Another twelve months navigated, more or less safely, and we seem to have reached that time of year when the memories get committed to paper as an enduring record of the continuing exploits of the Johnston family; could be a soap opera somewhere in there…
America has featured large this year. Judith and Fleur had a mother/daughter bonding/shopping/even more shopping trip in January to New York where Fleur was taken to Tiffany’s to choose her 21st birthday present, and then we all went off to Florida in February/March to celebrate Fleur’s 21st birthday and Rory’s 24th. They both brought current partners along, and to even up the youth/wrinkly balance we also took Dorothy, a local friend of long standing. We did all the theme parks along with the Kennedy Space Centre, lots of shopping, parties for the birthdays and a couple of super evening shows. Rory and Amanda drove off for part of the time to explore the Keys and the Everglades, so altogether a very full, fun but exhausting trip. Fleur also got accepted by Camp America and set off in June (her third trip of the year) for three months at the University of Michigan’s camp in deepest, darkest Michigan. Mere parents are not allowed to know all the details but are pretty certain that she had a wonderful time there and would go back tomorrow if only she didn’t desperately need to earn some money (to which end she now has a new job at the local university managing criminal records checks). Her boyfriend Keith went to New York to meet up with her when camp finished (more shopping, more Tiffany’s – their corporate profits should be good this year), then they took the Greyhound to Boston to stay with our old friends Virginia and Richard Munkelwitz; it goes without saying that they were entertained quite superbly and we are grateful that they took such good care of our wee bairn. They returned to New York to be part of the 9-11 commemorations, and we are glad to have had members of our family associated with this event.
Hospitals have also been something of a feature. In June, Graeme had a small heart attack which, fortunately, did no real damage. However, when investigating the cause, it was discovered that he needed a complete replumbing job due to lots of coronary artery blockages. So, once Fleur was safely home from America he went into the London Independent Hospital (good job we kept the private medical insurance going) for the necessary (quad) bypass operation. Home again after nine days, lots of roadwork after another three, he is now back on the local cardiac rehabilitation programme, more than a stone lighter and (almost) as good as new. But he will never forget having his nipples shaved by an over-enthusiastic Australian nurse… Judith took lots of annual leave so that she could be with him every day and ensure that he was not ‘over-fraternising’ with the nurses, especially hot Doris… And Fleur did sterling work manning the phones and issuing bulletins. In passing, many thanks for all the cards, flowers, bottles and general good wishes which arrived in overwhelming numbers.
Keith took Fleur to Edinburgh at Easter (as an extra birthday present) for sightseeing and so that her aunt could check him out; I think he passed muster… Fleur also did jury service in March but let everybody go…
Rory travelled to Thailand in November with a couple of girlfriends and obtained his PADI accreditation (SCUBA diving) in between overdosing on Buddhist temples. Before that, he spent about three months rebuilding and refitting the kitchen in his apartment in St Albans; the result is great, he saved lots of money by doing the job himself and we eventually got our tools back…
Judith and Graeme did manage a very pleasant holiday in May to the timeshare in Benalmadena (plus an interesting day out in Gibraltar), and a nice week in Edinburgh coinciding with the anniversary of Graeme’s mother’s death. The latter was during the Festival so we were also able to take in a few of the more significant cultural opportunities available this year – ‘Jerry Springer: the Opera’, and a show about musicals featuring Gyles Brandreth (former Conservative MP) in fishnet tights and extravagant gold codpiece; as he explained, it has become incumbent for such shows to feature former Conservative MPs, and he was the only one available, the others all being in prison… This trip was memorable for the fine weather and the opportunity (in fact necessity since it was so hot) to eat outside on the pavements – continental café society has arrived in Edinburgh. And memorable also for the opportunities to visit HMY Britannia, now moored at Leith as a tourist attraction and a first rate day out, and Rosslyn Chapel near Dalkeith, one of Scotland’s greatest treasures and mysteries. We also took the opportunity to stay with cousins Neville and Lorna at Easingwold on the way North (great house, wonderful hospitality and we enjoyed the home-made bread so much that we just had to buy a bread-maker on our return) and sister Karen and her family in Chester on the return leg. However, the imminent bypass surgery meant that our holiday to Venice had to be cancelled along with plans for a long-anticipated Nile cruise.
