Towards the end of the year we've mainly been keeping our
Kumon centres up. This has kept us more busy than we expected but it's been
great helping so many children to do better with their maths and English - over
110 now between us.
At half term in October we took a quick week away in Spain,
visiting friends Bev and Mike near Alicante and enjoying some late sunshine and
warmth.
We had another couple of trips down to Dorset in August and
again in November. Mum was very well in the summer but hasn't been so good in
Autumn while she's been waiting for a medical procedure. In the summer we also called in at Claire's on
the way back, which was great, and also at David & Lynne's, where Charlie is
coming on really well. They've been up for a visit as well since.
Rhys took over a Kumon centre in nearby Hazel Grove in June. He got so involved
with Jean's centre and the programme seemed to be so much more worthwhile than
the 'big business' stuff he was doing previously that when the centre at Hazel
Grove became available he jumped at the chance. It is not as big as Jean's, in
terms of student numbers, but it should have good potential and he's doing
some marketing since the kids went back to school in September to try to build
it up a bit, although the recession is impacting everything at present.
We had to squeeze our holiday in early this year to be clear of taking over
the new centre, so we went to France and Switzerland again, by car, in late May.
We spent a couple of weekends with Sam, Mike and Elizabeth and went to
Elizabeth's school summer fair, which was great fun. And we spent a week each in
Provence - at Crillon le Brave - and in Switzerland - at Kandersteg.
Earlier news
Jean's Kumon Centre is growing very nicely and we've been doing some more work on the house and
garden. Jean's health is still taking some time to improve but she's getting
there at last.
We've been down to Droitwich to see David & Lynne and little Charlie, who's
coming on brilliantly.
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We had a party for Rhys' 60th at home in February, and it was great to see so many family
and friends together. Here he is with his sister Claire on the day.
(Many thanks to
Christine for the picture.) |
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And we've been down to Dorset to see Rhys'
mother again. Glad to say she looked very well, if a bit breathless. We
stayed at the B&B in Kimmeridge again (the house with three gables on
the right of the picture below). This is a panorama I did when we were down
there last summer. (Click on it for a large version, but it's a big file and
might take a while if you're on dial-up.)
