Christmas Letter

Christmas 2009

The past twelve months have been eventful to say the least.
In January Bethan gave birth (in usual dramatic fashion) to Jessica Louise who is our third grandchild. Eleven months on and, apart from being delightful, she is displaying all the signs of having a strong character and could be walking any day now. She gets on very well with big brother George, who has nearly perfected the technique of redirecting her attention so she doesn’t spoils his games and wreck his toys. We have a great deal of fun with them, the best thing being that we can hand them back to their parents when we have had enough. David made a visit to Ghana during October for a friend’s wedding, and he was also able to visit people and places he had come to know well when he lived there some years ago. Much of his time continues to be taken up with running and developing his businesses. Apart from looking after the children Bethan is very much involved in the church, leading worship on Sundays, running a Toddler group and a number of other ventures. Dan, Kim and Dominic are still living in Huddersfield where they seem to be very settled. Dan still works as a recruitment consultant, fitting in his trombone playing in church and local bands and orchestras during the evenings and weekends, whilst Kim works as a carer in the local college. Dominic recently had his third birthday. He is a lovely little chap who loves toy cars and trains - a typical boy who plays so well on his own. It is always a source of amusement and fun when the two grandsons get together as they get on so well and clearly enjoy playing together. Owen and Kim continue to work in the business, spreading themselves between Ripley, Valley Gardens and the latest acquisitions in the Metro Centre, Gateshead. They managed a nice break to the United States during October, following a music trail of their own making. They also work hard in different departments of the church where their input is invaluable.
Lucy has had a sensational year, buying a car in March, graduating with a 2(i) Honours degree in Counselling in June, passing her driving test first time in August and starting a year long course in Abundant Life Church’s Academy in Bradford. In October she made her third visit to India with a team of six from our church. In November we all attended her graduation ceremony in York Minster. Quite a quiet year really, perhaps things will pick up for her in 2010!!
Mary continues to work in the business in Ripley, dote on our grandchildren and pick up an interesting array of jobs in church. Earlier in the year we got a ridiculously cheap flight to Dublin where we got B & B for 2 nights and explored the city. In June we dodged the showers in Snowdonia as we tried to enjoy a camping holiday near Cricieth!! Always knew it was a daft idea and perhaps she will listen to me from now on!! An equally wet and windy two days was spent in very pleasant B & B near Pembroke during November, acquainting ourselves with towns and coastline we had never seen before.
Wynn has continued to lead the church over the last twelve months which, for the most part, has been a good experience. One of our highlights was a hog roast and music evening at the end of September which was one of the most successful things we have ever done, 140 people attending. A lot of new initiatives have been introduced into the church over the last year and a few potentially exciting ones are due to come into being in 2010. As well as continuing to enjoy motorcycling and regular walks into the Yorkshire Dales with Mary, Wynn continues to feed his (very late!) mid-life crisis with visits to the gym and has recently joined a canoeing club. In October Wynn made his eighth visit to India. This year, as well as visiting the two churches in Delhi and Haryana he ventured into West Bengal and Sikkim, visiting two new churches and seeing some of the most dramatic scenery in the world including the world’s third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga, which was magnificent.
We send you our best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.