Christmas 2017: This is
usually a personal and highly subjective blog, tinged with what I would like to
call sardonic humour, but it has been subverted on this occasion to a simple
newsletter, with family updates, and some photographs; in my own case mainly to
illustrate the aging process, but with others to show mostly smiles of
happiness. I hope that this is not about
to turn into the sort of round-robin which was so celebrated by the late Simon
Hoggart. As he observed, ‘One reads with
polite indifference that a dog one never knew has died.’ For more of his wonderful insights into the genre see:
But some of our friends and family have had a
difficult or even tragic 2017. The
photographs here show us, if not exactly in our best light, at times when we
were smiling. And we hope for many more
of those for us and for you in 2018.
 |
| Natalie and Ben welcomed new addition Louis, born 2nd April 2017 and found time to smile in Cornwall |
 |
| And Louis smiled a lot once he learnt how to do it |
 |
| Coco was not certain what to make of the new arrival |
 |
| "But if they want I'll smile to pretend I really like him" |
 |
| But she was able to forget the new baby when having her own sort of fun |
 |
| Our good friend from Lenzerheide, Marina Bergamin, Natalie's Godmother, was able to join us for the Christening on 3rd September |
 |
| Norman Pipler, Lindsay's Dad, with Louis |
 |
| One of Dorset's good days this summer - not as frequent as we would like |
 |
| Sunshine and spectacular scenery walking in Slovenia (Lake Bled) |
 |
| We were privileged to attend Lindsay's French cousin, Dominique's 60th birthday party in Hangest sur Somme. This is taken at his home in Bellancourt. From L to R, AAM, LM, Micheline Roblot (Norman Pipler's First cousin), Dominique Roblot and his partner Paule |
 |
| We cycled in Alsace in September. This is pure Sylvaner grape juice - honest! |
 |
| Anna and Graham at 5am in Bray-Dunes, at the start of the French Divide 2 (qv; also see bikingforbrioche.com and my previous blog) |
 |
| Anna worked for the advertising agency TMW until September, when she transferred to the clothing company Rapha. Her colleagues in advertising are pretty clever with their farewell cards. |
 |
| Nick and Catherine enjoying sunshine and cocktails in Majorca |
 |
| Katie ran for charity |
 |
| And surfed... |
 |
| And relaxed - but also passed her financial management exams |
and a Happy New Year!
