Christmas 2009
Sorry, didn’t do a letter this year.
Our Annual Christmas Letters
Christmas 2008
Emily is now in the juniors at school and still the life and soul of the party! She took piano prep test and passed grades 1 and 2 on the violin with merit. Her ears are still perforated which means we’ve had to scrap swimming as they constantly get infected, even with the custom earplugs. She had her tonsils out in February and was so brave, but it hasn’t really improved the ear infection frequency as hoped. Emily is now in the Abbey Girls Choir. She has a new bedroom at last which is very exciting. She had a nasty injury when a blackthorn went through her shoe and into her foot, putting her on crutches for a while – which she actually thoroughly enjoyed! Emily is now in the Brownies too.
Christopher is now in year 5 and working hard as he became a full chorister in January and now only has one day a week off choir. He passed his grade 2 with merit and grade 3 with distinction on the cello. He also started the trombone in September and is now making a good sound. Chris was officially diagnosed this year with ADHD and Dyspraxia – not really a surprise! He’s also been back on inhalers but we hope that will improve once all our building work ends. He went to choir camp for a week in the summer – very basic with hole-in-the-ground toilets and tents from the early 20th century! Everything – absolutely everything – came back totally drenched and he seemed to have trenchfoot or something similar – but he totally loved it and can’t wait to go again!
Jessica is now at secondary school. She passed her grade 3 piano and grade 5 theory with merit and grade 6 double bass with distinction. She still goes to the Academy each week and continues to sing with the Abbey Girls Choir now as a senior. In the summer she was awarded the Music Shield on leaving primary school for achievement in music. She played Nancy in the school production and gave a great performance. The children all spent a week in the summer on Musicale Orchestra courses and a few days after Christmas on a Radlett Youth Orchestra Course.
Marie is still with the Music Service doing lots of woodwind and singing teaching. She gave up the Priory Girls Choir after 13 years as its director. The driving, traffic and the children’s other commitments were making it difficult to continue, and she misses the choir a lot, although not the driving and traffic! She has taken on quite a few other commitments with other choirs and teaching, so she’s still pretty busy! She also continues as a primary music teacher too. Marie’s big news this year has been a successful diet, starting from 11 stone and losing 2.5 stones by Christmas!
Tony continued on contract with Ladbrokes, then went to work for Virgin Games. He bought a new motorbike but in September had an accident – the bike was OK but he dislocated both shoulders. The current financial situation is making contracts hard to come by although he’s keeping going with little bits and pieces of work. Singing in the Cathedral Choir keeps him busy, as well as solo work in various places. He continues as a school governor and is chair of the school Friends committee. Both Tony and Marie had laser eye surgery earlier in the year, so Tony is no longer short sighted and Marie is no longer long sighted! We’d recommend it to anyone considering having the same.
The children’s Christmas present was a trip on Eurostar to Disneyland and the Eiffel Tower. We hadn’t been for 5 years, here are two photos for comparison; Jess hasn’t changed as much as the other two, they were 3, 5 and 7, now they’re 8, nearly 10 and 12.
At Disneyland, Paris 2004 and 2009
We started some building work in about April and it is still going on! We now have a new room for Emily, new study downstairs, a great attic room with storage off (nearly finished) and should hopefully have the porch finished soon. It has been chaos and messy in the house, as well as cold with all the doors left open by builders. It should be fantastic when it’s all finished, carpeted and decorated, we can’t wait! Here’s the current picture of the outside.
Christmastime has been ludicrously busy as usual and the next year seems to be quite booked up already! We’re looking forward to resurrecting the jazz band soon.
Happy New Year 2009!
Christmas 2007
Emily is in year 2 and still really enjoying school. She had one of the main parts in the infant Christmas production. She has violin and piano lessons and has just taken her bronze music medal. She goes to music school where she sings and plays recorder and violin. She still has trouble with her ears – both eardrums have perforated, one very badly. She will need an operation later to repair the hole which is too big to heal. Luckily some custom made earplugs now allow her to go swimming. Emily has joined the Priory Girls Choir which she loves.
