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Hardie Times 2002
A year in the life ...
It's
That time again
Having celebrated Gran's 90th
birthday at the end of September with members of the family from across 
the country, I realised, that despite the apparent speed and passage of time,
that nothing really changes much at all. Friends and family are still
there and even after several years, picking up from where you left off isn't
difficult. We're just another year older and supposedly wiser! This
time last year I was writing my annual in a t-shirt, well I
can't boast that this year though the weather is still remarkably mild,
despite the storms that have gusted past the bedroom window at night! I
sit here and wonder what we've done, where we've been, what's changed, what's
new and is any of it worth writing about anyway?? - perhaps not but I know that
many of you look forward to this epistle - so here goes!
A
year in the life ...
The year started with me not
returning to work as I had anticipated so we made use of this by doing some
decorating. As everything was magnolia this was a fairly easy job of
slapping on paint colour to add interest and applying borders around the top of
rooms and around archways! Those of you who have ever been (un)
fortunate enough to work with Ray know what a perfectionist he is and despite me
being keen to do the painting, Ray insisted that only he could do it!! I
did however manage to stencil the lounge archway as he was preoccupied with
stenciling all the way round the room and couldn't stop me! I think he
realised that I am quite capable of doing these jobs and to his standard too
(if not better!). The next room was the kitchen which Ray slapped
together in a couple of days, and then the downstairs toilet and upstairs
bathroom. In no time at all we had transformed four rooms and then the
money ran out! Both the toilet and bathroom had added features of recycled
wood made into shelving and cupboards! So far we have not attempted
anything else though we have a list for this winter including the dining room,
study and our bedroom.
year has been a very productive year in the garden, almost on the scale of Ground Force! I wonder if they need a new presenter to replace Alan Titchmarsh!. Ray found inspiration and energy in the spring after the decorating and began a project which totally transformed the garden. After having completed the hedgerow last year he decided that grass alongside of the house (or what passed for grass) had to come up. We decided to gravel and pave the area and before long we had a secluded area, a small pond (with five initially, now three goldfish), an archway, a patio area for seating and a table, as well as shaded seating and a barbecue area. At evening the whole area is lit with torch flames and on a warn summer evening is very peaceful. The photographs below give some idea of what it looks like. You have to imagine that before hand there was nothing except grass.
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The seat that Ray built last year is surrounded by a white climbing rose, a jasmine and a clematis. The rose did very well and the jasmine and the clematis were well away by the end of the summer! The cats particularly enjoyed curling up on this seat as it protects them from the sun and the rain!!
The
Band has kept Ray and I pretty busy this year with more contests than anything
else. It started with the West of England regional Championships,
which was at Bristol. Second place meant that we would play at the National
Finals in Torquay in September and also that from January 2003 the band will
move up to the second section. In May we went to Swindon Entertainment
Contest where we were placed fourth and then Bugle in June where we secured three
prizes. The National finals saw us placed sixth out of nineteen bands who
qualified (120 bands competed at regional levels). Despite being happy
with the result, it was an extremely long day which had started around 7.00am for
us and didn't end until we crawled into bed at 3.00am the next morning! We came
a disappointing second in the SWBBA contest in November. The lead up to
Christmas has included a couple of concerts and some carolling.
I returned to school after Easter and was soon back into the cut and thrust of everyday school life. The summer term went very quickly and all too soon after the summer break we were back for a new academic year and eagerly awaiting the drop of a brown envelope - OFSTED! We were put into serious weaknesses two years ago, after poor SATs results. This has meant two years of flying, running, jumping through hoops to achieve what OFSTED want!!! The LEA were absolutely gob-smacked at the time, because we have always been considered a good school and no-one could understand how we could be a school with serious weaknesses! Anyway all that happened is that we have achieved what we aimed to achieve in a shorter space of time, all with greyer hair and popping pills to keep us going!!! What has the government done to us!! We are professionals, who are darned good at out jobs, but no-one seems to respect that! Anyway as you can imagine the run up to 14 October was pretty strained to say the least. The week before was hell, the week itself was plain sailing. The OFSTED team were very good and impresses by the commitment from all the staff in the school. 100% of teaching was satisfactory or better, most being good or better. They could find no issues at all stating the strengths as music and ICT, which were considered above the national average. What a turn around in two years - Rubbish! (polite version!) The lead inspector was very clear that we could not continue working at the pace we had been forced to work in the last two years - Halleluiah!! Now we look forward to continuing our hard work but also enjoying doing the things which we are good at.
