2009 - That Was The Year That Was
In review
This year has been a year of beginnings and endings, with periods of intense activity, mixed with a few delightful episodes of either escape or re-union.
Again we were blessed with family around us at home for Christmas. From there we saw holidays, Mother's passing, a hurried trip home by Charlotte for the funeral, and as quick a return to the UK, new (feline) neighbours, the usual round of creatures in the garden, 6-months of study leave for Desiree, culminating in a Conference presentation, Jayne treading the boards in a school play (or two!), as well as in this year's Film which, again premiered at the Paramount, a treasured few days out for Desiree and I, a trip for me to Dunedin, Manapouri, and Invercargill, and LOT of family History time, the severing of connections with Hutt Valley High School, Sarah Rose and Craig moving out, and, to round out the year, everyone at home for Christmas!
Desiree
Desiree spent the first part of the year as a Research Fellow with the Royal Society. Her placement ('hosting', they call it) was at the Stout Research Centre at Victoria University, as part of the Scottish and Irish Studies Programme. Part of the deal with the Centre was that Desiree would present a paper at their Conference. This was a refreshing and engaging experience for her, and will benefit the Hutt Valley Irish Society when she gets a chance to compile a formal record of her research. It also gave us both a chance to dabble somewhat more seriously in 'oral history' techniques.
But once the 6 months was up, she was as busy as ever at Taita College. The transition back into school routines wasn't easy, and having to pick up her classes and mold them into aacceptable behaviour patterns was challenging. Needless, to say (this being about Desiree, after all!) this was accomplished, albeit at some psychic cost!
She continues her involvement with our local (appointed) Ward Committee for Hutt City Council. She is also a member of the Hutt Public Art Trust, which exists as a result of her vision and drive and commitment to the concept of 'public art'.
Bryan
2009 - "Le plus change, le plus même chose." And, yes, I do know I said that last year! Which just goes to prove how true it is!
The work at NZQA continues, with the same mix of innovation, challenges, and frustrations as occurs in almost any job. The NZQA website, is something of a monster, although I am slowly bringing a little shape and coherence to the content. I still get a buzz out of managing the Top Art website and publishing the Visual Arts exemplars, as the works are, in many cases, simply stunning, and reflect well on the talents of our senior students.
A new direction, however, is an increasing focus on publishing exemplars of student work in other subjects. This has presented some interesting challenges (not least of which is the level of technical competence of those providing the 'raw material'!). One of the consequences is that I now also have an Apple Mac Book on which to do simple editing of audio and video files - a whole new toolset for me to get to grips with!
I have continued working for the Hutt Valley Irish Society, as their Secretary, webmaster, publicist, and gopher. Once again, a highlight of the year was running our local Rose of Tralee contest, the winner of which went on to win the National title. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) our Hutt Rose didn't win the National tile this year, which means we get a year off running the National Final - a welcome passing of the financial and work burden to other hands.
I have continued my sporadic attempts at 'blogging' and a photo site to try and keep the rest of the family up-to-date with what we're doing. The model and standard is set by Sarah Rose, so I struggle to keep up. A new version, however, is dedicated to saving and sharing the humour that delighted and entertained me when I was younger - A Dazy Log is an expanding collection of cartoons, poems, stories, and snippets by people such as The Marx Brothers, Colonel Stoopnagle, John Lennon, Spike Milligan, James Thurber, and more. The name is a 'spoonerised' rendering of the beginning of an old fable, as told by Colonel Stoopnagle.
Sarah
Rose and Craig
Sarah and Craig have been living at home since August 2008, having had difficulties with visas thanks to the UK government changing the rules on them.
Sarah Rose has a good job at Parliament working for Parliamentary Services in a Minister's office, and Craig is at an international engineering consultancy, so both are well set up at present.
All is not stasis, however, as late in the year they moved out to their 'own place' - actually, Craig's parent's house up on the western hills, but they are tenants, and will have a friend join them to share the rent burden.
Time will tell what the future will hold for them.
Charlotte
Charlotte spent most of the year in London - a fleeting visit home in April aside - seeing the sights, meeting new people, doing 'temp' work and enjoying being her usual independent self.
Of
course she also turned 21 while she was away - in fact, to Desiree's chagrin,
she had her birthday in Greece!!
And then in early December she came home. She had worked all of the time her visa allowed, and while she could have stayed longer, she couldn't afford to without working, so home it was. Just as in London when she arrived, so it was at Trinity Avenue - we swapped Sarah and Craig for Charlotte, so we still have a full(ish) house!
Needless to say both Sarah Rose and Jayne are delighted at having her
home again.
Jayne
Jayne has had another busy year. Having passed NCEA Level 2 with Excellence (and thereby earned a Scholarship for both Victoria and Massey University) she set her sights on Level 3, a couple of Scholarship papers as well. Art History became a 'favourite' subject, and a serious contender for the subject major at university.
Again she was up to her ears in the school's fashion show, as well as a couple of drama productions
And in there somewhere was another feature-length film. This one was written by some of the kids themselves, under the guidance of their Drama Teacher, Bernard Beckett. It was, again, filmed and acted by students of HVHS. Loaded was the result.
Oh, and did I mention the Student Council and regular studies? I didn't? Well, I should have, because to cap off an outstanding year, Jayne won several awards for her activities during the year.
Mother - R.I.P.
Mother was born in October, 1916. She died at the beginning of April this year.
Her passing left a gap in all our lives, but ended a steady decline in capabilities and awareness. She and father now have memorials in Karori Cemetery.
But much of the family was able to gather in Manapouri in early November to give mother a final farewell and (at least part of her) a resting place. She is now helping a rhododrendon grow and remembered by a plaque in the grounds of the Guest House where she spent part of her youth, and which was always in a corner of her heart.
The Year End / Holidays
The occasion in Manapouri gave me an opportunity to spend a concentrated period on family history, as well as have lovely trip to the deep South - blogged, needless to say: Dunedin in the Sunshine!, On The Road Again, Manapouri on the edge, Tracking down family origins; and there's more to be done yet! Photos of headstones! I know you can't wait!
That wasn't the only 'trip' we've had this year. We started the year with a week in Taupo but also spent time in Martinborough, Martinborough (again) and Havelock North.
This year we will be at home over the Christmas - New Year period, with a week in Napier in early January, then a week at home, then a week in Orewa. And that will be the start of another year.
We hope 2009 brings you all - peace, prosperity and contentment.