Graham and Dylys' news in 2016

Day by day

It has been a busy year. On Mondays Dylys is working in the back office at the Hope Centre in the morning and at the East Cheshire Hospice shop in the afternoon. On Wednesdays she works for Macclesfield Hospital. On Thursdays she takes part in “Open the Book” – a team taking assemblies in schools. These are all voluntary positions. In contrast, Graham has a straightforward life – he works in the Waters office Monday to Friday, and he gets paid a bit more than Dylys.

Getting around

Graham has appreciated this year as one in which he has had more exercise than most – he cycled to work 66 times, ten miles each way. He is a fair-weather cyclist, so he only does it during the better months of the year. However, he did get caught out in a terrific thunderstorm on the way home one evening in September – and he got somewhat more wet than he does when he goes swimming on a Monday evening.

Church

Graham continues his service as an Elder at Bethel Baptist Church – life has been a bit easier this year, as we appointed a new pastor in January. He looks after the church website and sermon podcasts. We run the Conversational English class on Thursday evenings together. Dylys looks after communion at church, does some of the cleaning duties, and manages the rentals – the other groups that use the church building on a regular or one-off basis. We both helped out with the week-long Children’s Holiday Club in August, and took part in the first meeting of a new “Messy Church” venture in November.

Music to your ears

If it is raining when you read this letter, Dylys is probably practising her singing. She is part of the choir at the Roger Jones “Christian Music Ministries” productions. This included a performance of “Barnabas” in July, and she will soon be practising for the “Jailbreak” production next February and March (Graham got quite disconcerted earlier this year when he looked over her shoulder to glance at her mobile phone and saw the word “Jailbreak” on the screen).

Seeing the best of the UK

With the normal weeks being so busy, we really look forward to our holidays – the opportunity to take a complete break. In June we had a week in a caravan in Great Langdale (Lake District) – it is a great place to stay, as there are lots of walks starting either straight from the caravan or just a short drive away. In September we booked an apartment in Settle, visiting the Yorkshire Dales for the first time – it turned out to be one of the wetter weeks that we have spent away, so we had some decent walks but did not see as much of the area as we had hoped.

We visited family in Cornwall in October, and on this occasion we took Graham’s mother with us, so that she could stay with his brother’s family in Bude for a few days.

Dylys at Loughrigg Tarn, Lake District

Graham at Stainforth Falls, Yorkshire Dales

The odd let-down

There are always a few problems arising at unexpected moments – we had to miss church one Sunday evening when we found that the car had a flat battery; we had a boiler fault and made do without hot water for a week; and we were without a landline for three weeks (come on, Openreach!). Minor inconveniences really – it has been a good year.

Graham and Dylys' news in 2015

All change for Dylys

Perhaps the defining event for us this year has been Dylys taking early retirement. She has worked for the Information Commissioner in Wilmslow since 2001, initially as a temp, but very quickly taking up full time employment. We planned a holiday in May, and Dylys made arrangements to finish work in time for the holiday. Since the holiday she has found opportunities for voluntary work in the charity shop of the local hospice, and in our local hospital (doing quite similar work to that which she was paid to do at our local cottage hospital when we lived in Stoke on Trent). She has also joined “Open the Book”, a group which takes Bible stories into local schools.

Waters and bicycles 

Graham started his current job with Waters Corporation in Wilmslow in December 2014. Initially we travelled to work together by car, and Dylys would usually catch the bus home, as she finished work earlier than Graham. The Waters office is around ten miles from home, and Graham has appreciated the opportunities to cycle into work once or twice a week over the summer months – something which was not really viable with his previous job.

Kitchen facelift

We have thought about a replacement kitchen for a long time, and this was a job that Dylys said that she would like done before she finished work in May. We ordered the kitchen in late 2014, and it was fitted late January / early February this year. It really was not the best time of year to be without a kitchen, and the whole process took around three weeks due to a snow event and one of the contractors having an accident (not in our home).

Old kitchen ...

... New kitchen

Up, up and away!

Dylys was given a good send-off from the Information Commissioner in May, and she was presented with a voucher for a balloon flight. Balloon rides are subject to appropriate weather: she had to book a date and then phone at 11pm the night before to find out whether she had to get up very early for the morning flight – this happened six times before her flight finally took place on 20 October, and she floated over the countryside around Nantwich.

