2013 - That Was The Year That Was

Hello everyone. It's time for my annual missive getting you caught up with our comings and goings in the last year. Neither a Christmas Card nor a Newsletter - more a rambling discursive distillation of our activities over the past year. So, actually, a newsletter, I guess!

So what have we been up to?

Desiree joined the senior management team at Taita College (which sometimes meant early morning calls for organising relief teachers!), and became a 'chief detective inspector'; she also continued her MA studies with courses early in the year and Maori language classes on most Friday evenings. There were times I was sure she was cursing me (almost certainly deserved!) only to discover she was practising her Maori!

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I continued my involvement in the national Rose of Tralee contest, and helping wherever I can with the Irish Society. I've also begun tentative attempts at video editing - splicing clips together filmed at HVIS functions, and merging stills with soundtrack. Thus emboldened, I also filmed a couple of funerals and a wake. And thanks to Desiree's shopping expertise I now have a camera with video capability, so I'm beginning to get to grips with using that. I have also have 'published' a number of books (RoT, of friends' holiday snaps, for a 21st - see the links opposite) and this is an increasing interest, with scope for a number more of both photos and family history.

And what have the Kids been up to?:

Sarah has a new job in government communications research; this will look good on her CV and is a serious step into broader Comms roles, as well as fitting nicely with her skills and interests. Unfortunately, she and Craig have separated and so are in the process of working out their futures.

Charlotte continues her Linguistics studies, including Summer School papers. Interestingly, one of these lead her to an interesting assignment on 'print artefacts' - see www.weebly.com/tobeirish. She is also working part-time in a library. Gareth plays in numerous bands, but has struggled to 'earn a living', and so has had to resort to 'a real job' when necessary. But he's still pursuing his musical dreams in a way he's sure would not have been possible in the UK. See http://www.youtube.com/user/Brockaflower and http://www.youtube.com/user/newtownrocksteady or http://youtu.be/MET8hvwg5RI


Gareth performing in Niko Ne Zna - one of his bands
(that's him on trombone and wearing a red jersey)

Jayne completed her Honours programme in English Literature with a research paper. She passed all her papers with flying colours and is relieved to be free of study at last. Now she wants a real job (as opposed to the part-time shop-work which has sustained her thus far) while she 'looks about her' for a future pathway. On her immediate horizon is a trip to South-East Asia with a couple of friends.

Family history has been a common thread running through much of our year - revisiting some of the Edie information and making fresh discoveries (a near move to Poverty Bay from Edievale; a previously unknown military involvement!); clarifying (making explicit?) James Mulligan's attachment to the Loyal Orange Order in Caversham; discovering a previously unknown Bryson relation in Invercargill in the 19th century, which has lead me off into consideration of a cluster of other, possibly related, families all living in the Invercargill area at the end of the 19th century.

And our holiday at the start of 2014 I hope will yield more - interviews with various relations, and copies of photos et al.

Speaking of holidays, this year we've had a number of 'trips' of varying distance and duration - the indulgence of the empty-nesters!

Early in the year we had a weekend in Auckland to attend a Breakers basketball game (& to watch a Phoenix football match) all the result of discovering a special promotional deal - a really nice break away.

And then just a few short weeks later, we returned to help Andrew and Emma celebrate their wedding - glorious weather for a truly lovely event in stunning surroundings.

In April we took a week off to go to Sydney. It's a long time since we were there last and we thoroughly enjoyed being in the CBD and walking about in lovely weather. And observing the very different approach to marking ANZAC Day very interesting!

In the middle of the year Desiree was part of a school trip to Cambodia & Vietnam for a fortnight.

We've also had a couple of weekends away in the Wairarapa, although that almost hardly counts as it's just 45 minutes drive away! But it provides a nice break and a contrast with our normal routine.

And we finished the year with 2 weeks in the far south of the South Island - seeing in the New Year in Queenstown, and a few days in each of Manapouri, Invercargill and Dunedin.

There were some notable Milestones in our year as well:

      • Our 'No.1' daughter Sarah turned 30!
      • Jayne finished university
      • We marked our 40th (Yes - 4 decades) wedding anniversary
      • Sarah and Craig's marriage ended
      • Our long-lived cat Tiffany finally could cope no more and quietly slipped away in the middle of the year. As luck would have it, Tiffany had always been Desiree's cat, and Desiree was in Vietnam at the time and not at home to farewell her.

So what does 2014 hold for us?

Desiree will continue to be the glue that holds our family together. And work full-time. And make her mark on community affairs through her appointment to our local Community Committee. And continue her studies.

Bryan will continue to work for the Irish Society and the Rose of Tralee contest. He'll also continue to worry away at various family history projects, including publishing at least some of the outcomes of that research. And give vent to occasional bursts of creativity by publishing other books which no-one else will read or even buy! And work full-time. All the while grumbling and grouching from the margins about the government, the local Council, and anyone else who deserves to be criticised!

And we will both continue to make efforts to keep fit, heathy and active (watch for me on my bicycle with fluro jacket!)

And throughout the year the kids and their various attachments will visit us most Sundays to catch up with each other and eat us out of house and home! Long may it continue!

So we hope that the new year will bring you, and us, peace, prosperity and contentment.

PS: I try to keep a record of our year, and occasionally give vent to commentary on events. Keep in touch if you'd like.

 

 

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