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CHRISTMAS 2006

We really did have a rotten year last year but now we are gaining strength and trying to put it behind us.   We were helped by having something special to look forward to - our Silver Wedding Anniversary.   The last few years have been so stressful and it has just shown us what a good team we make - we have supported each other through those bad times, our love never wavering only gaining in strength.

We both wanted to do something special to mark the occasion and we decided it would mean a great deal to renew our wedding vows.   Duncan decided he would leave the arrangements to Mandy and she came up with a plan.   Mandy thought about what marriage means - a life's journey together - and thought we would go on a symbolic journey together.   But what journey?   Mandy decided we would go on the longest journey we could - a trip from John O'Groats to Land's End, stopping off at Gretna Green to renew our vows.   Its a good job Mandy won't go on a plane or boat or we may have ended up going around the world!   Due to practical reasons Mandy did need to tell Duncan the outline of the plan because he needed to book time off work.   However, she didn't tell him she had invited family and friends to join us for the ceremony and celebration after.   We had a wonderful trip - driving over 2,200 miles through snow covered mountains and beautiful landscapes before arriving home two weeks later.

               
Left: At John O'Groates, Scotland.   Right: At Lands End, Cornwall
As for the day of our anniversary, we had a lovely time, and we have memories we will treasure well into our old age!   Gretna Green is famous for 'run away' marriages and in a sense that's what we were doing - running away from our worries in Swindon.   We were booked into the Blacksmith's workshop, where marriages have taken took place since 1754, for an 11am start, the same time as our wedding twenty five years previously.   Friends and family arrived at our Hotel, which is just opposite the Blacksmiths, in time for us to find them as we went downstairs on our way; everyone had played along with keeping it a secret from Duncan and he was quite choked when they descended on us.   Duncan knew Mandy had been up to something, but this was a lovely surprise.   The next surprise was when we went into the Blacksmith's wedding room to find Mandy's father Don and niece Jennifer were there - Mandy thought none of her family would be able to attend and to see her father brought tears to her eyes.

       
At the Blacksmith's Workshop, Gretna Green, Scotland.   4th April 2006
Although we knew we would take our promises seriously, we did wonder what the ceremony would be like; after seeing the Blacksmith's website, we wondered if it would be a cheesey affair made for tourists, but how wrong we were.   It was a very real, intimate and moving occasion.   We were surrounded by people we loved and who loved us, and we were telling each other that even after 25 years of being together we still loved each other and would continue to take care of each other.   Our wedding rings were placed on the anvil which the blacksmith's guide hit - symbolically welding our lives together just as metal is welded to metal.   We had three Celtic blessings bestowed on us while we renewed our vows.   It felt like being married all over again.   It was a perfect occasion.

                                                   
Sorry to bore you with so many pictures, but we had such a good time!

Even the hotel, the   Smith's Hotel, was perfect.   Mandy was unsure about choosing this hotel as it had only been open for about four weeks, and she didn't know much about it and if it was a good enough place to spend her Silver Wedding Anniversary.   But they were fantastic.   Everyone was friendly, efficient and cared that we would have a good time; in fact we enjoyed our visit so much we extended our stay to three nights.   Both of us had contacted the hotel separately and asked them to organise various things but to keep them secret from the other of us.   We were later told we had asked them to do so many secretive things they had a staff meeting to discuss us.   The food was just perfect too; Mandy had been rather fussy and they allowed her to choose from their various wedding menus to create one of her own.   The food was local, fresh and organic and cooked to perfection.   The hotel played a big part in the success of our celebration.   Thank You.

       
Delicious food!
About the only thing that went wrong was our anniversary cake was dropped in the shop and ruined; only the top decoration was saved.   After her initial panic Michelle (who was supposed to collect the cake and bring it to Scotland) rushed to a supermarket and managed to find a plain iced cake.   Well done Michelle for saving the day.

       
Left: the cake as its was supposed to be!   Center: How it actually was.   Right: Us cutting it.

We have so many people to thank for making our day so special.   Thank you for keeping Mandy's plans secret.   Thank you for going to the effort and expense of travelling all the way up to Scotland and the organising that involved.   Thank you for taking valuable time off work so you could attend.   Thank you for the presents and cards.   But thank you most of all for just being there and making our day extra special.


