If Mother Nature's calendar is to be followed, not only is it the time for Christmas letter writing but also time to wrap up warmly - judging by the heavy crop of berries on the yew tree at the bottom of the garden, a White Christmas is a distinct possibility for 1989.

            This year has been busier than usual, it has been a year of changes for us all. We have been through times of great sadness but, equally importantly, times of joy; thank God through it all one thing has stayed constant, the sense of togetherness and caring of 'the Family'.

Undoubtedly our greatest sadness this year has been Mummy's death on Friday 19th February. Following surgery to remove a known Primary Carcinoma of the colon, on January 13th, it was realised that all was not well and secondaries had already invaded the liver and several other organs. Mum had not been well since Christmas but I'm sure that none of us realised just how soon after surgery she was to leave us. Although I'm sure we are in no doubt that she will continue to guide us from that 'other place', we all miss her encouraging presence.

             The Head of the family continues to shoulder his responsibility with great dignity, although there are obviously times of great loneliness for him too. Dad really has been wonderful, he has decided to stay in the house in Ashleigh Gardens - after all where else would he find a garden that was large enough to provide 'the family' with most of their vegetables! His domestic skills are adequate, and the benefits of an army training are apparent, the Achilles heel, if there is one, is cooking - he's just not interested! I try and pop round each morning before work so that we can have a cuppa together and read the headlines - the cuppa is always ready and most welcome! In the evening Dad comes for his supper, and usually we see him at the week-end too.

             Obviously the weekends are very different, but we manage to muddle through. As our friends will know, for none of you have seen us for months, that last statement was very true. Our weekends are fully occupied with domestic matters like food shopping, washing etc. and a regular visit to Coggeshall to see Alan's folks, who need a bit of help, fit in the odd flower arranging session at church, not to forget the Sunday service, and with a bit of luck there's an hour free to watch 'Eastenders' on Sunday afternoons (well, we must not neglect matters cultural!) - and all this before getting ready for work on Monday! For those of you who have been kind enough to enquire, the Patchwork quilt is still not finished, so here's to a renewed effort in 1990.

The ravages of anno domini seem to be affecting Granny and Grandad Woodhurst. In October Granny had a hip replacement performed at Black Notley Hospital (out in the sticks of Essex!); the actual surgery was efficiently carried out and the result of a pain-free joint a great relief. However, the post-operative complication of a paralytic ileus meant that Madame was moved, with some degree of urgency, to Colchester General Hospital (even further from Upminster), where she stayed for several weeks. On discharge a very thin Mum was still only able to move about gingerly with the support of her walking frame, and undoubtedly she had suffered a considerable lass of confidence. The situation has now improved a little but the thought of further surgery in the New Year, to have the other hip done, is proving to be a daunting prospect. Meanwhile Grandad's staying power is really quite remarkable. At Easter the Hospice Consultant thought that it was unlikely that he would live for another 3 months - now we're looking forward to Christmas with him. He is quite determined to see Mum through her ops, but to look at he is a shadow of his former self and he is beginning to require stronger analgesics, which of course have a tendency to make him sleepy and at times a bit scratchy. The family as a whole is beginning to feel the drain of caring for someone who is terminally ill; it is tiring physically (the car certainly knows the route between Upminster and Coggeshall) and emotionally (we're still on speaking terms with our neighbours! )

The other members of the 'Greig' clan continue to thrive. Sand and Sue are kept busy driving up and down to Hurstpierpoint College, where Alex is blissfully happy, as well as working hard academically. Alan and I were delighted to go down to Sussex one evening to hear the choir (our trumpet player was one of the voices in the back row) singing a Mozart Requiem in the school chapel. It will be no surprise, to those of you who know Sand, to read how devastated he was by Mum's death, but he managed to read the lesson at her funeral with great dignity and we were all very proud of him. Sue has been very supportive to us all, and she has once again invited the family, and it's appendices, to a New Year's Day celebration. Lydia's family continue to forge ahead with their many achievements, their musical prowess is something which delights us all. (Warrick's organ playing at Mum's funeral was very beautiful.) Rachel became a Queen's guide this year - and we all enjoyed a bite of the beautiful 'blue' cake which was cut on the night at her award ceremony. The boys continue to grow in leaps and bounds, they're healthy and full of mischief. Lydia will probably be only too glad to close up her 1989 diary for not only did she fall victim to Salmonella poisoning (finishing up in hospital and then generally debilitated for several months) but her Rheumatism has been exacerbated - fortunately she seems to be receiving excellent out-patient care, which is reassuring for us all. Lyd still finds it very hard to visit us in Upminster, she's frequently very tearful. For those with a sense of humour read on - the Greigs have found a new meaning for 'Carry on Camping'; Lyd, Warrick and family took Dad to France with them in the Summer, we're still hearing 'Auntie Ann do you know what Grandpa said/did/wore?' He survived and so did they - team points all round.

            Now for the Woodies, busy as ever, happy and hopefully fit and well. Nicola arrived home today from Christchurch College, Canterbury, for her holidays. She's a lovely person to have around, terribly untidy - except when she's preparing her art work - but one of life's sunny gigglers. Nicola and Andrew are still together; Andrew has made great strides with his computer business, he has been able to reward himself with a new car, a Peugeot 206, and I understand that a Summer holiday for two in Canada is under discussion.
            Suzanne was successful in her three A-levels - Computer Studies, Maths and Economics; she did particularly well in Computer Studies, an 'Aa'. After a holiday in Spain, she joined the world of City Commuters in August when she began work as a trainee accountant with Associated Container Transportation (Australia). She seems to have made an excellent choice and she always goes off to work looking happy and, needless to say, beautifully groomed, always neat and tidy. This year she is going to Havering Technical College on Thursdays, day release, the first step in her A.C.A. exams. Suzanne and Ian are no longer seeing each other, but Stuart, a tall young man who was a few years ahead of Suzanne at Coopers', is a delightful replacement. They travel on the train up to town, where Stuart works for Coutts Bank; he is also attending college, two evenings a week, studying for his banking exams.

             Our little one is no more, he's over 6', size 11 feet and still growing - when he stretches out on the sitting room floor the room's full! Sport still takes up much of his time, Rugby - Coopers' won the Under-15 Essex Cup this year and Sir was the prop forward - Badminton, Basketball, Cricket and an improving game of Tennis. Academically he seems to have made some progress - we have all seen him at work!! - although I suspect that he has enough to keep him out of mischief with 10 or 11 GCSEs. Outside school he's taken up golf - thanks to a very generous gift of lessons from Grandpa. I think that he greatly appreciated our choice of venue for our week of Summer holiday, St.Andrews.
            For Alan and I, 1989 will perhaps be one year that we will not be sorry to see pass, we're looking forward to a less hectic 1990.

Return to my home page.