It’s been another busy year and we wonder again how we manage to fit everything in.

Last year we mentioned David’s appointment as a trustee for the local community shopping bus and as Regional Chairman for CSSC in the South and South East.  In January Linda was appointed Chair of the East Sussex Seniors’ Association Transport Theme Group which is able to flag up the transport needs of older people with the County Council.

With both of us now involved in local transport this theme has tended to dominate our year. The bus involved a lot of work when our original operator had to pull out and we had to negotiate a contract with another company as well as re-launch the service under a new name. The large investment in time has now paid off and we have managed to convince the authorities that enabling seniors to shop for themselves reduces the pressure to provide places in care homes as well as being good for their self esteem.

We have now obtained sufficient funding to enable the “WealdLink” service to run for at least the next two years and we have plans to expand from a door-to-door shopping service and introduce  social trips and an evening service for the youth.

You can visit our website at www.4weald.co.uk to find out more about the bus.

Linda also became a trustee for 3VA, a newly reorganised volunteer support organisation covering a wide area, her particular interest being our rather neglected rural district of Wealden.

In June David received the merit award from CSSC recognising the 50 years he has been involved but his new role has meant travelling all over the South as well as now being in overall charge of this years Barbados Challenge. Fortunately we only had to contend with Barbados this year while St Lucia was run by another team. The weather for our sixth trip was absolutely perfect but unfortunately the Bajans having lost for the past two years pulled out all the stops and we were beaten.
 
Life round and about the village is much the same with Linda still involved with the Lunch Club, which is growing all the time, and David still editing the Parish Magazine. Our Rector who was very ill this time last year has now fully recovered but some of the duties that we took on then have remained.

The upshot of all this is that we are out and about a lot and have made a lot of new friends but are rarely in the same place at the same time!

Our donkey, Bramble, now has 3 sheep for company - all because our good friends Mike & Cathy moved to Australia for three years and we agreed to look after their pet sheep rather than to eat them, which would be difficult because they all have names: Timmy, Lottie and Snowy. Timmy, who thinks he is a dog, is so tame he will follow us around and likes being petted.

Our grandchildren (they too have names: Scarlett and Lucas!) continue to thrive although we don’t see nearly as much of them now they are at school. Scarlett (8) loves being a Brownie, and they have both been going to Stage Coach where they learn acting, singing, and dancing, although Lucas (5) is giving this up at the end of the year, having discovered that football is a more suitable outlet for his boundless energy.  Amanda and Lee celebrated 10 years of marriage in June, and Lee arranged a surprise trip to take Amanda to Las Vegas. The children came to stay for 4 nights and we found ourselves having to cope with the school run again after many years.

James and his partner Alexandra come down to visit whenever they can spare the time from their busy lives working for Unlock Democracy (www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk), which campaigns for democracy, rights and freedoms. Alex is now the Deputy Director and responsible for developing the organisation’s parliamentary strategy and building links with MPs and James is the Campaigns and Communications Officer, but now works for them only four days a week so that he can do some writing as a free-lance.

Linda’s mum Joan is now 91, has had two cataract operations and has finally given up driving.  Her doctor says she is doing well for her years, but she is finding the infirmities of old age hard to cope with.

The nine of us managed to get away together for a week on the North Norfolk coast in August.  While Amanda and David were frustrated because our cottages were too remote for internet access, and we were all nibbled by a plague of ladybirds, at least we were blessed with lovely weather and it was good to spend time together.

We are all looking forward to also spending at least part of the Christmas season together and perhaps a slower pace will enable us to reflect on its true meaning.
May we wish you every blessing this Christmas time, and a very happy New Year.