future in which
God’s kingdom of peace, righteousness and justice will prevail. We rejoice in
the Christian message of God’s love for the world, for all who suffer, and for
us. ‘Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift in Jesus Christ.’
For
us it has been a year of change, with anticipation of much more change to come
in 2016. Adrian will retire in July and Jill has been busy retirement-nest
building. The house in Stapleford we have owned since ’88 sold quickly despite
needing lots of work doing on it. We then found a new (to us!) house in
Ilkeston, South Derbyshire. It is just over the Nottinghamshire border and a 15 minute easy drive from Rachel and Dave’s. No major work
required, but lots of cosmetic stuff which Jill has been sorting. We have a
camping base in the house: mattress on the floor, one comfy chair, two garden
chairs, an old dining table with two chairs and a working kitchen, so Jill is
quite comfortable on her many trips to and fro. We will send out the address
nearer to moving in, as the house stands empty for some of the time at the moment.
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| Lauvitel in the French Alps |
Jill
has found it hard to live in this in-between time. It has been difficult to
stay focused on the present and has gradually withdrawn from church
involvement - down to emergency cover only from January. The many trips to
Nottingham have meant that she has been able to see more of her father who is
very, very frail and virtually blind. He is cared for by family and by carers
and is still in his own home, but life is very difficult and frustrating for
him. So it has been good for Jill to be more involved and cover her sister’s
caring activity when she is on holiday.
Adrian
continues to be as busy as ever, with trips to Germany, Wales and Ireland to lead
quiet days, parish weekends and ordination retreats wearing his Simeon Centre hat
or to promote Pioneer Ministry. One week he packed
suitcases for three destinations and I packed then for two – one the same and
one different!
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| View from Les Deux Alpes |
Many
people are surprised when Adrian says he is looking forward to retirement and
ask him what he is going to do. The answer is ‘nothing for six months’! We were
going to go on a long caravanning trip but have decided that we will hang
around for grandchildren’s school holidays. We so enjoyed (Jill more than
Adrian as he was at work!) having Lucy and Naomi for a week each this year – great fun
was had by all. After six months he will then think again, but rather suspects he will
continue with some spiritual direction and leading quiet days and retreats, if
the invitations continue to come! We haven’t investigated the local churches
yet, although we have one or two ideas about the possibilities.
High
on the list of what we are looking forward is walking and hiking in the Peak
District, Yorkshire etc and then heading further afield around Europe for some
extended stays – we intend to make sure that our little pop-top caravan
continues to earn its living! We do have space for visitors and look forward to
being able to say ‘yes’ more easily in a life in which Adrian doesn't work so
many weekends.
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| Hannah, Lucy, Naomi, Charlotte |
Holidays
have always loomed large in our previous round robins and this year was no
exception. Last Christmas we had a week in the caravan in Amsterdam and
thoroughly enjoyed the Kroller Muller Art Museum, the Rembrandt House, the
Resistance Museum and the old Jewish quarter which included a concert at the Portuguese
synagogue. It may not have been a walking holiday but we walked miles electing
for a 45 minute walk into town and back each day and then the miles to and fro
to visit the various places around the lovely canals. We found ourselves (by
accident) in the Red Light District and felt quite nauseated at the over-hyped,
in-your-face sexual display.
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| Brouwerij t'IJ, Amsterdam |
Easter
found us at Ilam in Derbyshire, walking some familiar and well-loved paths as
well as hunting out new ones. Rachel and Dave joined us for one of the days and
the girls did their first trip up Mam Tor. We came down on a non-existent path
and there was only my hand between Lucy and a long and damaging roly-poly to
the bottom, but all’s well that ends well. It rained at the end and all six of
us had a very snuggly cuppa in our tiny caravan.
Venosc
in the Alps was our summer destination, taking in Bourges and Chablis en route.
Venosc is in a lovely valley near Les Deux Alpes beyond Grenoble with some really spectacular mountain walking. Jill’s
knees weren’t good but we managed some fabulous, challenging tops. One of the
most interesting was a mis-named ‘valley walk’ to the glaciers at Vallon de la
Selle – seven and a half hours walking and a climb of 5,500 feet ending in a
360 degree ring of glaciers. Non-walking days involved trips to Bourges
Cathedral, (spectacular medieval stained windows), Fontenay Abbey (World
Heritage, completely restored, Cistercian) and the Vezelay Romanesque
Basilica.
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| A wonderful Van Gogh in the Kroller-Muller Museum |
On
the family front, Michael continues to enjoy life as an RAF chaplain and has
been based, unusually, for a third year at Bury St Edmunds, with Helen teaching at Cavendish C of E school. Naomi joined her
sister at Plymouth College where she thoroughly
enjoys a whole range of sporting activities, including fencing. Hannah is in
her GCSE year – hard to believe we have a granddaughter doing GCSEs already!
Rachel
copes well with the increasing pressure in the NHS and still enjoys being an
Occupational Therapist. Dave is nearing the end of his training (distance education) to be an electrician
and is eager to get launched into a new career. Charlotte has just started
Secondary School (George Spencer) and Lucy has enjoyed amateur dramatics,
some on the stage and some before any willing family spectators!
Thank you to all of you who have sent us letters, cards and news: we
love hearing from you, and wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas and a blessed 2016.
