I hope this finds you well and getting ready to enjoy the Christmas break.
We are all fine here. It's seemed like a very busy year, and as the children get older it seems that organizing things requires military precision - and that I get more exhausted by their social life!
James will be moving up to secondary school in September 1998. We have been going round the schools and applying to the ones James has liked. Unfortunately it has become quite a complicated process as each school sets its own entrance criteria and, as we live just outside the catchment area of our nearest three schools, we probably won't know where he is going until May or June.
James is still keen on Judo, although he had a break from it earlier in the year he has just got two more tags on his orange belt, so his next goal will be to get his green belt (then brown, then black).
James moved up to the Scouts at Easter time, which he thoroughly enjoys. As they are Air Scouts they do a lot about planes etc,and as we are near Biggin Hill Airport he has been to two Airshows there this year, and to Duxford Air Museum.
James also enjoys playing games like "Warhammer 40,000". He buys small figures, paints them and makes up armies. There's a place in Bromley where he goes and fight battles with the figures. (It's a bit like playing with toy soldiers, but they look more gruesome and seem to be based on characters from Tolkein's Lord of the Rings e.g. orcs).
He's also into computer games at home, and at school he's in the choir and also plays for the school football team (although they're not playing too well this season!).
Rachel was 8 in August. She joined the Brownies earlier this year, and very much enjoys that. They're busy making things for Christmas and will be going Carol Singing to a local sheltered housing unit soon.
Rachel has given up ballet now, she got her first certificate but got a bit bored by it. She has just started playing short tennis at a local sports centre once a week which she enjoys, and I'm looking into a drama class for her, in addition to the one run after school, as she seems keen on the performing arts.
At school she is having clarinet lessons as well as recorder lessons, and is in the school orchestra. She enjoys swimming as well and is a great one for playing board and card games.
John started his new job in February, after being made redundant last year. He's still working in central London for a software company. The headquarters are in Cheltenham, so he goes there quite frequently, as well as a few trips to America and Europe. Fortunately he's not abroad as much as he was in his last job (where the head office moved to Houston).
I'm still working for the local Social Services in the Community Care Division. It's hard to believe I've been there over 4 years now. I'm still out and about visiting mainly older people and setting up care for them in their own homes, or arranging for them to go into residential care. I have no plans to move on at present as it's so convenient - being just over a mile from home - and as you can see from James and Rachel's activities, I'm ferrying them around to various activities four nights a week, so I need to be local.
Anyway that's about all the news - looking forward to hearing yours.
Anne