It's been a busy, stay-at-home year for us. I had an operation on my foot in February so was hopping on crutches for a while. Ros and Pete's baby, Hattie, arrived on the 9th of February. My mum died on the 13th, leaving Dad on his own, although coping well.

In June we had a car accident while with Ros and Hattie, who fortunately were fine. Andy had a few days on morphine in Milton Keynes hospital. His fractured sternum kept him out of action for a few weeks and meant we weren't able to take the boat on our planned tour of the industrial archaeology of the canals.

We spent July in Spain, mostly on the beach as Andy's sternum was ok for swimming and snorkelling.

In October we went to South Africa to revisit some of the places Andy remembers from childhood. We were able to recreate some of the photos taken by his parents in 1959 and share the originals with some S. Africans. We ended the trip with a safari. It was wonderful to see the animals but sad to see how their habitat has been destroyed and so many species are now critically endangered.

Our second grandchild arrived on 17 November. Zara had a rough time as he was 12 days late and 9lbs. He's very healthy, growing rapidly, and Zara is recovering. He will have to have a name by Friday as they have the registrar booked, but at the moment he's known as Sprog! The problem with being a teacher is the negative connotations attached to some names. Several names have been discounted as they would remind Zara of children she would prefer to forget.

Edit: Zara and Chris named Sprog Caelen William Conisbee Cattell

For photos go to the 'photos' tab.

Wishing you Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2018.