Holiday Time
We managed to have a week away in Kent during the summer holiday
which meant time to catch up with family and friends. We stayed with Uncle
Guy and Aunty Iris in Strood for the week. The weather was absolutely
scorching, - we couldn't have chosen a better week! Ray was really
taken with nearby Rochester, particularly the antique shops! The
children enjoyed racing around the castle grounds having
explored the castle itself.
I always forget how much history Rochester has, and having lived so close by for
6 years I suppose it was taken for granted. We visited Sissinghurst Garden
as well. The view from the top of the castle tower looking over the whole
garden was beautiful! It would be lovely to have a garden that size!
We spent a day with cousins at Howletts zoo, near Canterbury, where the children
thoroughly enjoyed watching the animals, especially the tiger weeing in the pond
and the elephant with the straw on his head!!! Other days were spent
catching up with friends from my teaching days in Kent. We spent a day
with Liz and boys, Harry and Henry and completed the Maize Maze at Upchurch with
them. Rhiannon and Mathew had great fun hiding in and running through the
maize with Henry and Harry! Later in the day we visited their farm and
then Liz's mum in Sittingbourne. Mathew was in his element when he sat on
an old tractor (sorry Liz and Mike I can't remember which sort!). I
just hope he doesn't think Father Christmas will bring him one this year!!
Ray fell in love with Ann's (Liz's mum) house and garden as I knew he
would! I think a lottery win would achieve his dreams!!
We spent the last day of the holiday at the Hop Farm near Paddock Wood with Mike, Gwen, Elizabeth and Rhys. It was a lovely day and the children enjoyed looking at the animals and playing in ball pits etc. Mathew was fascinated by a flushing toilet with a hippo down it and Rhiannon loved the baby rabbits!
(Thanks to all for a lovely week)
Family
We
continue to enjoy having family close
by. The children love seeing Christopher and Kirsty when they are with
Philip and this has extended to the inclusion of Joel an Ehlana, who are Kathy's
two children. Philip and Kathy seem happy together and have been busy
redecorating their respective houses throughout the year. Frequent visits to Nanny and
Grandad disrupt the quietness of the house! They lost Saba (German
Shepherd) in July and the house is very quiet without her bark as you
walk up to the front door. Both are far too busy with the business.
We keep nagging them to take things more easy but they just keep going!
This stress actually resulted in Dad having a minor heart attack at the end of
October. This has forced him to rest, especially as he couldn't drive for
four weeks! He has returned to work now but not full-time. We just hope that this warning will slow them both down to
start enjoying some free time. The very sudden and sad loss of Aunty Iris
on December 14th has also highlighted the importance of making the most of your
retirement before you are unable to. Take it easy
please!!
90
not out!
The
end of September saw the family celebrate Gran's 90th birthday. Secret
planning and preparations
started earlier in the year to ensure that as many family and friends would be
able to join in the celebrations. Mum and I prepared the menu and sleeping
arrangements, while other
family members arranged time off work and Aunty Iris worked on Gran's cousin Ruth, in
London, persuading her to make the long journey. As there were going to be
about thirty of us, we prayed for fine weather, especially so that the children
would be able to run around outside! Everybody arrived on the Friday
before the party, while I ( with some help) prepared pizzas, quiches,
salads, puddings etc for lunch the following day. Gran's face was a
picture when she arrived to a chorus of 'Happy birthday'. She took
everything in her stride and was really thrilled at all the excitement and the
time taken by her family to join her for a wonderful day!
It was a great chance for us all to catch up as family gatherings are rare when we live all over the country! The next one will have to be Mum and Dad's 40th Wedding anniversary I think!
