Mirek's year has taken a familiar course. He's still Superintendent Registrar at Basford Register Office, although the service is changing and there is going to be a major reorganisation which will completely change the way he works. His Tuesday nights and much of his free time at home are still devoted to Bestwood Male Voice Choir. This August they had a very successful exchange visit with Rotenburg Kantorei from Germany. They were with us for four days and brought not only their mixed adult choir but a junior choir too. We hosted their Musical Director and her son. They are very talented people and the visit was quite a whirlwind of concerts and social events.
My job has changed little this year, with my working day split between working in pre school three mornings and after school club every afternoon. But there's much more to life than work for me now and much of my time has been spent in the pursuit of my passion for craft. I've made some brilliant new friends through my hobby and have met up with them on various trips, the latest being a weekend crafting retreat in Darlington. That was total indulgence.
We've all had various bits and pieces of holidays this year, though no family holiday this time round. I went back to Venice with my sister, Karen and our auntie Cynthia in April.
Peter had a bit of a disastrous college trip to Amsterdam in February. It was organised by the college students' union and should have been a great experience. But before the trip his friends dropped out and his girlfriend, Hannah, was not able to go at the last minute. The coach was delayed when they were due to leave and we left him with no one he knew in the early hours of a very cold morning. It didn't improve much after that. The hostel was a dive and he was relieved all round to get back home, although it did come to light later that he'd been on a pub crawl and visited the sex museum! Later in the year he went to Portugal with his mate Billy who he's been friends with since they started primary school. That was much more enjoyable for him.
Matt went on his first holiday without us in the summer. He and his girlfriend Alex had a week in a caravan in Great Yarmouth. It was his first experience of having to look after himself and they didn't really want to come home.
Mirek and I had our first break without the boys in August. We had a cottage in Shropshire close to Much Wenlock. We visited Church Stretton, Ludlow and Bridgnorth. On the way there we broke the journey at Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton and coming back we called at Bournville in Birmingham. For August Bank Holiday we took off without the boys again and had a long weekend in Oxford. I'd wanted to visit for a while and it was everything I'd hoped for.
Matt's job has gone well this year. He was promoted in February and became assistant manager of the Broadmarsh branch of Yeomans in Nottingham. It seemed to be the step he needed so we were surprised when he came back from holiday talking about a career change. He seemed to have itchy feet for a while but things seemed to change when he worked on Yeomans' Camp Show in the summer. He spent 3 weeks working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in a field in Calver in the Peak District. He was working alongside his old manager from the Ilkeston branch and it was a bit of a turning point for him. He lived in a caravan for those 3 weeks and I think things were tough. But he loved it and is talking about trying to do two shows next year if the shop can spare him.
All this year Matt has been building a new motorbike from scratch. Every day parts arrive in the post. At first it was just a frame, which he kept in his bedroom. But now there is virtually a complete bike up there and I hope he's not planning on riding it down the stairs! Here it is on one of its rare excursions out of doors!
His old bike was unrideable for a while as he was interchanging parts between the two. I'm pleased to say though that he now uses his car much more than the bike. In the summer he sold his first car, a Peugeot 106 and bought a much more comfortable Ford Focus, which he loves.
In September his girlfriend, Alex, went off to university in Cheltenham. Sadly, communicating over the long distance proved very difficult for them and they've since decided to go their separate ways.
Pete went back to Derby College in September for his A2 year. He has dropped photography and is taking Graphics, Environmental Science and IT.
This is Pete's Graphics exam piece from last year. It is inspired by a pub sign and is made with acetate and wire.
He has applied to study architecture at university next year. He has had conditional offers already and it looks as though he may study here in Nottingham, although he also applied to Sheffield Hallam and the University of Sheffield. Visiting their Open days in the summer was a bit of a nostalgia trip for us but I was shocked at how much the student experience has changed since we studied there.
Peter works weekends at Yeomans in Long Eaton, which is Matt's old job. He's hoping to stay there next year to help out with his finances. He turned 18 recently and we all went out to celebrate but he decided not to have a party.
Me with my gorgeous son
Pete and Mirek
Matt, Pete and Pete's girlfriend, Hannah
He's recently started driving lessons with Hannah's instructor.
I'd love to know you've visited the blog as it's all too easy to lose touch with folks. Please leave a comment here or if you'd like to email us, it would be great to hear from you.
Jo - jo.rus@ntlworld.com
Mirek - mkmr67@ntlworld.com