Christopher is in year 4 and thoroughly enjoying his time as a cathedral choirboy – he becomes a chorister fully in January. He goes to choir three days a week before and after school, a Friday night practice and also sings at weekends. He still goes to music school where he sings and plays his cello and recorder, and he plays in the school orchestra. He passed his grade 1 cello with distinction – 136! He enjoys his football and swimming and has a new hobby – telling jokes!
Jessica is now in year 6 and waiting to hear where she will go to secondary school. She has had a good year with her bass, another great exam result – 139 for grade 4; she has gone through the grade 5 music and is now working for grade 6. She has a wonderful teacher at the Academy and enjoys her time there each week. She continues to sing with the Abbey Girls Choir with increasing duties as she gets older. She has taken up the piano again after a break of a year or so. With her friends she wrote a Christmas song which made the final of the local competition. She had to perform it at the (local) Maltings Theatre and it went down very well. They didn’t win but the judges said they were close. The winner was another carol from our school! As well as all the musical things she plays netball in the school team.
Marie is still with the Music Service as Head of the Saturday Music School and a peripatetic woodwind teacher. She conducted the Priory Girls and adults in Stainer’s Crucifixion at Easter and at St Albans Cathedral in August, including the Langlais Missa in Simplicitate. She also continues as music teacher at the Abbey school.
Tony has continued with Ladbrokes for the whole of this year. He’s back on his motorbike although it’s feeling its age now. In the Cathedral Choir Tony had a busy year including the Three Choirs concert in the organ festival. He also sang solos in Judas Maccabeus with St Albans Chamber Opera. He continues as a school governor and on the school Friends committee.
We started a family jazz band with Marie on clarinet and sax along with her brother in law Nick. Jess plays the bass and Tony the drums. Marie’s brother Vince guests as a singer and Christopher has done the odd cello solo too! Our friends Jacky and Steve play sax and guitar too and Marie’s nephew Daniel also sometimes plays guitar with us. It’s great fun and Marie has enjoyed making the band arrangements. We call ourselves the Ad Hoc Jazz band and have already performed at a wedding, fete, garden party and birthday!
In the summer we returned to Gozo for a holiday in the sun and enjoyed revisiting all the favourite places.
Christmastime has been extremely busy as we fulfilled all our numerous commitments; Marie had six concerts the first week in December and on Chrstmas Eve alone we between us took part in four services, five rehearsals and two perfomances of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. Time for a rest now!
Happy Christmas and New year to everyone we know.
Christmas 2006
This has been a pretty hectic year as usual! A couple of days in to January the builders arrived and started digging up the back garden. On the first day they found a 2000 year old cremation pot – see here – it had been in one piece until they put a spade through it, so the local archeologists weren’t that happy. It had a bit of bone and a burnt Roman nail in it, and later several other bits and pieces of terracotta were found. Our house is built on an old Roman burial ground. The extension was finished about the end of March, providing a bigger and better kitchen, as well as a dining room, utility and a new downstairs toilet.
Jessica is now in year 5. She has been chosen to represent her school on a course for children learning research skills; she spent a day at the teachers’ centre with the year 6 teacher and really enjoyed it – a boy and a girl were chosen from each of year 5 and 6. In the Priory Girls Choir she gained her first ribbon and medal, sang Pergolesi Stabat Mater at Easter and services at Derby Cathedral in the summer. With the Abbey Girls Choir she is busy all the time with many big events now she is a full chorister. On Christmas Eve she will sing Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. She continued with her piano and passed grade 2, and on her double bass she passed grade 3 with another good distinction – 136. She also auditioned for a primary place at the Royal Academy of Music and was successful, so she now goes there every Saturday for four hours. She has also been in two massed concerts at the Alban Arena this year – singing and playing bass. She has given up her gymnastics now, although she gained a silver medal in her age group at the club championships in the summer. At school she played her first netball match against another school.
Christopher did well in his SATs and is enjoying year 3. He goes to music school where he sings and plays his cello and recorder, and also plays in the school orchestra. He really enjoys playing things by ear – working them out on cello, recorder or piano. He gained an Associated Board copper Music Medal on the recorder. He goes to the local beginner string orchestra and played his cello and sang in the Gala concert at the Alban Arena in November. He passed his audition to be a Cathedral Chorister and starts as a probationer after Christmas. This will involve three early mornings before school, two evensongs a week and Sunday morning. He is really coming on at swimming and is now in level 7. He goes to football club at school and is still a Beaver Scout. He is completely hooked on Doctor Who!
