Dear All

I'm afraid that yet again Christmas has arrived sooner than expected and I have not had time to write our annual newsletter. My excuse this year is that I'm back to full time work and there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week.

At the end of last year I went for an interview for the post of Laboratory Manager at a research centre belonging to a Scandinavian company which produces food for the salmon and trout farming industry. I surprised myself when I was offered the job and within 5 days of the second interview I was winging my way to Sweden to learn the ropes! At that time the laboratory was based in Sweden but the company had decided to set up a new research centre outside Edinburgh and transfer all laboratory services from Sweden to Scotland. I therefore went over to Sweden for the last few days that the laboratory was operating in order to get some idea of what I was in for when all the equipment was shipped over here. I have to say that it has been a daunting task and there are still many days when I wonder what I am doing there. The work is quite different to anything I have done before and the buck stops at me but so far I'm managing to keep my head a bit above water. This job also involves a bit of travelling abroad so far to Scandinavia and Holland so that's another thing I haven't had as part of my job before.

As in the past few years February found us in St Johann in the Austrian Tirol with my parents and my sisters family. We had a good weeks skiing. Richard really is a very proficient skier now which is helped by the fact that my father takes him skiing most Friday afternoons at the artificial ski slope where we live. Richard now only likes to go to the top chairlift station at the artificial slope since the run from the middle station is 'boring' ! Our week in Austria is always a nice opportunity for Richard to get together with his two cousins from London and this year Jonathan really joined into the spirit of things. David skied with Jonathan on his back in the backpack and he loved it. Generally Jonathan is a very easy going little chap and his big cousins enjoyed making a fuss of him. Going back to work meant making child care arrangements for the boys and this was easier said than done. I had decided that if I was going to go back to work full time then I would rather have someone come to the house to look after them than take them somewhere. Richard is of course at school for most of the day but Jonathan needs someone to be here all day. We finally found a lovely girl called Lindsay who was able to work for us until mid summer after which she was going to take a PhD. She was a great success and the children loved her. After Lindsay left we found Kirsty who is with us now. She is younger but very capable and has become a firm friend of the boys. Jonathan goes to all sorts of toddler groups etc. with her and has a lovely time. Having the children at home makes things easier in that I come home straight from work without having to stop off and collect the boys.When I come home they have already eaten dinner so we have a bit of time together before bathtime.

We had a few trips away in our caravan this year the first of which was to the Lake District to meet up with our friends Fiona & Stewart and their two children. We had the most wonderful weather and went on some nice walks together. Our next trip was up to Dundee on the East coast of Scotland. We have friends there whom we visited but also went to see the ship Discovery in which Scott sailed to the Antarctic. Richard found all of this fascinating and enjoyed the weekend. Other weekend trips took us to Aberdeen in the North East and in the Autumn we spent a weekend in Blair Atholl which is 2 hours north of here. This area is truly beautiful and we had the most glorious weather. The Autumn colours were stunning and we had some lovely walks to waterfalls as well as to some historic sites run by the National Trust for Scotland.

Our summer holiday this year took us to Hampshire in the south of England. We stayed just on the edge of the New Forest with the intention of doing quite a bit of cycling in that lovely part of the country. Again we met up with our friends Fiona & Stewart. The weather was so good however that it was rather too hot for cycling and most days we went to the south coast to the many lovely beaches. Generally we had great weather all summer here which was a rather nice change.

Another interesting part of the summer was the Tall Ships race which came to the port of Leith in Edinburgh. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the world tallest sailing ships all together. It was quite a spectacle and we spent a memorable day going on board some of the vessels including the Sedov - the largest of them all.

Richard is really growing up fast. He enjoys school and the many activities he takes part in after school. his favourite continues to be Judo and he is very good. It's hard to believe that in three weeks time he will be 7 years old. He loves Jonathan and is very good with him. He really does enjoy being the 'big brother'. Jonathan is a comic and knows it. Who would believe that two years ago he was that tiny premature baby! He looks up to Richard and wants to do everything that Richard does although this is not always appropriate! We celebrated his 2nd birthday last month and he had a wonderful day. So far he doesn't say much but communicates very effectively by making sounds and gesticulating with his hands. Who needs to talk when you can make yourself understood anyway!

I've probably rambled on for long enough now and would be better to get some cards written to I can post this to you.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a healthy year to come.

With love to you all.