Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Can I wish all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As we approach the end of the year, it is time to reflect on all those issues that affected our life and our community over the last twelve months. I suppose like me there has been a whole lot of different issues that have had impact on your every day arrangements.

Some will have been good, some will have been bad!

I think that for Mary and I, we have had a very mixed year fortune wise. Yet as the New Year approaches there is the inevitable buzz that this year will be better than the one just past!

Both of us are very grateful that we have warm and loving family that stretches across the globe, and it is being able to shelter within that family which brings great benefits to us.

I also had a special birthday back in March when I reached the landmark 60 and this culminated with my birthday being taking in the Cloud Forest's of Costa Rica. Mary was the instigator of this visit, and boy did I enjoy the bird and animal life in this great little Country.

But before I could get there I had a birthday trick played on me by collegues at National Express where they surprised me with a full size bus advert depicting the free bus pass that I am now entitled to! I want to thank the team at National Express for their kindness and sense of fun. James, Bryan, Carly, Joy, Mike, all played a role in ensuring I didn't have a clue about the jape!

I was mighty fooled, but deeply moved by the way that the team treated the event!

We attended our Steven and Staceys wedding in Scotland and that was a key note event also, what a great time we had with the family making their way to Gretna green for the ceremony. We also travelled to Cyprus in the summer for Danny Tipton and Sue's Wedding.

Sandwiched in between was a Golden Wedding anniversary of my cousin Leslie Gail and Clive Hill in St Jacobs in Ontario Canada. Where we had a great time with the family who had all gathered to join Clive and Leslie Gail in their tremendous event.

Also on the good news list was the birth of young Harry Hamer both Nick & Bryn are delighted that ia now has a little brother!

We finished the year in Belguim with Geoff and Janet Foster.....all in all 2010 has been quite memorable!

So Christmas has been welcomed here and we wish all our Family & Friends a happy and prosperous New Year in 2011.