Emily is now in year one and still seems to think she owns the school! She is a real tomboy and always comes home SO muddy. I asked her why, and she said it’s because she was playing football and you are SUPPOSED to fall over in the mud! She goes to swimming and gymnastics and to music school where she sings and plays recorder and percussion. She had to miss a few months of swimming earlier in the year after a nasty ear infection resulted in a perforated eardrum – a really big hole which had to be kept dry. She joined Rainbow Guides which she really loves. She plays the recorder and now has lessons on the violin. She goes to the beginner orchestra locally and also played in the Alban Arena in a big orchestra of 70 or so children of which she must have been the youngest – conducted by mum!
Marie is still with the Music Service and became Head of the Saturday Music School in September. She also took on extra responsibility for mentoring other teachers’ self assessment. Earlier in the year she took on some guitar teaching to cover someone who was long term sick – which was really enjoyable and she learned a lot! She conducted the Priory Girls in Pergolesi Stabat Mater at Easter and at Derby Cathedral in the summer. She also became the music teacher at the Abbey school in September, a return to primary teaching which has been quite exhausting but really rewarding and enjoyable. Added to the woodwind teaching and choir Marie is now pretty much full time. Teaching Jessica, Christopher and Emily has its moments!
Tony had a great party for his fortieth and then decided to end his very unprofitable liaison with the man he had been working with. It took until last week finally to get the last of the money he was owed! Leaving was an extremely good decision. Almost at once he landed a lucrative contract back where he had been a few years ago – in internet gambling, at a better rate. It was a three month contract to begin with but has continued all year and he’s just been extended again for yet another three months. Thank goodness things are back as they should be after two years of hell working with possibly the worst businessman on the planet!
Cars have been fairly uneventful this year, thank goodness, we sold the Smart car as it seemed to attract burglars. Tony has recently resurrected the motorbike which had stood unloved in the back garden for years, and Jessica enjoys being whizzed up to choir on it on his way to work – no doubt Chris will do the same after Christmas.
No real holidays this year – work was more important really and we couldn’t take Emily anywhere involving swimming because of her ear. Marie had the few days in Derby with the choir plus a weekend singing at Worcester and Tony had ten days on a tour of the US with the Cathedral choir.
Can’t think of anything else for this year, so have a really good Christmas everyone, hope to see you soon and all the best for 2007!
Christmas 2005
Another busy year which has whizzed past before we can blink! Is it just us or are years getting shorter?
Jessica is now in year 4 at school. She does well with her school work and has a very busy life outside of school. She sings in the Priory Girls Choir and was made a singing girl (full member of the choir) in January. In the summer she sang four days of services at Rochester Cathedral and in December will be made a Junior Chorister. She is also really busy with the Abbey Girls Choir, before and after school two days a week. In December she will be ‘made up’ as an Abbey Chorister and her commitments will therefore increase even more. She took Grade 1 Piano and Double Bass earlier in the year and passed both with Distinction – 136 and 139! She took part in a concert at the Abbey for the Tsunami Appeal, playing her bass. She also took part in a big joint Music Schools concert at the Alban Arena, playing bass and singing. In between all this music she still swims and goes to trampolining, plus school orchestra and Latin Club. After Christmas she’ll be nine!
Christopher is also doing well at school, now in year 2 already, his handwriting is improving and he loves maths and is really interested in everything he learns. He can tell you all about Matisse and Picasso! He also goes to French Club. He still enjoys his swimming and trampolining and also goes to football. He joined Beaver Scouts and was invested in November. He is playing the King in his school Christmas play and has a solo to sing as well as a speaking part. He plays his cello ‘sometimes’, and enjoys music school where he plays recorder as well as singing and playing percussion instruments. He loves his computer and can always be found tapping and clicking away at all sorts of complicated looking games.
Emily finally started school, she was really ready to go and is so happy there; she misses her nursery but many of her old nursery friends are at the same school as her. She has been to at least one party every weekend during the autumn! She goes to swimming, trampolining and gymnastics. After Christmas she will be five and start Rainbows. She plays the recorder and wants a violin. How did we end up with all these string players?
