Christmas Newsletter 2008

Hello and welcome to my annual online Christmas newsletter. It is the sixth one I have produced!

Kate completed her B.Mus degree in Music at Canterbury Christ Church University, with a very respectable grade. May and June were very hectic months for her, but she is very pleased with the experience. She has resumed conducting the Pfizer Wind Orchestra training band, as well as conducting the main band occasionally. Harriet and Maxwell are now in their second and third years respectively at the local grammar school and enjoying increasingly active social lives. I cannot believe that Maxwell was 14 in November. Once again, he played bugle at the Remembrance Sunday service at Sandwich war memorial. Maxwell visited Prague with the school orchestra, and attended Combined Cadet Force camps in Dorset and the Lake District. He also visited Germany in December as part of a student exchange (the return fixture to the UK is next March). Other than day trips to France and the Isle of Wight, I had not left Great Britain until the age of 20 (how sad is that?).

As another winter approaches, we are still not connected to the mains gas. This has been mainly due to delays in getting the easements (legal agreements) sorted out for placing a pressure reduction valve on our neighbour's land. Apparently this is now resolved, so at some point the digging of trenches will begin, a new boiler can be fitted and the Calor gas tank in the garden can be removed. We became owners of a flock of six chickens in October. In a concerted effort not to get emotionally attached to them, they have been named Trixie, Pixie, Dolly, Edwina, Roberta & Jennifer. They have been laying about five eggs a day since they arrived - it is nice to have fresh eggs, and also means we can sell some so that they can pay their way. They are also good fun to look after and have kept the dog amused/frustrated.

We took the opportunity to have a three-week family holiday in the US this summer, on the end of one of my business trips. We visited New York, Newville PA, Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Lake Erie, Buffalo, Niagara (briefly entering Canada), New Hampshire & finally Boston (view our holiday photos here). I think I drove the SUV about 2000 miles all told. I have some fantastic memories - driving a Mustang (briefly), sea kayaking on the Mystic River, the shifting landscapes, the huge electrical storms, the Manhattan skyline, the Gettysburg battlefield, the museums in Washington, the spray from Niagara Falls, the view from Mount Washington, the history of Salem and Boston.

On the Battle of Britain front, three notable events: 1) we had an unofficial Spitfire and Hurricane display over our house (en route to a memorial for Bob Stanford-Tuck in Sandwich), check out those Merlins 2) the Battle of Britain Film was screened at the cinema in Ramsgate, with a display of rare movie memorabilia and 3) Maxwell and I visited Bentley Priory open day (more details at this link). Also, Pfizer had a family open afternoon in early October and I was able to show my Mum & Dad around.

Work-wise, Pfizer is undertaking yet another restructuring exercise as I write and I expect it will have more impact on me this time than on previous occasions. This is the fourth such exercise in the space of five years and it is frankly wearing everybody down. On a more positive note, I started studying for an MBA at the Kent Business School (University of Kent) in September. It is a modular degree, divided into ten, one week study modules spread over two years, and I have completed three modules to date. I have also had to write two 3,000 word assignments, which is a bit of a shock to the system, as I suspect will be the first year exams next June. However, the course is exceeding my expectations overall and I am enjoying the academic environment once again.

What Christmas newsletter would be complete without my cycling statistics so far for 2008. Or in other terms, I have nearly cycled 48% of the distance around the earth's circumference in the last five years:

Finally, a bit of fun with an idea lifted from the internet that I've wanted to do for a long time. You stick your MP3 player on random and list the tracks out against each category. Honestly, this is how they came out (more to the point, what do they say about me?). Rock on.

My Life Soundtrack
Opening credits: Caravan of Love - The Housemartins
Waking up: 500 miles - The Proclaimers
First day at school: Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes - Beck
Falling in love: In My Life - The Beatles
Breaking up: Come Undone - Robbie Williams
First dance: Miserable Lie - The Smiths
Life's OK: Road Rage - Catatonia
Mental breakdown: The Whole Of The Moon - The Waterboys
Driving: The Loneliest Man In The World - The Tourists
Flashback: I Go To Sleep - The Pretenders
Getting back together: Well I Wonder - The Smiths
Birth of a child: Dream Catch Me - Newton Faulkner
Wedding scene: Tell Me - The Alarm
Final battle: There She Goes - The La's
Death scene: En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor - Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Funeral song: Meeting Over Yonder - Style Council
End credits: Unhappy Birthday - The Smiths

MERRY CHRISTMAS & BEST WISHES FOR 2009

Stephen

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Last edited 06/12/2008 10:44