Chatfields' Christmas Letter 2014

It is so hard to begin our Christmas letter this year as so much that was true then, continues to be true now. We are grateful to God for good health, for work that satisfies, (at least most of the time!), and for enough space in Ridley Hall’s breaks between busy terms to enjoy some wonderful time away.

Jill continues to enjoy retirement and is probably fitter now than she has ever been in her life. She is a member of the local gym and although she has no desire whatever to use the gym equipment, she loves the classes and goes every morning for a wide range of different activities: Fitball, Cardio Power, Sculpt and Tone, Zumba, Aquafit and Pilates. She contributes in a small way to the ministry of the Lordsbridge Team and has particularly enjoyed working with the small team that have launched a more contemporary and contemplative service at quarterly intervlas throughout the year.

Adrian has had a busy year. Ridley’s chaplain, Jane Keiller, left in February, leaving Adrian to handle Chapel things alone. Rosemary Kew, who did some administrative work for the Simeon Centre, also left leaving him with some extra things to manage. A new Simeon Centre intern, Rachel Holdforth, has helped with some of this and has brought some fresh perspectives to the Centre and to College life, particularly in the areas of disability and inclusion.

Running continues to be a significant part of Adrian’s life. He runs regularly to work, books into as many of the local half marathons as he can and, this year, ran his first full marathon. He chose the Yorkshireman, an off-road marathon that entailed running through some bog, using a map and GPS and climbing around three thousand feet - all through magnificent countryside in Calderdale.

We have spent a lot of time in the caravan this year. At the New Year we spent a few days in Bruges, enjoyed walking the picturesque streets and visiting several museums. Highlights were a Dali exhibition, the Beguinage, wonderful walks along the canals and real drinking chocolate.

At Easter we went to Slovenia to stay in Bohinjska Bistrica in an apartment of a good friend of Adrian’s. We fell in love with the country. We arrived and were out of the airport in fifteen minutes in a hired car. Lovely walking amidst snowcapped mountains, around the Lakes Bohinj and Bled and through beautiful unspoilt villages, where there still seemed to be evidence of communal activity on common land.

We had planned to go to the Alps in the summer of 2014, but the marriage of two students meant that we needed to change plans. Instead we stayed on the Pembrokeshire coast, explored the coastal path and then headed to the Brecon Beacons for some more challenging walking. After the wedding we had a week in the Hope Valley in Derbyshire. Jill had an extra two weeks with Rachel and the girls, also in Derbyshire. While Dave is doing his re-training, he uses his leave for completing the practical part of his training. It will be a relief when he finishes and the family can go on holiday together again.

Rachel and Dave are happy and settled despite a lack of good holiday time together. Charlotte is in the last year of primary school and Lucy is still a very delightful, pert and sometimes noisy seven year old.

Michael and Helen continue to live at RAF Honington near Bury St Edmunds and we are delighted that we see more of them now, although we see less of Naomi as she joined her sister at school in Plymouth In September. She seems to have settled well and loves to try her hand at almost any sport that is going.

The end of the academic year will bring more change for us. It will be Adrian’s final year at Ridley and he feels that the timing is good. While he still enjoys his work both for Ridley and the Simeon Centre, he is ready for a different pace of life. We suspect it will be a busier year for Jill, too, as the house we own is in need of an awful lot of TLC. She will be up and down to Nottingham managing the work that needs to be done and preparing for our move back to the place which has deep roots for both of us. Having been in Derbyshire this summer we are so looking forward to being in reach of good walking country, although we are feeling somewhat daunted at the amount of ‘stuff’ that we will need to ditch.

If you are ever anywhere near Cambridge, we would love to see you, for coffee, for a meal, for a sleepover, as our grandchildren would say!

It feels grossly unfair to be well fed and housed and content in a world in which the lives of so many people are disrupted and destroyed by the evil we see around us. We thank God that he is not a distant God who stands aloof from the world but a God who took flesh and came to dwell among us in Jesus and who dwells amongst us still. He is the light of the world and no darkness can quench his light. There lies our hope.

May God bless you and your families at this Christmas time and fill you with all joy and peace in believing as you look to the coming year.

Adrian and Jill