Domestically it has also been a year of renewal with one appliance after another (including the boiler) needing to be replaced; we are certainly doing our share of keeping the nation’s white goods business afloat.
Culturally, it has been a really wonderful year. West End highlights included ‘The Royal Family’ with Dame Judi Dench, Humble Boy (the most stunning set we have ever seen, and the trip enlivened by unwitting participation in the May Day riots), My Fair Lady, Onegin (ballet) at Covent Garden, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Vincent in Brixton, Breath of Life with Dame Judi Dench (again) and Dame Maggie Smith, and Mrs Warren’s Profession. We also enjoyed a lot of local and provincial theatre, including very nice days out at Sonning (in the front row of The Mill theatre your feet quite literally are on the stage) and Southwold (for Jill Freud’s summer theatre). Closer to home our village celebrated the Golden Jubilee with a wonderful 17th Century Faire, and with Judith’s Art History class we visited Paris, the Imperial War Museum (for First World War art), Tate Modern, Eltham Palace and Dulwich Art Gallery. In addition we explored Bletchley Park and the splendid new exhibition hall at Sutton Hoo. There have also been several visits to the Royal Academy (and other galleries), resulting in just a few wee impulse buys. Finally, on the cultural front, Sky TV has now touched down at St Martins…
Party-wise, we have also been busy with the local Guild of Arts (Graeme is secretary this year), with work reunions (nice meals at Pru Leith’s and L’Escargot), our local Sunday lunch club and, in November, a great 60th birthday party for Judith; yes folks, she is now in her 7th decade but as compensation the Government will be paying for her hair and nails from this point on… Her party, organised by Fleur, was fancy dress on a 60’s theme. Judith dressed in her favourite fab/groovy 60’s gear and Graeme hired an Elvis costume – it’s not every day he gets to be a Rock God and 4″ taller…
Sadly, during the year we lost a few old friends. Clive Shepherd died in May, devastatingly followed in June by Jim Leaf, one of Graeme’s closest friends from IBM. In August Terry Holliday’s mother died, and while that was sad the reception after the funeral turned into a memorable Old Dumbartonians reunion. We remember them all with great affection.
As before, Rory has supplied his own his thoughts on the year, but before you get to that we want to wish you a very happy Christmas and another happy, healthy and prosperous year in 2003.
Graeme & Judith ([email protected], [email protected])
Hello all,
I have no great news or achievements this year.
Progress report on last year’s objectives
For those who have binned last year’s letter (I had), they were…
- We will have built or bought a new kitchen,
- Rory will have started planning the house he will eventually build,
- We will have been on some more holidays,
- We will have been forced to write another bourgeois end-of-year letter.
Updates:
- I have built my own kitchen. Its very nice – hasn’t fallen down yet. All plumbed in and working. Did everything except the gas.
- Don’t have a new job. Am still wasting my life at T-Mobile, but on the plus side the office has moved to 5 minutes drive from my flat.
- No progress on building (or planning to build) my own house. I am looking for a nice plot of land to buy as an investment.
- Have been on holiday to Thailand (Bangkok and Koh Samui). Gained a PADI Open Water Divers certification and lots of pirated DVDs. Seen enough statues of Buddha to last a lifetime,
- Yes, have been forced to write another bourgeois end-of-year letter.
Objectives for 2003
- More holidays (probably Egypt),
- Am building my own computer (not much of a challenge these days),
- We will have been forced to write another bourgeois end-of-year letter,
- Will have investigated doing an MBA, MSc or jacking it all in and doing a PhD,
- Will read more books,
- Will take more exercise in 2003 than I did in 2002 (shouldn’t be too hard to manage)
Rory [email protected]
