2007 Newsletter

2007 NEWSLETTER

This will be our second Christmas in Ilminster. Living here is now starting to feel less like being permanently away on holiday and more like home. Towards the end of the year we decided to volunteer for HOSTuk. The timescale is a bit short but with luck we may be having a foreign student to stay with us for a few days over Christmas. I wonder if they realise what they might be letting themselves in for?

Emma (aged 13...)

Now a grade 3 flautist and in regular demand to perform with South Somerset Youth Orchestra, in school productions and for church services.

In May we had a nice quiet, relaxing week whilst Emma went off on a school outdoor activity holiday at Greatwood, on the edge of the Quantocks.

A regular feature throughout the year has been attending JAS and 4U - two youth groups run by Judy (she’s cool) and friends from the Minster.

Later in the year we had another lovely quiet week when Emma went off again, this time with a group from church, to Barnstaple 2 (it was amazin).

There have been a number of appearances in the local newspapers this year including Emma’s First Prize winning entry in the Ilminster in Bloom Design a Garden Competition. If you’re considering a commission though be warned her ideas are not constrained by budget in any way!

This will be Emma’s final year at Swanmead before going up to Wadham - now that is a scary thought!

Rachel (aged!)

This has proved to be a year of many hats. In addition to being Clerk to Governors at a school in Yeovil, Rachel is now Parent Governor at Swanmead school.

Gainful employment has been found with Ilminster Town Council working mornings assisting the Town Clerk and the Mayor. There has also been the opportunity this year to field all the highly complimentary phone calls from appreciative members of the community who seem to have been endlessly inspired by the construction of a Tesco supermarket in the middle of the town.

Occasional afternoons have been spent as a National Trust Volunteer at Barrington Court. As well as being very enjoyable this has also earned free entry to all National Trust properties. 2007 proved a good time to be at Barrington as it was the centenary year, which was marked with a royal visit by Prince Charles.

Later in the year there was a Bat Walk at Barrington which the whole family enjoyed - eventually. The evening had to be rescheduled when the bat man double booked himself. It was worth it though as it meant we got a second helping of coffee and cakes! Emma proved very adept with the hand held bat detector, and we did wonder if it might make a suitable Christmas present - then we learned how much they cost...

Local Preacher duties have been well and truly on the calendar this year, providing opportunities to visit some of the other churches in the circuit.

Earlier in the year Rachel and Emma went to see Gervase Phinn at Yeovil’s Octagon. Apparently he was very funny. Later on we all went to see Jools Holland and Lulu in Taunton’s Vivary Park. The firework finale was very impressive.

Phil

Ringing- in the Crewkerne Branch 6 Bell Striking Contest this year the call change team I conducted for was judged to have had the least number of faults - hurray!

Unfortunately I had overlooked the rule that says every bell must be called to lead and we were disqualified - boo!

Quaking - many Sundays throughout the year I have noticed the little sign outside the Adult Education Centre announcing the meeting of the Society of Friends in Ilminster. Eventually one non-ringing Sunday I went along to find out what a Quaker meeting was like. It must have been ok because I’ve been back a number of times since.

Walking - there haven’t been that many excursions this year. I found a nice looking route on a website called walks4softies which was based on Golden Cap on the Dorset coast. There was quite a bit of climbing involved though which lead some of the family to suspect they had been duped by the promise of a “softies” walk... During our autumn holiday to Cornwall I went for quick spin on the SW Coast Path between Mevagissey and Caerhays Castle. Research for the route had suggested that it included a beach favoured by naturists but there was little bare flesh in evidence on a bracing day in late October!

DIYing - not quite the same as painting the Forth Road Bridge, though not far off, most of the garden fence has been painted during the year, with just a few panels saved for 2008. After a number of years sterling service one of the rabbit runs finally reached the stage where escape was a daily possibility. Materials were duly gathered from Wickes and a palatial new run was constructed.

Gardening - I’ve cheated a bit here because Rachel has done most of the work on the garden this year. However, in May we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we had reached the front of the queue for an allotment so the under-gardener has been frequently dispatched on digging and weeding duties. There haven’t been that many crops this year, although the fruit that was already there has been quite productive especially the rhubarb patch.

Melrose

St Cuthbert’s Way

Lindisfarne

Next April we are going to Northumberland for a fortnight and I somewhat rashly suggested that I could walk St Cuthbert’s Way whilst Rachel and Emma walked up and down somewhere like Princes Street!
To do the walk in four days means an average of about 15 miles per day - sounds like a good excuse for some long training walks in the new year...