Kelsea
Kelsea finally went in the water around the end of July, much
later than anticipated! Ray and Philip spent as much
time as they could refurbishing her before she was re-launched. Luckily
once in the water she showed no signs of any leaks, something we were unsure of
since we had never seen her in the water. Ray has enjoyed fishing trips
with his Dad and friends, as well as trips around to Cawsand and up the river to
Saltash. He uses any excuse to go out to the boat on her mooring to check
she is OK. I think he would be quite happy sleeping on her if he was
allowed! We took mum up the river to Saltash at the end
of August, passing the events at Navy Days in the dockyard on the way. We
had to use the outboard on the way up which was very noisy, though we sailed
back which was far quicker and much
more pleasant! The view from underneath the bridges at Saltash was
amazing - you get a real feel for the size from below which is not
apparent from above. In actual fact the view from the river really gives a
different perspective on the local surroundings
. The children are extremely
confident on the boat and are quite happy playing in the cabin or sitting
outside. They were unsure of the rowing boat to start with but are quite happy
now. Mathew frequently goes with Ray to the boat when Rhiannon and I are
at school. Ray says Mathew sits at the back with the tiller pretending to
steer the boat up the river! she will be out of the water over winter and
we hope that next year she will go in
much earlier so that we can get a full season's sailing / fishing in!
Willow and Wisp
Willow
and Wisp, as usual, continue to thrive despite the best efforts at times of two
over enthusiastic children. Their hunting skills are honed to perfection
judging by the presents and /or debris that we discover! Rhiannon came screaming
to us one evening that there was a rat, and there certainly was - deposited
inside the back door for us all to survey! Rhiannon is certainly more
accepting of the fact that they kill small animals to eat and doesn't get quite
so distressed when she witnesses them in the back garden playing with their
prizes! Despite their hunting abilities they still seem to eat us out
of house and home! Ray says if anyone would like them for a holiday they
are welcome - just make sure you're fully stocked up with tins and
biscuits! Mathew just wants to cuddle Wisp to death, though she
generally manages to
wriggle free and hide away in the garden somewhere - usually the garden seat, in
the green house or squeezed through the broken shed window! Of course
Willow and Wisp are no longer the only four-legged inhabitants! Coco and Daisy
(guinea pigs) who joined us in May thrive too! They must be the best fed
guinea pigs as whenever I go to get vegetables, which I've bought plenty of,
there's none left! Ray has fed them a feast of fresh carrots, apples,
oranges, cauliflower - you name it - they've had it! Consequently they are
no longer the little guinea pigs which I bought! We also now have
Rosie and Sophie - the three goldfish!! We can't quite get Rhiannon to
think of another name for the third one! They did start off as five but
somehow have dwindled to three. They normally live in the pond outside,
but Ray insists that they have to come in over the winter, so now sit on
the windowsill, where they are great sport for four pairs of eager eyes! (two
children and two cats!!)
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
continues to be a real character! She
is a bright little girl and no-one is going to pull the wool over her
eyes! She started school at the beginning of the summer term,
attending in the mornings only until the New
Year, when she will be full time. I was a bit nervous, as she was the only
one starting at the time and I wondered how she would cope - I needn't have
worried. She thoroughly enjoys school and assures me that she is a perfect
angel in the class!! Any teacher's nightmare - having their own child
be a pain at school!! She is a typical girl and enjoys reading,
drawing and colouring and spends hours colouring pictures, which she does more
skillfully than many of my Year 4 children! She obviously has inherited
our creative sides! She continues to enjoy her ballet classes, though I
seem to be forever buying new ballet shoes as she grows out of them! When
I attended her first 'Parent Evening' I discovered that she sometimes lacks
confidence, which for anyone who knows her, doesn't sound right at all.
It's true - children are always different at school!!! We are looking
forward to watching her first school Christmas performance in which she is a
'French Hen' in the Twelve Days of Christmas!
Mathew
has continued to grow into a
cheerful and lovable little boy! He and Rhiannon get on well together, with the
usual brother/sister squabbles. Of course, he is big enough now to give as
good as he gets! His speech has been some cause for concern as I felt he
wasn't progressing as he should. Hearing tests showed there was nothing
wrong with his hearing
and having seen the speech therapists twice, she is happy that he is making good
progress. He certainly has no problems in understanding and is happy and
content most of the time! His communication improves every day and he
gabbles along in sentences that we understand, recognizing that the initial
sound of words are not always correct! He absolutely loves everything with
wheels - cars, trains, bikes, tractors etc and has even been known to take a car
to sleep with him, just like a teddy! He is also very determined and
despite being too small for Rhiannon's bicycle managed to adopt a technique that
means he is capable of riding it too! He started Nursery at the end of
October and thoroughly enjoys it, so much so that he gets up at six o'clock with
me most mornings and asks whether it's nursery today!
Merry Christmas
Well all it leaves me to do now is to wish you all
A very Happy Christmas
and a
Prosperous New Year.
With much love
from
