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Dear Carole.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year from all of us. I expect you are enjoying your summer now. We have really dark mornings and it doesn't get light until about 8.15 am. As I write the wind is howling and the rain is lashing down. The River Severn has has flooded various villages and towns along its banks. Its hard to imagine your climate. No wonder people visit relatives in Australia at this time of the year. Brr.
It's been another busy year for the Vincents. The months just seem to rush passed, or maybe it's just us getting slower. Our dog Wags is now 16 and getting very slow. He now spends most of his time asleep, curled up in some sunny spot. His still enjoys his food and a slow meander up our lane. But his days of chasing cats or balls are well and truly over. He now turns his back on the neighbour's cats pretending to be deeply involved in the vegetation whenever she passes by.
Last year we were so impressed by the Azores that we broke with a family tradition and visited the same place two years running. Again we were not disappointed by the beautiful, unspoilt scenery and friendliness of the island's people. Once again Tim found our accommodation over the Internet. It lived up to its description, large house, (2 cottages knocked into one) with sea-side location. The front doors opened onto the street but once inside you were greeted by an airy lounge, modern kitchen and 4 bedrooms, all ensuite. The lounge and two of the bedrooms had doors that opened onto the garden. This was the size of a football pitch and crammed with exotic shrubs and bushes. At the end of the garden was a gate that led directly onto the beach. Here Ceri, Tim and Martyn spent hours in the crystal-clear rock pools, looking at the fish. The rock pools were popular with the locals, who enjoy swimming and sunbathing like us.
We explored many small villages, revisited the volcano and hot geysers. Saw a local religious festival, where the band and a group of children toured the village in open topped trucks. As they toured the village they let off fireworks and rockets, to the admiration of the locals. (Obviously Heath and Safety regulations have not reached the Azores!!!) The children were carrying their pets and the parade was called to a halt when a rabbit escaped and everyone had to join in the chase. Rabbit once more re-united with its owner the festival continued.
Tim and Ceri went diving with the instructor we met last year. Tim still has swimming lessons, where speed and safety are very important. Martyn and I laughed when he returned from his dive. The instructor had taken his fins off him because he was going too fast. Apparently underwater you need to swim slowly in order to reserve your oxygen. Tim never moves slowly so no wonder he had his flippers confiscated!!!!
We spent the rest of the summer holidays catching up with the household jobs and the garden. The weather was glorious; I actually managed to feel warm. Some of our shrubs did die as a result of a lack of rain. Mysteriously the weeds had no problem and grew in abundance. We also managed a short visit to Yorkshire to see long lost relatives of my mother's. I am doing my mother's family tree at the moment and as a child I heard my grandmother mention some of her brothers and sisters when she talked to my mother. But as they lived in Yorkshire and we lived in North Wales we hardly every met them. So this summer we stayed with a distant cousin for the night. She took us around the family history places ( old home/church yardss) The North York moors looked tranquil in the summer sun but I expect they are pretty chilly now.
Ceri has just returned from a trip to Beijing with her work. She went for a conference on Co2 emissions and arranged to take part of her holiday leave to stay an extra few days. She saw the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, both were shrouded in smog.( I wonder if the Chinese will do anything about the pollution. ) Ceri said the smog spoilt her view of the great wall. She also said it was covered with ice and that she could have done with a pair of crampons.
Ceri really enjoyed her experience despite the 24 hours plus journeys each way. On her return she was completely disorientate, having lost 8 hours somewhere between Dubai and Birmingham. She treated herself to a fake designer label coat which she is now wearing inside out and a jade necklace with a small dragon at the centre. She has told us that she has hundreds of photographs to show us when we see her at Christmas.
Tim is keeping busy at school. He is now 15 and in his "exam" year. He works hard but I am sure everyone's results would be a lot better if they could have Internet access during the exams. It's absolutely amazing what help you can get on the Internet. In Literacy his set book is Silas Marner and Tim found a site where the book was read out to you. No doubt you can get essays etc if you look hard enough.
Martyn still works very part time in adult education and manages to keep very busy with his hobbies. He went to a radio rally in Deyton, Ohio in May and had a great time with 4 other amateur radio enthusiasts. He is also busy helping a local group restore part of the Shropshire Union canal. Just after Christmas he is going to do some more clearance work. Tim helped last weekend. At the last moment he reached too far and ended up in the canal. (Those swimming lessons haven't been just a good way of exercising) The group leader had commented that he wondered how deep the canal was. Tim was able to verify that it was deeper that 5' 6" as he didn't reach the bottom when he took a quick dip.
I am still busy teaching. I enjoy working with children but the amount of paper work etc makes it a very stressful way to earn a living. The Christmas Nativity songs are going round and round in my head, as is the vision of my 5year olds dressed as twinkling stars or donkeys. The parents didn't seem to notice that the donkey moved around like twinkling stars and that our Heavenly bodies were decidedly heavy in the footwork department. Excitement just grew daily from December 1st when the tree went up in the hall for the Christmas fete to the performances and party days.
Its nearly the end of term and I don't even know if this is making sense. I am very tired. The dog got us up at 5 am this morning and I haven't slept since. He was barking at the wall. His sight is failing and he must have wondered where he was. I hope he is quieter tonight.
Wishing you and your family a very happy Christmas.
Best wishes Marilyn.