End of year greetings...

2nd January has rushed upon me.  Christmas seems such a distant memory, the arrival of 2013 somewhat horrifying.  Time is a mystery.

Back in December I had meant to put on our yearly roundup of news.  Trying to get the balance between (too) brief and (very) boring, i.e. in lengthy and unnecessary detail. Here goes... 

"Woohoo - time for a yearly roundup again! Looking forward to hearing your news, but meanwhile...Pollards' “life at the movies"...

During 2012 we attended Four Weddings and a Funeral: as we enter the season of our friends' and relatives' children embarking on marriage, Angie's mother, aged 88, died in October: she slipped gradually away, gently and peacefully.

The Princess Bride is a story of true love: Cat was a stunning bridesmaid to her school friend Hannah. It was a beautiful Guernsey wedding: gorgeous weather, great fun.

Then there was Love, Actually...yep, Jonny. And the gorgeous Adele. Both of them in Norwich. Lovely to have her visit this year, and we were able to meet her parents while they were on holiday on The Other Island. (Jersey).

In New Zealand, Cat has explored the film locations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, in between working for Christians Against Poverty. She's popped up occasionally in CAP's own film clips, too.

And for those of you who have come across the wonderful British film Nativity, which features a creative and charismatic teaching assistant- yes, Jonny is presently working as a TA in a primary school.

Richard continues to appear in his own version of Airplane, happily back at work since time off for illness. Fit and healthy as long as he avoids eating wheat products. He is still surfing the waves... (just don't mention Jaws).

Angie is still teaching: at various times she feels as if she could be on the set of Harry Potter /Shrek/High School Musical/St Trinians/. Still enjoying inhabiting the quirky world of children, who manage to make her snigger several times a week. As for The Social Network, our Bible study with a group of friends is a weekly highlight. Angie meets with a group of friends for a regular breakfast slot - not exactly Calendar Girls, but close - some of whom are part of an online Bible study too: the joys of Facebook!

And, of course, through the year it has been great to meet up with friends from near and far, present and long-distant...over twenty years in some cases. We love sharing our home and sharing Guernsey, so please come and see us!

Must Love Dogs. Pickle lives up to her name, quite happy starring in her own dramas at home: adaptations of In Golden Pond; Eat, Chew, Love or The Great Escape.

We spent the hottest weekend of the Summer Holiday camping on Jersey. Then, in October, we enjoyed the warmth of Lanzarote - its stunning volcanic landscape a superb setting for various sci-fi movies.

As for Christmas: It's a wonderful life - Cat and Jonny both came home for a Christmas visit."

An Odd October...

Bereavement. Starting October with my mother's last days was not the best way to begin the month...She died on October 3rd and the family gathered to celebrate her life on October 11th. Gladness and sorrow.
Illness. Nothing serious, just an unpleasant feverish cold...which went on for weeks. And weeks. Struggled through school somehow.
Half term and holiday. A welcome break - and recuperation - in Lanzarote. How we love that arid island.
Friends. Pickle and Howie's walking date is a highlight of most Saturday afternoons. We owners look forward to the tea and cake and chat while the dogs play. Thursday evenings are small oases of refreshment, too, as we meet with our church home group. Plus various others...lovely.
Was October odd?  Yes, and no.  The unexpected, the strange, the familiar... yes.

My mother

My mother would have reached the age of 89 years in December: in my grandmother's words, she would have reached her 90th year.
She didn't.  She died on October 3rd.
This was how she looked on my last visit to her:

She hasn't known me for years, but immediately said: "You look like me!"  That's close enough, I guess...

...having a laugh - so typical of her - with Cat

A last look.

She really did have the most lovely smile and loved to laugh. But, although these photos don't really do justice to her, she looked more content - and her hair was prettier - than she had done for quite some time.
And that was a great, great blessing.

PS. After her death, friends wrote kind cards. Those with memories of her with especially treasured. Some of those kind words:
"Nothing prepares us for the death of a parent."

"A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says she is gone.
Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large now as when i last saw her. her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.
And just at that moment, when someone at my side says she is gone, there are others who are watching her coming over their horizon and other voices take up a glad shout - there she comes!
That is what dying is.
A horizon and just the limit of our sight.
Lift us up O Lord, that we may see further." Bishop Brent.

"I remember her vividly as a great family friend who was always bubbling over with her characteristic zest for life, a truly good person who was always a pleasure to be around."
"We enjoyed the friendship between our two families and how welcome your parents always made us feel when we ventured up the road to number 75..." (Clifton Road, Rugby, our family home.)