Christmas 2000 News Letter

Dear All

I have decided to try to at least start my letter to you all whilst it is still November. That way I'll be a little ahead of my usual December rush. This year has disappeared and I cannot believe that it is almost a year since there was all the fuss about the New Year Millennium celebrations and all the talk of the year 2000 computer problems which few of us experienced. Was that because we all took the necessary preventative action or was it all a scam by the IT sector to make money from those of us too dumb to realise? We will never know!!

We started off the year in Edinburgh with our friends Fiona & Stewart and their children. We all went into the city centre to join the city's celebrations. They included 4 tonnes of fireworks which were set off in just 4 minutes. It was quite a bang! The children really enjoyed the party atmosphere, live music etc. On the way home we dropped in to see friends who were having a party. By the time we got home it was 4am and Jonathan who was then 6yr old was so confused that he thought it was the middle of the afternoon and asked if he could play with his toys!

It's been a quick year. Jonathan has just turned 7yr and is in his third year at school. He is managing well, likes his teacher and his class mates and seems keen on getting through his work. He goes to swimming lessons on a Saturday morning which he loves. At first he was reluctant to go and made a big fuss even though he loves swimming generally but now he loves to go and enjoys the lessons. He enjoys getting together with his friends but, so far, doesn't have other activities outside school. Richard, on the other hand, who will be 12yr at the end of the year, has lots of things on the go. He is now in his first year of senior school and is enjoying the variety of subjects and activities that it brings. He is still playing the bassoon and earlier this year gained his Grade 1 exam. He played a solo in the school concert in June and we were very proud of him. He played without a single mistake and kept his cool even although he was momentarily spooked when he noticed that the school Principal was sitting right in front of him! He still goes to a swimming club and plays judo (he gained his green belt this week). New activities include fencing where he also just passed his grade 1 standard, and membership of the rowing and angling clubs. You can see how much of our time is spent ferrying him around! To be fair, he has started coming home from school by bus and so is a little more independent than he was before.

Once again this year Easter found us skiing in Verbier in Switzerland. We had the same chalet as in previous years and it was a bit like going home! The children enjoyed being with their cousins and we were lucky to have good snow. The boys do not see that much of each other although this year we have been to London a few times. In June we went to visit the Millennium Dome in London. I don't know how much is known of the Dome outside the UK- it is an exhibition located at Greenwich in London in a uniquely designed building. The exhibition is only to last for this year and cost a lot of money but sadly the media turned public opinion against it very early in its planning and it has never achieved the visitor numbers anticipated…….a pity because we had a wonderful day there as have many others. There was something there for everyone including a breathtaking show.

The summer holidays found us in France with our caravan. We went to the Dordogne region which really is very beautiful. At first the weather was a bit mixed although it was always warm but it improved and our last week was sunny. We had a very nice campsite and the children made lots of friends. The campsite was right on the river so, on the days when we did not want to do any driving we could spend the day at the river relaxing and swimming. We did spend one day canoeing……it was quite hard work but fun. Jonathan learned to ride his bike and was so pleased. Until now, he has had a tag-along bike which attached to the back of David's bike but he no longer needs that and is enjoying being able to cycle on his own. On the way home we stopped in Paris for three days. We did all the tourist things with the children and they really enjoyed it. We also spent a day at the Asterix theme park which they loved. It's much quieter than Disneyland (where we also spent an evening) and the rides and other attractions are just as good if not better. All in all it was a great few days. It was just a pity that our car broke down just after leaving Paris. Unfortunately it was serious……one of the gears shattered and we were unable to drive the car home. Getting home was a bit more complicated as we also had the caravan to think of! We got home over the next two days in a series of hire cars and tow trucks and the car and caravan were towed back to the UK later that week. Not a happy experience although the children found some of it quite exciting.

Richard spent a few days away in the country with his new class mates and their teacher in the Autumn. The school organises this to help the children get to know each other and he really enjoyed it. This included a trip to a small farm and Richard fell in love with a baby rabbit. Before we knew what was happening we were visiting the farm and had agreed to buy each of the boys a rabbit! Richard has wanted a pet for a long time and both boys are thrilled with them. I have to admit they are very cute even though they have grown quite a bit! They seem to make good pets and we keep them indoors so they get plenty attention. Hopefully the notion will not wear off as rabbits live for a long time.

The last few weeks have been very hectic for us and we are looking forward to some time off to relax in the Christmas holidays.