Christmas 2003 News Letter

Dear All,

I'm reluctant to agree that it is a sign of getting older that time passes more quickly! I'm sure it is just that life gets busier & busier. Whatever it is, it hardly seems possible that December starts tomorrow. I always think that people seems to start talking about Christmas terribly earlier and then realise that it is November and it is me who is behind time not they who are ahead!

This time last year we were looking forward to our holiday in Norway. We left on Boxing Day and were away for just under two weeks. As it turned out it was the coldest winter that Oslo had experienced for several years. On the warmest day of our stay it was -12C and on the coldest it was -31C!! It was quite an experience for us especially the boys who had never seen anything like it. There was LOADS of snow, which was great as sometimes in Oslo there can be little snow. We spent a few days at our friend's newly built 'cabin' in the mountains. The term cabin (which is the term given to holiday homes) is rather misleading as the house is beautifully built and has all you could wish for including a beautiful kitchen and a sauna! The cabin is set in the most beautiful countryside and everything was covered in metres of snow. In the daytime we went out cross-country skiing which was for us, very reminiscent of our days in St Anthony, Newfoundland in 1985/86. Evenings were spent with our friends having dinner with the wood stove and the lovely warmth it gives out. Richard went snowboarding and really did rather well. He persevered and did master it- we were impressed but not tempted to try it ourselves! We also went downhill skiing at one of the resorts near Lillehammer where the Olympic games were held some years ago. It was -22C and I don't think I have ever skied so badly. I blamed it on the extreme cold and the hired skis!! It was a great holiday and so good to see our friends. The boys also had a good time and did really well with the cross-country skiing.

April saw us in Verbier with my parents and my sister's family for our ski holiday. We had a lovely time and this year David avoided the temptation to perform summersaults on skis. We had no injuries in the family! It was lovely to be all together. Next year we will not be going to Verbier, as my father wants to take us to his favourite resort in Austria. He and my mother will both celebrate their 80th birthdays next year (along with their 60th wedding anniversary!) and my Dad really wants to take us to Solden in April as part of their celebration. Mum & Dad plan to go there in February for his birthday as well as they have been invited to ski with the disabled soldiers Dad used to instruct. He is honoured and tickled by this invitation. His greatest ambition is to ski on the day of his birthday and he will be able to do so with them. There cannot be many 80yr olds who are so sprightly that they are invited along by men in their 30's. All credit to my parents and may they continue to be so fit & healthy for many more years. David is going out to join them for Dad's birthday. We cannot all go them but the family will ski together in April.

Richard went to the north of Scotland with the school for two weeks in May on an outdoor venture. They went hill walking, climbing, cycling, and swimming in ice-cold Scottish lochs……….. Two weeks 'roughing it' and he loved it. He even cooked for them all - battered fish goujons for dinner. I think he takes after my Dad.

The summer holidays arrived and Richard went on a school trip to the French Alps. He was in Chamonix and took the cable car up the Aiguille du midi right beside Mont Blanc amongst the many other exciting trips. He was only home for 3days before we all headed south to the French Riviera. We chose a rather hot summer to go: it was 38C for the first week and we were within a few miles of the worst forest fires in the region for several years. We were not directly affected apart from lack of electricity for one day. It was lovely to be back in the South and see how the other half lives! The yachts were even more opulent than you could even imagine. We all chose one to buy - in our dreams!

The boys are busy with their interests and we now understand what it is to be taxi drivers! Climbing is definitely top of the list and Richard's first passion. Our life seems to revolve around where the next climbing competition is. Richard took part in a series of competitions earlier this year and was in first place for our region of Scotland. David stands at the bottom of the climb holding the rope and is affectionately known as 'The Belay Bunny' & I also prefer to keep out feet on the ground. Jonathan is also becoming a keen climber and although not quite at the dizzy heights Richard has achieved, has also entered some competitions.

Work has kept us both busy and is as always a means to an end. I have done a fair amount of travelling this year both in the UK and in Europe. Tomorrow I head off to the US for two weeks on a rather daunting trip to audit our headquarters in Atlanta. I cannot say that I am looking forward to it except that it gives me the opportunity to look up some 'old' friends whom we met in Newfoundland. Those of you, who were with us in St Anthony, may remember Jack & Dorothy Lamb who worked in Roddickton. They live in Tennessee and are very kindly coming to collect me and take me to their house next weekend. It will be so good to see them.

In October my parents took Jonathan & I on a very memorable trip to Germany. Richard unfortunately could not join us, as he had to study for exams. My sister and her younger son were also there as well as many of our cousins. We visited the town where my mother's parents were born and where my mother used to spend happy summer holidays. Of course, the trip was very poignant and tinged with sadness as many of my parent's closed relatives died during the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis during the war. It was a difficult trip for my parents but they wanted to have the opportunity to show the children their roots and we shared happy times together as well as sharing the more difficult parts of the trip. The children gained a lot form the trip. There were fun days too, one being a trip to the famous marzipan manufacturer in Lubeck. A paradise for marzipan lovers!

Winter so far here has been very mild but now is starting to make its presence felt. We cannot complain. We have had a lovely autumn- mostly dry and mild.

We wish you all a lovely time over the Christmas holidays and a wonderful 2004.