The 2012 Christmas Epistle from Deva

Well – if it all happens – Happy Christmas! What, with the Mayan Calendar predicting the end of all things for Fri 21^st Dec - not that I am an expert on things eschatological – but I may have held back on buying your xmas present thus far; just in case! And with 2013 to look forward to!

Whilst appearing to be a tad bah humbug, I have cut back on the many, many Christmas cards that we normally send this year and hope to do the same again next year... Really with the ‘Internet revolution’ now in its maturity, there is no need I feel to hold back and to do more electronically. Please if I don’t have an email address for you I would welcome one!

A real pleasure this last year has been rediscovering many friends through FB. (Facebook) ‘old’ college friends ‘blasts from the past’ keep hitting the screen daily! FB for me certainly has proved an excellent resource in keeping up with many people in many arenas!

Mark back in March secured employment working in Chester – which has made a considerable change to our lives – no longer the 6am alarm and returning home possibly as late as 7:30pm!

Read War of the Worlds? Well I could write the up to date version! Arrived home from work one evening went straight to my desk to feel the earth move! The aliens had landed! And the battle commenced! Esso had decided to replace an end of life Petrol tank at the garage opposite us – no admittance of leaks etc!! But due to the unique sub-strata of the terrain here – our hse ‘wobbled’ as they ‘Martians’ sought to destroy the concrete encased tank! Well. Needless to say it was a clash of Titans – my featuring in the local press once again! They went – the cracks in the house remained!

No mention of holidays yet I hear! Accused of being in semi-retirement by one certain personage! This year has seen its fair share of my making use of my ‘Visas’ in visiting both Italy and France – the latter more to do with work! Much achieved in France again! In spite of a visit in the summer where I encounted a jungle in what clearly (was) the Garden of Eden! We had to instruct a local gardener to take on the maintenance! (That is; once I had given battle!)

The mention of jungle leads nicely into a high-light of the past summer (or was it winter! – well who does visit the Southern hemisphere to winter?) Unless of course you are seeking a good safari! I had been enlisted by Fr Paul Nener to

organise and book a safari for a suggested group of ten folk to relive an ‘Out of Africa’ experience (Paul had been a surgeon out there many years ago!) And simply this he wanted to treat some friends! We took hundreds of photos, click here to take a look. We of course had experience of ZA some six years previous and wanting to top that – I found myself in correspondence with Archbishop Tutu’s P.A. (Mandela – was thought to be too old to meet us!) And so the ‘Arch’ as they call him out there arranged to meet up – as it happened on our last full day!

But it certainly ended up being a holiday to remember & indeed very much a holiday – away from tools for me! For those who are into blogs further can be read here also:
Tutu / Z.A.

The Villa finished, working out there in May & August it was wonderful to take advantage of last of the heat of the summer’s heat with mum with an actual holiday! Spent a very relaxing week with mum in the Italian kitchen exploring the cuisine for ourselves!

With winter coming in fast: working on the home front in Chester we are about to have cavity wall insulation – from the inside! So expecting some disruption! All will be saved by log fires in Brittany for the yuletide period! It is from there we will be thinking about you and yours this year & let’s hope the Mayans got it wrong!

Every blessing to you all this festive time and forget about the economy, the financiers & the bankers: For unto us a child is borne of two millennia and hope!