Well, isn’t it amazing how the time flies when you’re not looking? Almost Christmas again and time to try and remember what we’ve done, and why.

Before I start, the most momentous news, and something you need to know (so you can send our Christmas card to the right place. Well you were going to send us a card, weren’t you?) is that WE HAVE MOVED!

Yes, we are no longer in Abu Dhabi, we are back here in England and living in Hatfield. Our address is:-

1 Ground Lane

Hatfield

Herts.

AL10 0HJ

Why have we returned? Read on.

This has been Ian’s final year at University, so it’s been pretty hectic for him. There have been final exams, group and individual projects and the worry about graduating. All this has kept him a very busy boy and I don’t think he’s done a lot else. The end result was worth all the trouble, however, as he became the first of the Dorrington clan to be awarded a degree. I was a bit concerned about that statement until I remembered that the only previous degree holder was my sister, who was married by the time she qualified, so she’s disqualified (if that makes sense). We are hoping to get extra tickets for his graduation ceremony so his grandparents can be there.

I asked Jo what she’s been up to this year and she said “not a lot”. She thinks my newsletter tells her more of what she’s been doing than she can possibly have managed. I think she may be suggesting that her father makes this all up, which is patently untrue. I only make up part of it! What Jo has been doing is quietly getting on with life and looking after her brother – or was it the other way round

Nickie has now completed the second year of her Politics course and woe betide anyone who wants to argue with her. She has told me of one or two of the debates she’s been involved in and I don’t think I’d want to try to oppose her. She has now started her final year.

That’s about all I can say for the younger members of the family because we don’t see them much, although we have been in constant contact thanks to the wonders of the internet. Perhaps that’s the problem, we know everything when it happens so we tend to forget just as easily.

Sue & I, on the other hand, seem to have had a fairly momentous year. Just before Easter, Sue got a call from her sister to say that her mum was in hospital and may not recover. Of course, Sue jumped on the next available plane home. I think her mum’s comment of “Oh, you’ve come to see me off, have you?” was a little harsh but older people tend to get that way. Whatever the reason, it was enough to give her mum the determination needed to recover. She had been living with Sue’s sister, Brenda, but this arrangement couldn’t last, so they found a nice nursing home for her in Barnet, where Brenda lives.

Sue hardly had time to get back to Abu Dhabi before we went to Cyprus for our summer break. Our good friends, Allan & Janis Davies, have a house on the same complex and, for the first time in 4 years, we managed to get the arrangements right and spent the same 4 weeks in Cyprus. Weather was glorious, the food and drink, as always, were good and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Jo, Ian & Nickie joined us for a full family holiday. After 4 weeks, I went back to Abu Dhabi and Sue came to UK with Jo. There was a lot to sort out, with Ian graduating and needing some help and guidance finding a job. There was also the problem of what Jo would do once Ian moved out of their shared house. All this needs a mum’s help. However, in early August, my father decided to have a major heart operation. OK, maybe it wasn’t entirely his decision! It seems that for some while he has been waiting for the wonderful National Health to decide if they could afford to pay for a heart valve replacement operation. Mum & Dad didn’t like the way things seemed to be getting, or rather not getting, done, so they went to see a private surgeon. His reaction was immediate. If dad didn’t have an operation he probably wouldn’t last 3 months. It meant paying privately but, to quote mum, “there’s no point having the money in the bank if you’re not here to use it”. Of course, that meant I had to take emergency leave to come back here. There was only a 50/50 chance that dad would survive the operation so I had to see him before and I needed to be here to support mum whatever the result. I say there is a chance he wouldn’t survive but the surgeon told me he’s done over 1,000 of these operations, he hasn’t lost anyone yet and he wasn’t planning on dad spoiling his record. True to his word, dad came through with flying colours.

The major effect of this trip was that Sue & I spent every day with mum for 2 weeks. In that time I came to realise how much she was suffering. We were all convinced that she had a hip problem but, under pressure from us, she went to the doctor and found out it wasn’t the hip it was the spine. This brought matters to a head. Dad has survived the operation to replace a heart valve but he hasn’t fully recovered. Considering his brain haemorrhage 13 years ago, this is perhaps not surprising. However, with mum failing, we decided she couldn’t look after herself and dad and needed help. So the decision was made to pack up in Abu Dhabi and move back here so we, and particularly Sue, could look after them. (well, someone has to earn a crust) So a lot of plans went out the window and we started again. The house Jo & Ian have lived in for 2 years isn’t big enough for 4 of us, so we have found a five bedroom house nearby to rent. This at least means Jo can continue with her current job. Ian has decided to apply to join the Police force, so he can live with us, giving us two incomes. If I can get work, even at my age, we will have 3 incomes and should be able to manage. So I resigned from the bank and we have just shipped a 20ft container full of our possessions back from Abu Dhabi. We arrived back on October 25^th and the weather seems keen to greet us with frost. Why did we decide to move just as winter starts? It’s a great shock to the system, believe me.

So that’s been our eventful year. I wonder what the next one will bring. Watch out for the next exciting instalment – in 2004!

Last minute news, Ians graduation was on November 19^th and was a very proud day for us and then England won the World Cup which made this houseful of Rugby fans very happy so all in all a great end to the year.

From all of us, together once again, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.