Church

It has been a busy year with Bethel Baptist Church, as we are only a small church, our previous pastor retired in 2014, and we are still working our way through the challenging process of identifying a new pastor. Graham was appointed an elder of the church in May, giving him particular responsibility in this task. We have had one candidate preaching several times this year, and the church may be making a decision in early 2016.

We are both involved in running the Conversational English class which takes place in the church lounge on Thursday evenings. Dylys is usually present at the monthly service that the church holds at Harry Lawson Court – a local retirement complex.

Some time away

We have enjoyed two excellent holidays this year. We had a week in North Wales in May – yes we did get to the top of Snowdon, but no we did not get any views because the summit was in the clouds. Then we had an amazing bright, warm, summery week near Hadrian’s Wall at the end of September and early October. We were also part of a family gathering long weekend in Somerset in August, to mark the 80th birthday of Graham’s Dad.

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall

Graham and Dylys' news in 2014

Church

We have been kept especially busy in our church this year. The Pastor retired in September, and so we are currently “in interregnum”, looking for a new Pastor. In the meantime there is extra for the rest of us to do. Graham has welcomed the opportunity to lead several Sunday evening meetings this year, although it is quite demanding in time to prepare. He has also picked up overall responsibility for the Conversational English Class which takes place on Thursday evenings, and in which Dylys is also involved. Dylys was elected to be a deacon at the church AGM (she has served previously, but took a few years off when her last term of office came to an end). She takes responsibility for preparing communion, and helps out with the church cleaning.

The aforementioned English class is aimed at people from the local community whose first language is not English. The current students are all migrant workers from different countries in Eastern Europe. It is disappointing that we do not have more students to justify the effort that we put in, but those who do come along are extremely appreciative, and have become more proactive in requesting topics for study. Most weeks we use formal worksheets, but the intention is to stimulate discussion and help our students gain confidence in their spoken English.

Holidays

Our main holiday this year was in the Lake District - on a caravan site which was literally carved out of the hillside in the middle of Great Langdale (the road to our caravan was on a 30 degree incline, and there was a digger parked on the vacant caravan slot opposite us). Despite some mixed weather, we had some great walks; and with the caravan being strategically located, we never had very far to drive to find those walks. We had a very memorable walk from Tilberthwaite - we parked the car close to a row of cottages and a slate quarry, and although the parking area became quite busy during the day, once we had climbed past the quarry area and crossed a stream, we did not see another soul until we had completed the circuit. All that remote gorgeous hillside scenery was just for us on that day.

Dylys approaching the waterfall
at New Dungeon Ghyll, to
capture a video on her smartphone

Fantastic walk, whilst the rain holds
off  (near Elterwater)

We also made a family visit down to Cornwall in the autumn - the weather was excellent and we managed several nice walks along the coast and on Bodmin Moor - all around the fascinating rocky outcroppings on Roughtor.

Work

Graham started a new job in December. For seven years he has been working for GPC Computer Software in Cheadle, developing systems for taxi businesses. He has moved to Waters Corporation in Wilmslow, developing healthcare laboratory systems. Graham had been looking for a move, Waters provides a new challenge with better benefits, and it is also rather closer to Dylys’ place of work for the past 13 years - the Information Commissioner’s Office, also in Wilmslow.

Home

We have recently indulged in a new washing machine and a new freezer for the kitchen. The new washing machine sounds like a very modest light aircraft, and replaces the old one which was sounding like a Boeing 747. We had learned that the old freezer was consuming £120 electricity per year, and economics dictated that we replace it.

Graham and Dylys' news in 2013

A year of problems

The hall ceiling had to come down

It has not been the best of years for us. Our electric shower went “bang” in January, and soon after we got it replaced we had water leaking from the hall ceiling which had to come down. Decoration of the hall and stairs became essential, and we wonder why it should be so hard to get hold of a decorator in an economic slow-down. We managed to get the job done in early December, and the smell of the paint has had a chance to clear in time for Christmas.

