News for 2010
After
last winter, we had hoped that we would have a mild one this year; but it seems
that is not to be. We have already had some snow, not as much as other parts of
the country, but enough, and it wasn’t even December. Today, being the first, I
can officially start thinking of Christmas as I opened my first door of my
advent calendar this morning.
I
haven’t written a round robin for a while so we have lots of news to tell.
All in all, we have been lucky enough to have had a good year. Pewsey suits us very well and we are both very happy here. PC Doctor Dave is going from strength to strength, pushed along by me (his marketing and PR manager). There are lots of exciting possibilities in the pipeline and when we listen to the traffic reports on the radio, he is very happy that his commute is from the bedroom to his office. This summer, his office has been renovated and it looks fantastic. The utility room has also been done which makes me happy. The house is almost finished though outside still needs work but that is for another year.
This year we had 2 weddings, the first one was a school friend of mine and then a dear friend (Sarah Barker) that we met in Holland and an anniversary to celebrate. My sister and brother in law celebrated 40 years of wedded bliss and we went with them to see the source of the Thames (a lump of stones with a sign). We also celebrated a golden wedding anniversary which was held at the House of Commons. What an amazing place to have a party!
We
went to Holland in May which was our first time back for a couple of years and
it was great to see old friends. Tried to cram too much in and we noticed that
Euro land was very expensive, not just because of the exchange rate, but also
inflation. Ah well, we did not need to do too much shopping though I now buy
all the Dutch goodies that I can’t buy here like sate 
sauce.
Dave is still partial to that so I stocked up.
The biggest event was my birthday. I was born at 10 past 10 on the 10th of the 10th so we really celebrated this one. Over a hundred and thirty people came and it was a fantastic weekend. Dave bought me a red sports car so I was in 7th heaven. Maxie Mazda was found by my sister and after a good going over by David and Dave and a test drive by me we purchased it and it is now as snug as a bug in the garage. Buying a soft top car in October has not given us much chance to speed through the countryside with the wind in our hair (or bald patch as the case may be), but hopefully when Spring has sprung we can drive through the delights of Wiltshire and beyond. I am one happy bunny.
We have had
our fair share of visitors which is wonderful. Friends from as far as the
antipodes have been and it has been such fun. We both love entertaining and
this house is perfect. We will be celebrating Christmas here with Terry and
David and both Mark and Jonathan too.
Johnny has returned from Australia and is now on the hunt for work and
Mark is flying in for a 10 day visit. The last time we were all together was
Christmas 2005 in
Last
Christmas (Boxing Day to be precise) Dave started fitting our ‘new’ kitchen. We
acquired it for free from friends of my sister and very soon after he started
we discovered why we had awful smells in some of the cupboards, the walls were
running with water the floor had been soaking up water for years and families
of slugs were all over one wall. All in all it was horrible but Dave was not
too daunted and started clearing the rot and soon we had new walls and floors.
We did have to buy new work tops and a new sink and 
we
had a guy in to cut the tops, as that was precision cutting, It looks wonderful
now and is a joy to use. I am still flapjack maker for the tea room and, for the
month of December. I also provide lots of mince pies. This year I did try
baking for the country market but all the rules and regulations were too much
of a pain, so I stopped. I have done some catering and of course I did most of
the catering for my birthday party. I did have some help which made it just
that bit easier. I am also writing for the local Gazette and Herald writing all
the local news in the ‘what’s on’ page. So my name is in print every week.
Our bridge club is going for strength to strength and we now have between 5 to 7 tables once a week. We have started doing a league table so we can track how well we are doing (currently we are 3rd). Picture shows the winners of our fancy dress Carnival bridge night.
I had a nasty fall in January wrenching my shoulder by falling and getting my wrist between 2 bits of wood of a white picket fence. Still not right, but my yoga is helping. Dave has started going to yoga too, to help his bad back. I love going to yoga I feel like a new woman every week. I have also become the president of the Pewsey Women’s Institute which I love doing. I have been to various events and it’s an amazing band of women.
Dave’s mum was very poorly in the summer but she has made a good recovery. Dave’s daughter Lisa has qualified as a mental health nurse and is working with seriously disturbed patients. Dave’s son is training to be a plumber and he helped Dave when he was trying to fix new thermostats to our radiators.
The garden is looking wonderful and this year I have grown lots of vegetables. Dave promised to eat what ever I grew so in the late summer we were almost self-sufficient. We had 3 trees cut down, which has given us a lot more light and I am planning to erect a greenhouse and also to landscape the part of the garden that I see out of the kitchen window. It is all so exciting, even if the garden is under snow at the moment. It is amazing to think that we have been here for nearly 2 years and that next year we will be able to relax and enjoy it all.
So let’s take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and trust that all is well in your worlds.