Marie has had a good year teaching for the Herts Music Service and still enjoying it. She conducted the Priory Girls plus an assorted back row drawn from many sources at Rochester in the summer – exhausting but worth it! At the moment she’s trying to keep up with all her own and the children’s commitments with a sprained ankle – it’s OK so long as not crawling along in a traffic jam – she can’t do too much repeated clutch. So, we definitely live in the wrong town, as St Albans is frequently at a complete standstill!
Tony will celebrate the big 4-0 after Christmas with a Ceilidh. Work has been rather unreliable this year, more down than up really, although when there has been some it’s taken him to Canada, Geneva and…. Birmingham! He’s still a lay Clerk in the Cathedral Choir at St Albans as well as various solo engagements including St John Passion in Dorset and in Hendon.
Last year we mentioned the Smart car break in by the Cathedral – it happened again, 11 months after the first time – in the same place! We sold the old Galaxy which we’d had since Jess was born and replaced with a slightly sleeker Peugeot 307 with 7 seats. We have to fit kids and double bass (or at least mini bass) in quite regularly, and this is more practical for regular use.
We had a fantastic holiday in the summer – in Gozo, an island which is part of Malta. We had a huge villa, private pool, hire car, boat trip, helicopter ride to the island – all very exciting and we will definitely go again. See www.theprices.co.uk/gozo.html. At home Tony started to build a huge patio by moving part of the old one and adding a few slabs plus bricks from the old driveway, and all the family helped to finish it – Emily taking up the blocks, Christopher transporting them, Jessie laying them out, Tony dealing with the sand and Marie wielding the mallet. Not being very good at DIY or practical stuff, we are very proud of our effort! Work will start on a new Breakfast room and Utility after Christmas – we’re NOT doing that ourselves!
We think that’s all our news, so Happy Christmas everyone, and have a great 2006.
Christmas 2004
First Christmas at King Harry Lane coming up! What a struggle we had buying this house – well, actually it was selling the old one that caused the problems. We moved in to rent on January 11th as the children had already started their new schools. It should have been a straightforward exchange and complete a couple of weeks later, but the buyer procrastinated until April when he finally pulled out! Luckily we found a new buyer, although his sale didn’t go smoothly, but we finally completed at the end of July, after seven months of renting.
Jessica joined the Priory Girls Choir in January and has been very enthusiastic! She sang very well for a seven year old in Stainer’s Crucifixion on Palm Sunday, and came with us to sing a week at Truro Cathedral in August, although after long days of fun with the girls the younger ones mostly yawned through evensong! She recently passed an audition for the Abbey Girls Choir and now sings some services as a Probationer. She is really excited about it and seems to be learning fast, despite early starts at 7.35 am! Her piano playing is coming on, she did well in the Prep test and is working towards grade 1. She also decided to take up the mini double bass. Jessica had an excellent school report and her classmates voted her as their school council rep – not bad for a new girl! She achieved level three in all her year two SATs. She has had many visits from the tooth fairy this year and is glad to have two new front teeth in time for Christmas.
Christopher is now in Year 1. He loves reading and is doing very well; he is also good at maths and had an excellent school report. He still enjoys his swimming and gymnastics; he attended a football course in the summer, but got very fed up because every time he got the ball someone kicked it away! Chris does have a few problems with things like concentration and co-ordination. His very poor eyesight doesn’t help, his lenses are very strong and he now has to wear a patch all day every day – although hopefully for not too much longer. He is starting occupational therapy after Christmas to help with handwriting, balance and so on. His asthma has been better but eczema has flared up quite badly, poor lad. He was a wise man in the school Christmas play and did really well. He had a ‘cello for his birthday, something he has been asking for since he was two. He is doing quite well with it although we must try to practise more regularly. Christopher has lots of friends.
Emily is now nearly four. She loves her new nursery and is doing well. She has started to read and write and play the recorder. She also goes swimming and to gymnastics. She is growing very fast and it’s hard to believe she is already the age Jessie was when Emily was born! She has lots of friends and wants everything ‘Barbie’ for her birthday just after Christmas. She hasn’t been too well this last term, with at least three ear infections, two of them nasty. We think it was all started off by an infection caused by a piece of rolled up sellotape stuck up her nose for at least two months! There was a nasty smell which we eventually located to the nose area! Anyway, she’s feeling better now and determined to have a great Christmas, although without feeling any need to be good!
