Christmas Missive 2009

Dear All

A very early writing of Christmas Missive 2009!!

Well it doesn’t seem a year ago since we wrote to you all and dropped the bombshell, that we were moving to France! Well, as you can see from the change of address below, it’s happened although not quite as planned or expected!

But, the long and short of it is that after leaving our respective jobs, and both given a great send off as we were sort of retiring, although not sure if we really have!?! We spent January packing up the house, putting stuff in storage and getting ready to rent our house (which ended up taking until July, we then “holidayed” in the south of France for most of February, and finally arrived in the Vendée in early March. We found TO RENT, La Loge Grimouard, a very isolated 300 year old farm worker’s cottage(s) with a very overgrown but now tamed garden which has produced, and continues to do so, vast quantities of fruit and veg, and we also have a chateau in the garden! The chateau’s owner spends most of his time in Spain, leaving us free reign over the 12 acre estate, complete with woods for walking and exploring, lakes for fishing, and a C16th Wolf Pit!

So now after six and a bit months and nearly 30 visitors later, all wanting to find out where we have landed, we are well into what is seeming to be a one or two year sabbatical, wondering what to do next!! Although, we have both been pleased to leave the bureaucracy of our jobs behind, we do miss particularly the people we worked with and may yet return and spend time between England and France whilst pursuing a career change, albeit possibly part-time. But as the house in York has still to be sold we are a little in limbo, so watch this space and check out the blog for further developments!! But as the blog is about our exploits, a quick update on what else is happening in the family:

Just after we left the UK, Daniel and Lisa became Engaged, although Daniel had come around before we left and given us a sneak preview of the ring, but the old romantic wanted to formally get engaged on Valentine’s day!! Now he is a householder he has discovered what DIY is and whereas previously I would ask him to fetch me a screwdriver, whilst stuck in a precarious position up a ladder, and in reply get “Whot’s one of those,” or “hang on there’s only 35 mins of the match left!,” he and Lisa have been really busy, fitting a new kitchen (then unfitting it when they had a leak!!), boarding out the loft, putting up a new shed and generally doing lots of householder type things! Both also remain very active in St John Ambulance, doing training, running courses and carrying out duties. This as well as working full-time, Lisa for a marketing company in Cheltenham and Daniel as a Cover Supervisor at Severn Vale School in Gloucester, as well as spending his holidays working at Bentham Leisure Centre, where he worked previously. Despite all this, and with a good degree of parental nagging (as he is about to reach a quarter century and would then be too old!!) he has finally managed to successfully finish his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. So that means I’m (Roger) the only one in the family without ~ but I’m thinking about starting an award scheme for the over 50’s!!

Victoria meanwhile, continues to live life at breakneck speed, and has this year successfully completed a Masters in “International Relations,” and is waiting for her dissertation, which involved a return visit to Swaziland for research, to be marked before finding out her final grade and having her graduation in December. Her dissertation on the: “Political Economy of AIDS OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) in Swaziland,”can be accessed on:

http://politicaleconomyofaidsovc.blogspot.com/

and although I might be biased, is well worth a read!! She has also this year officially moved in with Dermot, and started to tick off things from their 5 year plan, which involves work, Dermot has just been promoted, so will have to stay in the Navy a bit longer, Victoria is doing various jobs (mentoring, silver service waitressing and soon hopefully tutoring) as well as undertaking an intensive TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, before going to teach in China for six months on March 1st 2010. Then it’s hopefully, off to Teacher Training College ...... teaching job, Dermot out of the Navy, new house and somewhere towards the end of the “masterplan” maybe bells might be heard ringing!! They’ve also bought a new car, visited us in France (Dermot once and Victoria twice), met up in Dubai in a five star hotel when D’s submarine docked there and Victoria has continued her St John activities and Volunteering in Plymouth (VIP) work, which saw her being awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering 2009 Award” and helping to achieve the “Best New Project” Award in VIP (Rural Branch Line Project ~ where they tidied up and improved a number of local rural railway stations) at the Higher Education Volunteering Awards in Manchester.

And Max, like all of us is getting older, but despite a weak back leg he soldiers on and on a cool day will do a 3+ mile walk, he loves having us around all the time and has taken to French life and particularly French bread, like a duck to water!!

rogerhiggs@hotmail.co.uk

La Loge, Vendee

So, as you can see we’re all keeping busy (us; gardening, preserving, freezing, entertaining and enjoying!! – for more see the blog!!) Fancy a visit, give us a ring!!

Happy Christmas and a Great New Year or Joyeux Noël et une bonne année nouvelle, as they say in these parts!!

Lots of love

Roger and Linda