Carnarvon: 2007

Dear Friends,

We wish you a joyful Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

We hope you have had a satisfactory year with much joy. Probably, like all of us you have also had some sorrow both personally and in this world in which we all share.

Our year has been busy and interesting. Last Christmas Mary was learning to walk again after her total knee replacement. Thankfully, she is now enjoying a better quality of life. She continues her work part-time doing social work in the Renal Unit in Oxford and Swindon. She belongs to two book clubs and is rehearsing for another Baldon Players’production.

Indeed, Mary made such a good recovery that she was able to fully enjoy a wonderful four weeks in Australia, with Rachel and Peter and their family. It gave her the chance to introduce four of our granddaughters, Kathryn, Helen, Sarah and Anna, to most of the one hundred and forty first, second or third cousins. Everyone was very kind and welcoming. The holiday included jet skiing, swimming, sailing, snorkelling, and making friends with cuddly koalas, crocodiles, snakes, a wombat and lots of wallabies and kangaroos. The time included a magical week on Magnetic Island near the Great Barrier Reef and a stop in Bangkok and Singapore. Marcus stayed at home to look after Toffee, our poodle, Kelly, Rachel’s horse, and the Abbey at Dorchester-at-Thames, where he took the services in August, while the rector was away.

Whenever we get the chance we go down to Somerset to meet up with Jeremy and Amanda and Lizzie and Christina. We are grateful that all our grand-daughters have a wide range of interest and have such a positive attitude to life.

With so much violence in the world it is encouraging just how many people are working for understanding and reconciliation. There is growing recognition of the importance of interfaith work and this has kept Marcus busy and has involved a lot of travel to give talks in different parts of the country – which has also given us the chance to catch up with some of you.

The most fascinating overseas visit was to South Korea, where we were invited to the ground-breaking ceremony for a new Peace Bell Park, very close to the Demilitarized Zone, which still divides South and North Korea. We were made even more aware of the human and environmental cost of war. (See the pictures below)Two of Marcus’ anthologies, Love and Peace and Prayers and Blessings have been reprinted as pocket-size books by Duncan Baird.

Next August, we hope to take another group to the Holy Land. It will be hot, but it is a time when young people and teachers may be able to join us. Please let us know if you would like details.

It is always lovely to hear from you at Christmas. We hope you are happy to receive our greetings by email as this means we can give what we would have spent on postage to a charity.

Once again, we wish you the true joy and peace of Christmas and blessings in the coming year.

With our love

Mary and Marcus