It's that time of year again - arriving all too quickly. Hope this finds you all fit and well.
We've all had another busy year - with the children growing fast and spreading their wings.
James has just started his GCSE course work and will be doing the exams in the summer of 2003. He's doing 11 subjects, so will be kept busy over the next couple of years with home work and assessed assignments to hand in. He is into skateboarding in a big way - spending most of his free time out and about. There's a skate park he likes in London, so he's been there a few times - he knows his way around London better than me! He is also still having electric guitar lessons, and enjoys the computer - he has designed his own website about Dragon Ball Z - a Japanese cartoon, and so far wants to have a career in I.T. James is still in the Scouts - they are air scouts, so he has this year been up in a light aircraft and a glider as well as having a go at parascending and micro-light flying! So far, no broken bones thank goodness. He's also done a kayaking course, and been out on a nearby lake. He went to France with the school for a week in June - had a lot of tennis coaching, which he enjoyed.
Rachel is also growing up fast. She's as tall as me now and is very independent. She's a shop-aholic, so knows her way around Bromley and Bluewater shopping centres like the back of her hand. Rachel is doing well at school, and will be choosing her GCSE options next year. She has given up the clarinet, but still enjoys playing music and listening to music. Rachel has taken up judo this year - at Brian Jack's club in Orpington. She has recently got her yellow belt, and enjoys the sport very much. They do quite a lot of self defence work with the girls, which is good. She also still loves her drama classes and Guides. She went on a guide camp in the summer, literally setting up camp in the middle of a field - the guide camps are always better run than the scout ones!
We had our holiday in France again this year - Eurocamp again. One week in the massif central area, and in the Ardeche for the second. Next year we're planning a trip to America - starting off in Los Angeles, and working our way up route 1 to San Fransisco. Have just bought the guide books for California, so need to start planning our route and stop-overs soon.
John celebrated his 40th birthday this summer - we had a garden party and it was a good day with friends and family. We bought him a guitar for his birthday, which he enjoys playing. He is still working in Leatherhead for a software company and is not finding the drive around the M25 too bad. In fact it can take me as long to get to work from home, and I only travel 10 miles.
I am still working for Social Services in Bromley. My office is in Anerley Town Hall - near Crystal Palace Park. We had a re-organisation in the summer, so instead of having one large team in each area - we split into 2. I had to apply for the post of managing one of the teams and was successful, so I am now the managing a team of 10 who visit older people and set up services. I'm just starting to get used to it - there's an ever increasing amount paperwork!
We are in the process of producing our own website, so will let you know when that's up and running and you can have a browse!
That's all our news.
Have a lovely Christmas, and all the best for 2002.
Anne