2022 in Pictures

2022 in Pictures
2021 can be viewed here
If last year was strange, the year now drawing towards its close has been 'different'. There have been more freedoms although the cloud of Covid continued to hover not too far away - and indeed caught up with us at last in October. We enjoyed a visit from Irene's niece, Ali, with husband, Pedro, and 3-year-old great-niece, Sophia, shortly after Christmas. Also with us as they arrived was Julian's nephew, Colin, and his wife, Sooyoung. Now living in Nottingham, they were previously in Cambridge and Colin and Ali were colleagues in the same English-teaching school in the City. It was great to enjoy time together and for us all to catch up. As the year progressed, holidays booked long ago came to fruition both locally and abroad but the main highlight, as trailled last year, was our nephew's wedding in Jamaica shortly after Easter - of which more later. With life returning to something nearer normal, there was less pressure on local facilities with holidaymakers and visitors so the winter remained relatively quiet and the floods of the previous year were, mercifully, not repeated (albeit with a short-lived flash flood in August!). We continued to enjoy jigsaw puzzles from the local library for the short days whilst the daily walks, begun reliably during lockdowns, continued around the Village and the walking group resumed, venturing further afield as confidence grew.
As the season opened up for tourists, Julian once again volunteered with the National Trust at the nearby beach car park which continues to attact some interesting vehicle club meets as well as plenty of routine visitors (often into the hundreds).
In February, having booked many months earlier, we ventured (tentatively) back to our favourite Holiday Property Bond site in La Gomera with our friends, Jeff and Judith who we have known from Leicester days. Masks were still obligatory and we were nervous of crowds around Bristol airport and on the flight. However, with the exception of an overcrowded Tenerife Airport on the return, we soon learnt to relax again and enjoyed being back in familiar surroundings with wonderful staff, excellent facilities and superb weather. To our amazement, we were greeted by two couples from Leicester with whom we were all familiar, albeit in different contexts, who had arrived at the same time! The two weeks flew by and we booked to return again in 2024 to avoid missing out.
And so to the main event of the year - our nephew's wedding shortly after Easter! The preparations were a little fraught as Jamaica continued to impose prior testing on all visitors so we kept clear of everyone as far as possible in the prior fortnight only to hear that, on Good Friday, the tests were no longer required. This was a relief to us and to the rest of the bridal party - all from Canada! Most of the other 22 guests were at the hotel at Montego Bay with us for a week in the middle of our fortnight and we enjoyed socialising with them and with our family members before and after the wedding itself (even though we were the 'oldies'). The lovely ceremony for Danny and Shelaine on the beach went without a hitch, conducted by a local minister, and the reception then took place in an air-conditioned room, which avoided the almost daily thunder showers and was more private as well. We and most of the other guests enjoyed a guided day trip to the Dunn's River Falls (to be climbed - over the rocks through the water) and the Bob Marley 'Mauseleum'(!). It was neither safe nor recommended to leave the large hotel complex unaccompanied, but we hired a taxi for a morning after most of the others had departed and ventured into the hills along with Irene's sister, Chris, to a small cottage where we were able to feed the local hummingbirds in an unforgettable experience.
Returning to the UK, we chose to 'acclimatise' by staying a few nights close to London and paid a first visit to Hampton Court, spent time with Julian's 2nd cousin, Judith, and Irene's neice, Ruth and family who were not far away.
The summer in the Village was largely taken up with preparations for, and the delivery of, celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee - we don't stint on such opportunities! This included the Village Fete and was followed in early August by the reinstated Church Fete. Raising £5,000-£7,000, these are important events in supporting the local institutions but provide great enjoyment for locals and visitors alike. We also enjoyed a visit by Julian's cousin, Judith, and took the opportunity to re-visit Lyme Regis and the Sculpture by the Lakes near Dorchester (see last year's photos).
