ANOTHER YEAR!

My 65th Birthday : Left to  back row - Robin Slater, Ian Slater, Me, Alvin
Bayliss.  Front Row -  Adrienne Slater, Joe Slater, Heather Simmons.

First off, my apologies for the delay in putting up a new post. I am presently writing an end of term essay for my theological study course. That is nearly finished so I think I can say that the promised "Uncle Dick" article will appear during the next week.  Thanks for your patience.

With Christmas fast approaching and lots of things to do over the next few weeks (including having a house guest) I'm going to take a little space now to look back over the past year.  Probably the nicest thing for me has been the reception that this blog has had and the little community of relatives that has grown up on Facebook.  Renewing contact with cousin Treena's family has been particularly nice.  I regret that some family members are not following the blog for the reason that they are not on line. I was very pleased and somewhat surprised at the coverage I was able to give for World War One and it seems to have been popular.

Sadness came with the death of my brother John whom I knew for far to short a time but it was good to see all the members of my "other" family again.  There was joy with the birth of some new family members.  It has been nice to talk to many family members during the year - Carol, Mandy, Sally, Alva, Robin and Ian and, of course, Alvin who has visited me twice this year (and arrives again soon!)

My decision to do the Chelmsford Diocese Course in Christian Studies over the next two years was, despite initial misgivings, the right one, although suddenly at the age of sixty-five finding myself having to do homework again feels a bit odd!   I find the course satisfying, interesting, challenging and infuriating in about equal measures but I've made some new friends and gained new insight into my own faith journey.  On the downside it has meant longer gaps between blog posts but I hope you understand.

Some of you will remember my one time girlfriend, Jean.  Quite unexpectedly, we are in contact again and I will be visiting her soon - after a gap of twenty-five years! 

Finally, a big thankyou to all of you for supporting this blog and a special thankyou to those - Susan, George, Alvin, Sandy etc - who have contributed valuable information, pictures and memories, some I have used already and some are for the future.

Look out for "Uncle Dick" during the coming week.