Christmas  2025

Dear friends and family,

After the driest Spring and Summer for years, Autumn has seen “much rain” – I’m not saying that we’re hunting for gopher wood to build an ark, but it’s certainly been wet. So from the “happiest place to live in the UK” (yes, Skipton!) we send our very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. We trust you will all joyfully celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ.

Our news: Thie big event of the year was a glut of fruit – our plum trees were covered, so much that one of them broke three branches by the sheer weight of the fruit, and our apple trees were very well covered. So we have store cupboards and freezer full of jam, chutney, bottled and frozen fruit, even after giving lots away to family and friends. We have had a few short breaks away, in Scarborough and Buxton (for the G&S festival).

A sadness was hearing that Bernard’s cousin David Cook died in the Spring; he had been deaf and dumb from childhood, so his funeral was a “deaf service” (don’t stand for the hymns, or people won’t be able to see the interpreter). He had lived most of his life in the Soham/Ely area. This meant an overnight visit – and as our car broke down en route, another trip back to swap the courtesy car for our repaired one.

Skipton Baptist Church is still busy and still growing; Bernard stepped down from deacon duties in April, and managed to off-load the Health and Safety responsibility in November.

Adrian and Angela, Cameron and Sinéad: Cameron did his “A” levels this year, and got good grades; he has a place at Manchester for September 2026 and is enjoying a “gap year”, working in Mr Kipling’s cake factory and spending time in Norway skiing. Sinead did well in her GCSE’s and is doing “A” levels at the same school (she declined an option to study elsewhere, to save time travelling and ensure that she can still look after her pony). The family now own a plot of land in Zambia, and are building accommodation blocks (plus water and power supplies, etc) so that health students going out there will have somewhere to stay.

Chris and Helen, Matthew, Charlotte, James and William: Matthew has really settled in his building work; he gets expenses-paid training one week a month in Birmingham; he still enjoys playing cricket with the Tiddington team. Charlotte did well in her GCSE’s (History – 4 grades higher than predicted) and is doing “A” level subjects at school. James seems to have settled well in the Aylesbury boys’ school. William is in his last year at Primary school, and preferences for his next school have been chosen! During 2025 Chris and Helen had a holiday abroad; Helen had “always” wanted to visit “Green Gables” on Prince Edward Island (guess her girlhood favourite book?), so this year they went, flying to/from Boston and driving up the USA East coast into New Brunswick and over to the island, and back again; we had a good time with the grandkids, house and Labrador!

With our very best wishes for the Christmas season, a prosperous, safe and healthy New Year, and our love,

Katie and Bernard

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A few pictures from 2025

Our usual show of snowdrops (Feb)	Amaryllis flowers (Mar)
Scarborough (Apr)	Scarborough (Apr)
Buxton Opera House ceiling (Aug)	David Cook’s funeral* (Apr)

(*) Back row, L to R: Jonathan, Ingrid, Stephen, David, Charles, Bernard

Front row, L to R: Marguerite, Katie, Rosalie