UK HPB bookings were at a premium during the pandemic as bondholders looked to stay in the country rather than flying abroad so, way back in time, we had booked a week at Lucker (Nr Bamburgh) in Northumberland towards the end of August. We took the opportunity to travel northwards fairly slowly and included a lovely (sweltering hot) weekend in Cambourne (Cambs) with Ali, Pedro and Sophia before three nights in York. Heading further north, we stopped off at the fascinating NT Cragside. Amongst other places, during our stay we visited Bamburgh Castle, Seahouses (fish and chips!), Howick Hall (site of the invention of Earl Grey Tea), Budle Bay (lots of wading birds) and Ford & Etal (inc. the hall in Ford covered with Lady Waterford's Biblical frescos and a ride on the narrow guage railway). We spent Irene's wet birthday in Berwick on Tweed where we walked around the walls and visited the imposing barracks, discovering that Berwick had remained at war with Russia until 1996 through a mistake in signing the Crimean War peace much earlier!
Unlike last year, the summer and early autumn brought drought! Fields and lawns turned brown and then pale yellow. It was brillant for tourists at the coast who were blessed with long sunny days and unusually warm sea. Locals, ourselves included, took full advantage of the warm(ish) water as often as possible. The car parks were busy and Julian was often found volunteering and directing cars. Bell ringing came to the fore on the sad news of the Queen's death. In accordance with long-held traditions, we rang with full muffles (one of the few occasions when it is permitted to do so) as well as unmuffled for the accession of the King and pronouncement of that locally. We had a short break in Cirencester in September and discovered it to be a lovely town with fascinating history going back way beyond even Roman times, excellently documented in the newly refurbished museum. The unusual church, large abbey gardens and huge park (famous for polo) were well worth the visit. We called en route to visit our former neighbour, Elaine, now 99 years old and in a care home in Bradford on Avon. Also, in September, we met up with Julian's former colleague, Marcus, and made our first, and long overdue, visit to Corfe Castle.
In November, as the winter storms rolled in, life in the Village and nearby Bridport settled into its quieter routine. The Village Hall provides coffee mornings, fetes and fairs, film shows and speaker events. Bridport attracts nationally renowned authors and speakers to its Literary Festival. We have enjoyed listening to Lord Chris Patten, Alan Titchmarsh, Maggie O'Farrell, George Monbiot (and await the delayed visit of Jeremy Bowen prevented from returning from Ukraine) - out of the 30+ options! At the beginning of December we managed to find surplus accommodation at HPB Duloe Manor (about midway between Looe and Liskard in Cornwall) and were joined by Jeff and Judith for part of the week. We enjoyed a week of cold but generally sunny days visiting coastal towns, walking coast paths, and calling on Julian's two cousins in Dartmouth on the way home.
Irene continues to volunteer in the village library and is still the Church treasurer. Julian has given more time to the National Trust, volunteering to provide support in managing the beach car park, plus the regular conservation group, and the active Village Volunteers. We resumed bell ringing and were frequently asked to ring for weddings postponed during lockdown. After 8 weddings here and at Shipton Gorge, the ringers' Christmas dinner fund is unusually healthy! Julian also took part in a day's course organised by the Association of Ringing Teachers and has been slowly teaching two new local ringers as well as joining the other new teachers in collective sessions at the local teaching centre in Bradpole (Bridport). We're looking forward to Christmas and New Year at home, with all the usual celebrations and plenty of bell ringing expected. We also hope to pop over to Petersfield to spend a couple of nights with Irene's brother and his wife just after Christmas. Next year we hope to sample HPB Alfaix in southern Spain in March and, as it will be our 30th wedding anniversary, we plan a trip on the Glacier Express in Switzerland in July and a visit to the new HPB Coo Palace on the coast in Dumfries and Galloway. However, our younger Canadian nephew, Ricky, has recently announced his engagement to Candice - no information about the wedding as yet, but we're looking forward to another family celebration in due course!
We wish everyone a peaceful Christmas however you are celebrating (thinking very much of our friends in Ukraine at the moment), and a happy and healthy New Year..