Marie is still really enjoying being a peripatetic music teacher for Hertfordshire, working mostly in Hemel, Berkhamsted and St Albans teaching woodwind as well as some choir work and classroom curriculum music (and even a little bit of double bass on Saturdays – for the first time entering a bass pupil for an exam; the examiner said it was his first time examining one too!). She still runs Dunstable Priory Girls Choir who sang a few days at Truro Cathedral in the summer. At the start of the year she lost her last remaining grandparent. Her 40th birthday was well celebrated – Tony still has that to look forward to. He has worked on various projects this year. He also still sings with the Cathedral Choir at St Albans with whom he has been to Rome this year. During the year he has sung solos in Bach: St Matthew Passion (Berkhamsted), Haydn: Harmoniemesse (Hendon) and Handel: Messiah (Wingrave).
Cars have been a bit unlucky this year. In January the (still) new Micra was hit by an unlicensed, uninsured young driver who then gave false details! Later in the year it was hit again by a teenager on a bike, cycling on the pavement wearing headphones and baseball cap and with his head down, while the car was stationary! We bought a Smart Car to replace the motorbike and within 24 hours it was vandalised outside the Cathedral during evensong! The rear window was damaged and apparently you can’t replace just the window but have to replace the whole roof! Whatever next?
We didn’t really go away other than choir trips, although we did have a great family day out with all the cousins at Monknash. Instead we had the drive enlarged and built a summer house in the garden – to store our stuff when we start extending. We bought a huge paddling pool and the kids had very noisy fun for a couple of weeks in the sun in our own garden.
We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and all the very best for 2005.
Christmas 2003
Jessica is still doing really well at the many things she tries. She won the prize for the most merit marks at school at the end of the summer term and her school report was excellent. She has moved to level 6 in swimming, has won another medal for gymnastics and enjoys everything she does. She passed her Primary ballet exam with distinction and did very well in the recorder prep test. She is now coming up to seven and will be joining Dunstable Priory Church Girls Choir after Christmas, as well as moving to a new school in St. Albans. Her piano playing is coming on well, despite infrequent practice! She has lost her first tooth – very exciting; she did also have to have two back teeth removed under anaesthetic earlier in the year as they were infected – unfortunately she hasn’t inherited Tony’s strong teeth!
Christopher is now in Reception. Since starting to wear glasses and eye patches a few months ago he has managed much better with pencil control and quite enjoys writing now. He also loves to read – he gets very excited in church when he sees a word he knows in the hymnbook – “Mummy look, it’s God!” He learned to ride his bike without stabilisers in about three minutes this summer. He enjoys his swimming and will be having another go at gymnastics after Christmas. Chris played the innkeeper in the school Christmas play. He’ll be five at Easter and is also moving to a school in St Albans after Christmas. He still enjoys his singing too.
Emily is now nearly three years old. We have finally said a goodbye to nappies now for the last time – even at night! She had a scary experience in May when she fell into our pond – it was very scary for Jessica too as she found her floating in the water, and for Mummy, who jumped in to get her out. Luckily she was fine and had only really suffered from shock, cold and a few nips from the Mummy duck while in the water. She had been trying to catch the duck, apparently. Usually the children are very sensible about the pond – they know it’s smelly and they stay away. She has absolutely loved being at nursery, we had to make her full time because she had tantrums on the days off when the others went to school without her! She starts at a new nursery after Christmas in St Albans. She started ballet this last term which she has really enjoyed too – she loves showing us her happy walks and sad walks!
Singing trips this year have included Tewkesbury Abbey and Edington Priory. We had fantastic weekend in February at Longleat Center Parcs. We therefore decided to try Sherwood Center Parcs in the summer for a whole week (with Marie’s niece Abigail too) but while we did have a nice time, it wasn’t as nice as Longleat and unfortunately smokers were out in force making it unpleasant again. The same was true of our week in Ibiza with all the family in October half term. We really need to think hard before venturing away again – clean, safe air is pretty high on our list of requirements and we don’t want the children to have to witness smoking at all. We plan to campaign more actively against smoking and for a safe environment.
