I am delighted to report that at the time of writing this letter to you the Woodhurst clan is in peak condition. For at least one of us, this was not so a few months ago. In May, over the course of a week-end I lost my appetite ….careless in the extreme! Losing two stone in weight over the next month might have been a dream come true, but unfortunately it was accompanied by rather a lot of discomfort and considerable weakness. Investigations had to be carried out and during one of these I managed to have a cardiac arrest….well, it was a way of meeting all the members of the crash team, ‘No, you can’t go home! And by the way when did you have pneumonia?!!’ By July the mystery condition seemed to have resolved, and the medical conclusion was that the undiagnosed pneumonia had set off a generalised infection leading in some way to a blocked common bile duct, hence havoc had been reaped! But all is well again, and apart from terrifying the family and a few dear friends, I have no intention or desire to repeat the performance, life is just too hectic.

            Student life continues apace, the end is in sight, two terms to go. The pressure is certainly on, last year we had 9 assignments to complete, this year 17 seems to be the magic number, so the aim seems to be pass + 1% and the thought ‘good enough’ springs to mind. Alan too is looking forward to being released from his duties as Chief Scribe, his ability to convert several scrappy sheets of untidy long hand notes into a neat plastic bound essay, complete with references, footnotes and bibliography is greatly appreciated…. fortunately the art of preparing sermons and services has been mastered by the writer! (Live long and stay fit and well, my darling!) Plans for my final placement are now in place; I’m to be working with Rev. John Edwards, who is charming, and has charge of the joint pastorate of Gants Hill and Wanstead. Someone somewhere obviously has a sense of humour, I had requested to work with children, to my knowledge there are three children at Gants Hill (Grace, George and Thomas) and the average age of the congregation is about 70. It certainly emphasises the point that we are ‘all God’s children’. On a more upbeat note the possibility of a 6 week overseas placement in Southern Africa is in the capable hands of Dale Romminger and Peter Hurter, so it may well become a reality sometime from mid September to the end of November. I don’t expect that the absence of children overseas will be a problem! Working in hospice is still very fulfilling. Alan keeps reminding me that the plan is to cut down to 3 or 4 days next September, for my last year.

            There have certainly been some changes to life at Freshfields Avenue – it’s now a menage a deux ... Darby and Joan eat your heart out. Douglas and Gemma have now set up home in a very nice flat in the Gidea Park/ Romford area – strangely enough just two roads away from where we started our ‘married’ life. (Apparently that’s plan B, so we live in hope!) Much as we miss seeing them both, they seem happy together and that has to be good news. Doug is still retaining his job with Omiris, which in today’s climate of frequent redundancies is something to be grateful for, and Gemma is successfully beavering away at her accountancy exams. In a moment of madness, I suspect aided and abetted by two big sisters, the pair have offered to cook Christmas dinner…we look forward to this with eager anticipation. How wonderful for some of us that we are only required to lay the table.

             2002 has been a wonderful year of achievements by the younger members of the family, and their loving parents have every reason to be proud of them. Rebecca (4) is a very sociable little girl, loves her playgroup, ballet, swimming and her friends – although she obviously thinks that Grandma is beyond the pale when she refers to Morgan and Terry as ‘he’… ‘No, Grandma, not he, they are girls!’…… and of course Morgan has a sister Taylor….. confused? This young lady is a real tea-Jenny, so the high point of my week of Summer School in the lake district was seeking out a small teapot; but even love of my granddaughter wouldn't allow me to part company with £22.50 for a tasteful number sporting Peter Rabbit and Friends… however a subsequent visit to the Co-Op, in Lowestoft, found a bright orange model favourably priced at £2.99. Hardly an antique of the future, but priceless in the circle of love. Hannah (3), Nic’s eldest, adores her big cousin and it’s a joy to see them together. She’s a very bright button, she has just started to write, and her little notes are a delight to receive. Sarah (2) is a very definite person, of all our grandchildren, she is the one most like her Mama – in temperament and looks, it really is like having a little Suzanne around. Determined, funny and absolutely secure, she is adored and protected by her big sister. And then there is Monsieur Edward (18 months) – he’s a loveable rogue, into everything. This year our Christmas tree is on top of the Canterbury bookcase….I wonder why?

             As a family we have all managed to spend some time up at Corton, in our holiday home. Having managed to get it into a usable state, we are now enjoying trips out into the surrounding countryside. Sand and Sue have managed to spend a few days there too, let’s hope that we can encourage Lyd and Warrick to join us sometime next year.

            (Now it’s Alan’s turn at the computer.) Full retirement is certainly suiting me, but there is not much time for leisure activities. My first priority is to support Ann, of course, as mentioned above. The second priority is the grandchildren, whether it’s going to Kelvedon when Nicola gets her arm twisted to teach on a Friday, or finding activities for one of Suzanne’s girls while she is taking the other somewhere only suitable for one, or just babysitting – maybe here if it’s a very late function. The rest of my active time is spent on national plans for Bahá’í Sunday Schools. Having had my syllabus approved, I spent about a year writing lesson plans for nearly one third of it; these have now been added to other education resources and put on a CD, over 50 of which have been sent out so far. Now I’m working on the 2nd third, which will be added for version 2 of the CD next year. Up to 10 weeks ago my way of relaxing was to watch Star Trek, but recently I have become a Fame Academy fan – as an amateur musician I found the details of song-writing and preparing for public performance very interesting, and was pleased to find that our digital TV, although not completely interactive via the red button, allows me to watch the 24-7 live link.

         The extended family are well too. Sue and Sandy have become proud grandparents of Sarah, Alex and Laetitia are justly proud of their lovely little girl. Lyd and Warrick are now including regular trips to Canada, into their busy life, to visit Rachel, Kim, Anna (2) and Timothy (4mths) – we’re hoping to see them all next year, when a trip to the U.K. is planned. Canada is also the temporary home of John – 21 this year – he finishes his Mormon mission in March, it’ll be great to have him home. Dan and Debs have moved to be nearer to Stoke, where Dan’s new job has taken them; Simon and Marika are busy working on their home, Si has just taken a new job in Gloucester.

            And so to our wishes to you for a Happy and Blessed Christmas, and may 2003 be Prosperous too. We look forward to welcoming many of you in our home next year. All the family join us in sending love and good wishes.

Return to my home page.