Christmas Letter 2009

Firstly, as always, we hope that you and your loved ones are all safe and well. Twelve months ago we were facing a recession and sadly here in the UK we are still in it. Besides, health and happiness aren’t measured in monetary terms. So hopefully you all have that in abundance regardless.

We signed off our last letter with thoughts of our forthcoming visit by Dawn’s mother, Brady, and Jim. Well, the four of us enjoyed the festive time together, mostly as planned. In addition to the food and company, we also enjoyed a visit to Castor (the ancestral home of the Wootens), a performance of The Sound of Music at the London Palladium, and many other activities while they were here.

In January Dawn then took up her position as Environmental Officer at City University and turned her back on being a PA. Her new role was far more rewarding. She worked tirelessly on many new projects and visited universities in both Birmingham and Nottingham. However, the highlight was receiving the Good Food on the Public Plate award from journalist Rosie Boycott at City Hall for her contribution to the school’s food policy. As for Paul, in April he gained the title of Environmental Manager, successfully getting ISO 14001 certification for Manestream’s Environmental Management System. Unfortunately, though, he still has his accounting responsibilities, and that side of his job has been hell. He did return to full time work in February after being on a 4 day week, but it’s been an uphill battle on the finance side ever since. And, oh yea, he also passed his environmental course and is now an Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

This year also saw us not only become environmentalists in the workplace, but also at home. Paul started using steel razor blades instead of disposables, we started using biodegradable cleaners and paper, and also have a composter in our back yard for our cardboard and vegetable food waste. We replaced paper napkins with cloth ones at the dining table, and try to buy local produce and only sustainable fish, especially after we watched the film The End of the Line. And for one of Dad’s gifts this year, we ordered the planting of five trees in Africa.

On the family front, we have been fortunate to have been able to spend many weekends visiting with Dad and George. At the beginning of the year Dad was rushed to hospital with chest problems and we actually feared the worst. However, it did take a while and it has taken its toll on him, but at least he made it back home and has been getting about for the last six months or so. Just this week Dad and George came over to our house to enjoy a Thanksgiving Day meal with us. We have also had the pleasure of seeing Paul’s daughter, Hayley, quite a bit. Paul was especially proud when she took him to Pizza Hut for a birthday lunch, and us both to the White Hart in Hertford for Father’s Day. More recently we also met Denise and David, Paul’s niece and nephew, for the first time in over 12 years when they came over from Dublin to visit Dad.

Generally we have been on the go constantly this year with our jobs being the focus of much of what we do. However, we can’t sign off without mentioning our vacation in Cornwall to celebrate our 12^th wedding anniversary in May. Paul took Dawn back to Hayle, where he shared many summer vacations with Mum and Dad as a child. Within days Dawn could see why Paul loved it there and had fallen in love with the place, too. So much so that before heading back to Hertford after enjoying our best holiday ever, we decided there and then to promise to retire there one day.

On that nice happy note, we’ll close again for another year and send you all our wishes hoping that you have a memorable and happy Christmas, and more importantly a very healthy and prosperous new year.

Paul & Dawn

Christmas 2009