The year was not many weeks old when Jonathan’s father Paul collapsed and died at home, just short of his 90th birthday. He had been in decline ever since his last visit to Cornwall nearly two years ago. Thankfully we have the legacy of his writing from which his voice sings out. Felicity has gained a new lease of life and visited us in April and then travelled to Switzerland on her own, much to the surprise and delight of her children.
Italy featured strongly in our overseas trips. Straight after Paul’s funeral we visited Rome, Pompei and Herculaneum with 26 Truro High School girls; it was not what you would call a ‘quiet’ break. Jonathan was pleased to note that it was 55 years since he last visited Pompei. Kate passed through Italy again in March when she grabbed a short break skiing in Switzerland.
Our major summer holiday in July involved cycling the armpit of the Adriatic: from Venice via Slovenia to Poreč in Croatia. Regular readers will know that we found the Danube route fairly flat; this was not, but the scenery was fabulous and cycling into Venice and then along the lagoon was stunning. Jonathan missed all the Jubilee fun by heading to Bardejov, a World Heritage Site in Slovakia, where he was leading a tourism project. Meanwhile, Kate revelled in the first of the year’s invasions of small people demanding beaches, ice creams and guinea pigs. This set a pattern for the summer, allowing her to indulge her grandparenting skills and to teach the noble art of crabbing. Olly and Lana (now three and two respectively) are a delight and enjoy rock pools, sand and water-play almost as much as their grandmother and parents. Surfing and sailing cannot be far off.
A real highspot of the year was Peter and Rebeka’s wedding in September at Marlow church where Kate’s parents used to worship. The event and weather were glorious with a very upbeat Polish flavour: just don’t ask about the vodka or the traffic jams but note the Top Trumps. For once, the happy couple were not allowed to sing a duet at a family wedding while we had the wonderful experience of sitting on ‘the other side of the church’ with few responsibilities. 
Another delight was the arrival of Thomas Menmuir who decided to share his mother Emma’s birthday in September after a mere 31 weeks. The hospital did wonders and he eventually returned to the bosom of his family where he is daily growing. His small size makes his sister and cousin – Mischief and Mayhem - look grown-up in comparison. Ah, you will be wondering, what do they do with the rest of their year? We still seem to be working full time. Kate is teaching Year 5 girls at Truro High School while Jonathan continues to run the award-winning Maritime Museum. This year his work included burbling into a BBC microphone for the Olympic Torch Relay and a ‘starring’ role driving a boat for the Antiques Roadshow. Neither of us is immune to the effects of the recession or the nonsenses of government policy but we soldier on. The weather hardly made it a year for great sailing but, when we could, we escaped to enjoy the wonders of this county, exploring clifftops, standing stones and ancient pathways.
The year ended as it began with sad news: Jonathan’s brother-in-law Merrick Fall died peacefully and suddenly at home in Switzerland this month. Our thoughts are with the family. But, looking ahead, we are crossing our fingers for Claire and Nick who should be following Emma and Wyl, by adding another grandchild early in the new year.We will end as we always do: we have a large house in a wonderful county, our friends are always welcome. The sun always shines in Cornwall – when it is not raining.
Much love to all our friends from Kate and Jonathan.
See the link alongside for a fuller slideshow of the year.