Cheers Everybody


Of course there's other things we've been up to this year and this really has been a year of trips.   In February we went to Eastbourne and tracked down the place Duncan proposed to Mandy in 1979; we were both at a Summer School in Bexhill and he proposed in the playing field; although the school building has been demolished the playing fields are still more or less intact, so we were able to narrow down the area to about 20 square feet!   Unfortunately whilst walking at the beach at Camber Sands, we managed to be drenched and frozen; a few days later Mandy went down with the 'flu which lingered on for another three months, causing a chest infection, tiredness, bronchitis and even asthma (something she's not had before).

We've also been to Plymouth, Strathy Point (north Scotland) and had another holiday on Skye returning to our favourite hotel   Viewfield House   in Portree.   Perhaps we should become Hotel Inspectors - this year we've stayed in 12 hotels.

So as not to feel left out of all the travelling, in March Michelle travelled to Cuba.

   
Michelle and Jon in Cuba.
Michelle still hasn't found a job in the dance world so continues to work at New Look in Swindon where she's now one of the longest serving staff; this year she's also travelled to various of their other stores.   Apart from work, she volunteered her tallents at a local youth project - Perform - where she choreographed some work which was later performed to the children's parents.   This lead to her being asked to do six day's work at a local primary school teaching dancing to various ages; again this was performed to parents.   In the summer she travelled to Stoke on Trent and taught contemporary techniques at a dance school's summer school.   She's been keeping herself fit by dancing at Swindon Dance ballet and contemporary groups.

Mandy continues to work on the website and this year we've managed to add about four thousand photographs (still six thousand left!).   We've also added the family tree information to the website and since then have been contacted by a 'new' family member - Lisa who is a third cousin of Mandy.   Lisa was able to give us quite a bit of information about Mandy's great grandmother Daisy (nee) Stratford's family, of which Mandy has never researched.   Lisa's and Mandy's great grandmothers were sisters.   They met up in October, which was very exciting but so tiring; the day passed too quickly although we did manage to pack a lot into it.   After their marriages, Daisy and Ida both lived in the same road and we visited these homes; we also went to the place where Ida and her husband William are buried.   Later in the evening we met up with other family members, some of whom could remember Ida and Lisa's grandmother.

   
Left: Mandy & Lisa.   Right: family gather to welcome Lisa.
Mandy still sings with the Swindon Scratch Choir, this year we've managed a few performances at the Swindon Literature Festival, the Brunel Centre in Swindon and the Wyvern Theatre foyer, as part of the Brunel 200 Celebrations.

Mandy has had psoriasis for about thirty years.   Nothing cures it and although some of the hundreds of creams she's used over the years have helped, nothing has cleared it up; twice she has been admitted to hospital because it was so severe and despite this intensive treatment it still wasn't completely cleared.   Earlier this year a friend suggested she might try accupuncture which would hopefully help with the itching, if nothing else.   Mandy went to see Ros Burden at her practise in Swindon and started treatment.   Ros has helped Mandy where 'western' medicine has failed.   Only occasionally is she itchy, and a large amount of the 'bad' skin has now gone.   There's still quite a way to go before she'll be completely cleared of it, but it is such a relief to have found something to help.   Here are a few photos.   Make your own mind up as to whether the treatment is 'working'.   If you need a good accupuncturist, for whatever problem, contact Mandy and ask for Ros' phone number!

           
Photos taken 3rd March and 25th July.

Duncan is still working for Boxclever, having survived the last round of redundancies.   He is 'on-call' at lot at weekends but has managed to play a few cricket matches this year.   Mandy has kept him busy this year with all the programing for the family side of the website - he has worked so hard trying to produce what she expects.   Although there are still a few things we'd like to improve, most of his programing work is done.

   
Duncan on his way to 50 at Avebury in July.
In August we welcomed Thomas Townsend into the family.   Thomas is the son of Mandy's cousin Neil and his wife Lee.   Congratuations to them both on the safe arrival of their precious little bundle.

We write this in October and still have a few things to look forward to - Jo and Adrian are expecting their second baby any day now, and in December there's Mandy's brother Nicky's marriage to Jo.   A few more things to write about later!


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