A very
merry Christmas & prosperous 2020 to all our Friends |
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The best intent to make a very early start seems to have slipped somewhat As is the custom Rosedale News will be on the web at www.gwsjms.me.uk/xmas19.htm. |
Holidays & Awaydays As ever we have visited both Kat and her family in Inverness as well as Chris in the city of roundabouts ie Milton Keynes. For our trips to Inverness we decided to drive again with the added confidence of now having a 4-wheel drive car to cope with possible adverse conditions in the Scottish Highlands. In the event our 380 mile trip in early January was uneventful weather wise. Kat did drag Graham up a 1500ft mountain on the edge of the Cairngorms. It was really quite exhilarating.
In June we went back up to Inverness for a few days, left Megan there while we went over to the west coast of Scotland to drive part of the North Coast 500 mile route with its spectacular scenery, narrow roads and some great places to stay and eat.
In September we toured around southern Spain visiting Malaga, Ronda, Cordoba and Granada. Wonderful scenery and architecture, good food and pleasant people. The only downside - it was a bit too hot at 35C falling to ca 25C in the mountains.
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Debbie, Chris, Mikie & Ben |
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This summer we were going down to Milton Keynes to look after Holly dog, while Chris and the family went on holiday to Italy. Sadly, Holly died in the early summer at the ripe old age of fifteen. As you can imagine she is sadly missed. She had been a faithful companion to all and was especially good with the children. I think another dog will arrive at sometime in the future Left: Megan Right: Holly BUT the big news from MK is that Debbie is expecting a baby in mid-December and we think it is likely to be a girl!!! After four grandsons a little girl will be very welcome. Because of the expected new arrival more rooms will be needed in the house and so in March builders are coming in to start a loft conversion so the new dog will be on hold for a bit longer. Ben is getting on well at in his second year at Primary School. He loves reading and is always asking for extra Maths work. He has also transferred from Beavers to Cubs and is getting on well with swimming lessons.
Mikie is now in Year 8 and seems to have developed a love of cooking. He has made some lovely Victoria sponges and swiss rolls and is helping to prepare and cook the evening meal
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Graham and Janet One year on now from our Golden Wedding Anniversary
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| Katherine, Santi, Ivan & Oscar | |
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Both Katherine and Santi continue to work at their respective jobs in Raigmore Hospital and Tesco. Katherine, as forecast last year, has starred in an episode of Highland Midwife. It was on Channel 5 and shows Katherine delivering a baby in a birthing pool If you have look at the first episode, about 25 mins in - link https://tinyurl.com/yx4nek6z Oscar has now joined his brother at Culloden Academy and has settled down well and is learning the saxophone. Ivan has joined the Air Training Corps and has won the award for the best newcomer in his squadron.
He is really enjoying the experience and has already been gliding, rifle shooting, working on a flight simulator and having a week’s camp in the Aviemore area. Last month he had the opportunity to go on board the HMS Prince of Wales, one of our two brand new aircraft carriers The ship was in Invergordon before sailing down to Portsmouth, its home port. As you can imagine Graham was very envious as he would have loved to go on board.
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| Janet | |
I am still singing and also for my sins I remain the choir Secretary. I'm just an ordinary member of our local Women's Institute after retiring from my role of Secretary. We have just come back from a week on the Isle of Wight- weather not brilliant but a good break. W managed a visit to Osborne House, the summer home of Queen Victoria and her family. Sadly not all the house was open so we missed the bedrooms and nurseries. The ground floor roome were impressive though. Docking back in Portsmouth we saw the stern of the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales hence Graham has seen a bit of it, not as lucky as Ivan (see above). Next week I will be back at school to invigilate the mock exams for Year 11 students. I shall be in a small room with students with special needs which is considerably more pleasant than patrolling the main hall as Ireally get to knowmy students. I will have the same group in the summer when they do the real exams. Whether I shall continue with this after the summer is debatable as my right knee is giving me a lot of pain at the moment.. I have had an X ray and am waiting for a scan so perhaps I will get a diagnosis - probably arthritis. My left hip is brilliant though, since the operation three years ago.
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Graham and Megan Graham has had a busy year with Governing Board of the County High School, Leftwich The Academy has now joined with the local Sixth Form College (Sir John Deane's) to form the John Brunner Trust which is a multi academy trust or MAT. As you can imagine lots of negotiations went on before final agreement was reached in July. Not content with that we have had to appoint a new Principal (they used to be called Heads) and that took two sets of interviews to get the right person. The former Principal is now enjoying her retirement (I hope) The school once again, has outstanding status and has the best exam results in Cheshire. Probus and Masonry continue to keep his mind active. while walking Megan and hiking in and around Cheshire with the grand sounding Long Walkers Group keeps him fit.
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