Hey Nick

Another year, another wedding anniversary. ‘Time and tide wait for no one.’ Chaucer.

It still feels like being on holiday after the move, but the stack of boxes are diminishing, I’m getting used to where to find things and at the same time getting to know the staff at the local tip to get rid of more ‘Stuff’. It’s amazing how you can think you need something and then when it comes out of a packing case you realise that it isn’t the essential item you thought it was.

It seems I’ve managed to choose to buy a house in a lovely village again. Quite by chance, just like before, when you and I found Laughton. The neighbours are friendly, the village is very pretty…

 …and it is in a brilliant position for getting to London, Bristol, Brighton, Cornwall and Manchester.

I’ve got out and about :- cycling in the New Forest, around Swanage and Weymouth…

and Portland Bill.

There is so much to do and explore

without the daily dog walks around the countryside and canals.

The ‘children’ have all dispersed for work and settled again. Jo to Brighton way,

Ellie to Cornwall

And Harry to Manchester.

It seems we’re at last finding our new directions in life.

I’m making plans to change the house to how I want it. There’s an en-suite to build in the roof, a wall to knock through in the kitchen and part of the garden to landscape. That’s ok, I like a project.  Meanwhile, I have two trips to Cornwall planned in the near future ( surfing isn’t going to perfect itself without some practise), possibly a trip to the Peak District or Yorkshire and numerous weekends away (well, it can be anytime in the week really) sometimes in a campervan and sometimes roughing it.  

It seems I really do like to flit here and there, travelling as much as possible with a stop off at home along the way. A bit like my flying days but without serving ‘chicken or beef, sir?’ in between. Retirement makes that possible. There’s so many places to go to and things to do. Until we can get abroad I’ll make do with coasteering in Cornwall, cycling along the canals…

and…

eating mussels (I didn’t like them before I had Covid, now I just can’t taste them – nor anything else for that matter, so why not?)

Not the life we had planned for ourselves, Nick, and there have been times I couldn’t see the point of going on anymore, but as Joan said:-

I’m trying my best to make a life, preferably a terrific one. Now I’ve sold Kitley Lodge, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I can emerge from the constant grief, take time out and find the real me, the me who likes to try new things, meet new people and get out there and have fun. All your hard work has made this possible. Thank you.

All my love

Teresa x

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