Marie is still really enjoying being a peripatetic music teacher for Hertfordshire, working mostly in Hemel, Berkhamsted and St Albans teaching clarinet, sax, fife, flute, piano, keyboard and recorder as well as some choir work and classroom curriculum music (and even a little bit of double bass on Saturdays). She still runs Dunstable Priory Girls Choir whose big news this year is a set of new robes and a Head Chorister offered an Oxford Choral Scholarship.
Tony has continued to work on Internet betting and various other smaller projects, recently enabling him to work at home. He also still sings with the Cathedral Choir at St Albans which keeps him pretty busy.
We changed our car – swapping the Mondeo for a small and nippy Micra. It has Tony’s licence plate – TIO TNY (Uncle Tony) which was a Christmas present last year. The Galaxy is still going strong although she’s an old girl now (she did sterling work in the summer taking six of us as well as our luggage and five bikes to Sherwood!) and the motorbike still gets an outing occasionally when the weather is suitable! We now have a buyer for the house and hope to move to St Albans in the not to distant future (couple of months or so…), having been very lucky to find school/nursery places for all the children to start after Christmas.
We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Christmas 2002
Time for the Christmas update again! We hope you’re all well and happy.
Jessica is still doing really well at the many things she tries. Her reading is now better than anyone I’ve ever taught (up to age 13!) except possibly Caroline Wallace – for those who knew her! Jessie won the achievement prize at school at the end of the summer term and her school report was amazing. She has moved to level 4 in swimming, has won two medals for gymnastics and enjoys everything she does. She went on her first ‘Musicale’ summer school this year, which she loved. As she gets older she is becoming more and more helpful with the other two, especially Emily. Jessie played an angel in the school Christmas play, and sang her heart out in the front row. She will be six very soon, which seems incredible to us!
Christopher is now in Kindergarten. He adores his teacher and is doing really well with sounds and so on, although he has little interest in doing things on paper just yet. He has calmed down this year although there are still times when it is hard to remember that. He has a few problems with his health which mean that at times he is probably a bit indulged, so we have to make allowances for that. Chris played a brown mouse in the school Christmas play, which he really enjoyed, jigging around in excitement but singing every word. He does have aspirations to be a chorister, which is handy! He’ll be four at Easter (already!!). Perhaps his most notable achievement so far was escaping from the house, borrowing the car keys and driving the car into a bush! He did at least have his seat belt on, as well as the stereo!
Emily is also doing well. Almost two years old she can hold quite a detailed conversation and give a lengthy description of her complaints about the other two – so long as you are tuned in to her wavelength. She is a very determined and independent little girl, she wants to do everthing the same as the others and nothing that singles her out as the baby, so highchairs, bibs, cot, everything like that is right out! She is extremely observant and picks up anything new the others do, say or sing in seconds. She starts nursery after Christmas, which will be a welcome break for all of us! She has to wear some uniform which, of course, she loves as it’s like the other two.
We received Bernard’s piano from the restorers in September and held a fantastic party with lots of friends and family to inaugurate it. At one point there were three ‘sessions’ going – teenagers singing in the playroom, classical stuff in the dining room and folk music in the living room. We really enjoyed it and hoped others did too.
After fairly dodgy experiences with au pairs this year we have decided to do without, and the house is rather calmer for it, as are we all.
Trips this year have included Marie and Emily to Prague, Tony to Amsterdam and Angers (all these for singing purposes). We also had a wet and very smoky (which put us off totally) but fun for the kids ‘Noddy’ week at Butlins! The best trip was back to South Wales with Bruno and family, staying in a hotel in Newport, which felt weird, but with a great day at Monknash beach.
Marie is now a peripatetic music teacher for Hertfordshire, working mostly in Hemel and Berkhamsted, teaching clarinet, flute and recorder as well as some choir work and classroom curriculum music. “Why didn’t I do this years ago????”
She still runs Dunstable Priory Girls Choir who have made a CD and sung in St Albans this year.
Tony still continues to work on Internet betting and various other smaller projects, although work has been scarce this year with the collapse of the IT contract market. He also still sings in the Cathedral Choir at St Alban’s.
We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year.