Happy New Year!

I can't believe I haven't posted in this blog since June!  That just about sums up how busy life is right now but events wise 2011 has been much quieter than 2010.  This year has mostly been about organising our life as working parents to two very individual children, we took two lovely holidays in Devon and Ireland and had weekends away in the Lake District, Dolgellau and Cardiff.  This year we added another Godchild to the special group of children who have special significance to us and who we are committed to praying for and supporting, Georgina Joanne was baptised in April, daughter to Jon and Lou and sister to Charlotte and we were delighted to share the special day with them all.  In May we gained a beautful baby niece Erin Hanna, daughter to Gav and Claire and sister to Ole.  Peter's nephew Tom got engaged to Amy and they will be married at Easter 2012 in London and we joined my extended family on Mum's side to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Marcus to Maxine joined with the christening of their son Harvey.  We have been fortunate in the last couple of years to spend time with old friends and meet new ones.  There have also been developments at home as we have gained new neighbours in the street after a period of having a number of empty properties around us so it is nice that we have started to get the feel of community again.

Olivia and Verity have continued to grow this year, Olivia is in Year 1 and takes part in French lessons, swimming twice a week and Saturday Singing Club, she is very sensible and a very caring older sister.  Verity has settled beautifully at nursery and is now in the toddlers building, she has proved to be as characterful there as she is at home and the range of her mobility for her age continues to astound us, she is also starting to talk now which is really lovely because she can communicate more fully with us although it is a little worrying that her favourite words at the moment are, 'No' and 'Mine!'  Both girls got scooters for Christmas and we are enjoying getting out in the fresh air to practice riding them and learning how to steer by balance.

So what for next year?  We are already looking forward to the wedding of Tom and Amy at Easter in London and a long weekend away in the Lake Disrict.  Dad's wife Barbara will celebrate her 60th at the end of Januray Verity will be 2 in February and Olivia 6 in August.  There is a strong possibility we may move house as there are plans to renovate the block we currently live in and the daily grind of work, commuting and managing the children with Peter working weekends and long hours will continue.  One of my ideals is to focus on doing what makes us as a family unit happy instead of pleasing others but I know I'm not very good at that, also to try and get a better work/life balance for Peter and I having the chance to spend nice times with the children.  We are thankful for all we have been blessed with in 2011, always thankful for 2 beautiful healthy children and hopeful for the future on the eve of 2012.
Happy New Year to you all!

A Royal Wedding

Reading my Facebook news feed home page this morning I felt as though I was the only person actually pleased about the forthcoming wedding after the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton hit the news yesterday.  I must admit to being slightly more irked than I realised I cared but comments of who was going to pay for the wedding and who cared about the royals anyway started to irritate me more as the day went on. 

One such comment from a person who freely admits she went through a top university at the taxpayers expense, (prior to the introduction of tuition fees) and spent her grant on holidays and booze made me feel that we in Britain simply want to have our cake and eat it most of the times.  Republican comments about the monarchy are equally annoying and one wants to say, 'Well go and live in another country if it bugs you that much,' but hey I am British and that would be rude wouldn't it?  Actually, where would one go to escape?  When the news was announced fanfares were sounded on TV show, 'Good Morning America' across the Atlantic and during Prince William's fairly recent visit to Australia people lined the streets to see him; this in a country that has repotedly been on the edge of Republicanism for some years.  The British Monarchy is big news, people follow the celebrity and they love the tradition, ritual and to some extent the escapism, across the globe, after all what could be more romantic than a Prince and a Princess on their Wedding Day? 

As for the cost, the monarchy cost the British public 38.2 million pounds in 2009-2010 (source: BBC News) yet Visit Britain suggest that the places, events and history associated with the British Monarchy bring in around 500million pounds to the British economy on an average year and in the year of the wedding could be up to 900 million, I may not be an economist but by anyones reckoning that's a pretty good margin and compared to the debacle of the Olympics we are hosting the following year... well I'll leave that to you to consider.

Finally the appealing thing about a forthcoming wedding for me is that it brings marriage back into the spotlight, it seems that traditional old fashioned marriage has been out of favour for a while and let's face it the last generation of Royals didn't do much to promote marriage but despite that I still believe that marriage is good for society and I believe it is good for children to grow up with two people who are brave enough and committed enough to make a public declaration of love for each other, not just with emotion but with the will, an action as well as a feeling, to love and to cherish whatever happens and whatever the cost.  It is a rare thing to find in these modern times but if William and Kate have found that together then this wedding, Royal or not, really is a true cause for celebration.