In a completely separate incident, we had a blocked drain and raw effluent coming up through the washing machine discharge pipe all over the kitchen floor. We made an emergency call-out to a tradesman to clear the blockage, and then later called Dyno-rod to inspect the drain. Dyno-rod diagnosed a disjointed drain pipe running from the house to the manhole cover in the front garden (with roots growing through the joints). They finally came to insert a new lining into the drain pipe just before Christmas.

Graham made a series of trips to the GP and hospital early in the year with chest complaints - he was given the all-clear and the discomfort has eased, though without real explanation.

The car also caused us some concern when there was evidence of a leak from under the engine. The fluid was clear, and it turned out to be from the air conditioning system, so it did not affect the driving, but we had to pay to get the air conditioning fixed in order to confirm that this was indeed the diagnosis - it has been an expensive year!

The other “disaster” is that our ancient printer (circa 2000) has stopped printing in colour, apart from a bit of pink - so the Christmas newsletter that we sent around with our Christmas cards this year was lacking the usual pictures - you may be reading this online journal in order to find the pictures! Yes we did buy a new cartridge for the old printer, and ran the cleaning cycle several times, and carefully wiped the contacts with a damp cloth. Graham is expecting a replacement model for Christmas - the old printer had a good life span.

Leadership

It is not all gloomy news - we both completed the CPAS “Growing Leaders” course with our local church this year. There was no final exam, but we had several projects and assignments to review with our mentors. The course has helped clarify our talents and aspirations with regard to Christian service. Leadership can mean all kinds of things, but Graham has volunteered to lead the final church service of the year - the evening of 29 December. In past years it has been announced "no evening service" on that Sunday after Christmas, which seems such a shame immediately after the high profile of Christmas on the Christian calendar.

Graham was on the tech team at the carol service this year, which went very smoothly. As with most services, he has published a podcast on the Bethel website.

Holidays

We indulged in two “proper” holidays this year (an occasional luxury - most years we stick to one main holiday. We spent a week in Lancashire in May and were delighted to be given the keys to a brand new caravan with all mod-cons including the largest fridge-freezer that we have ever seen in a caravan! Graham's favourite day was when we climbed the hills of Quernmore and found this amazing stone structure near the summit of Clougha Pike - an awesome place and really not very far from home.

On the hills of Quernmore

In September we spent a week in Northumberland - we did some climbing and also did a tour of “Flodden Field”, soon after the 500th anniversary of the battle at that site which was prominent in the news this year. We also made a couple of brief visits to Cornwall to catch up with Graham’s family.

Happy days

We celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this year with a meal at the “Rising Sun” - which is opposite the Council household recycling centre in Macclesfield, so we made a romantic trip to dispose of the rubbish that had been accumulating in our garage, prior to enjoying the meal.

Dylys was short on ideas for presents for her rather significant birthday this year, so she decided that we should go and see Evita at the Lowry in Salford to mark the event. It was a very touching account of a true story, and Dylys is now hoping for a CD to help her recall the experience.

They were not a birthday present, but as a mark of getting older, Graham has had his first prescription glasses this year.

Also on the subject of birthdays, Dylys and Maldwyn were instrumental in organising a surprise 80th birthday party for Aunty Rose in August - we booked the village hall at Checkley and managed to fill it with family members from far and wide - a very successful day.

Due to the complications of finding a mutually convenient time for a family get-together, we met with Graham’s family shortly before Christmas, but plan to spend Christmas Day with Dylys’ family, and to enjoy a few days off work together!

Graham and Dylys' news in 2012

In some ways it has been a year of not many changes – same house, same car, same church, same jobs. We are regularly travelling to see family – most often to Cheadle (Staffordshire) and Leicester where our mothers live, and we have also enjoyed some good  family times in Solihull and Cornwall through the year.

We always get to church early on Sunday mornings as there is plenty to set up. Graham is usually behind a computer, as he records the morning service and publishes it as a podcast on the Bethel web site. Sometimes, Dylys is behind a computer as well, projecting the words for the songs onto the main screen. You will often find her at the door, welcoming people into church, and sometimes she is helping out at Sunday School. She also manages the church building fund. Graham is a deacon and takes minutes at meetings, and manages the church web site. This year he has started taking part in the Conversational English class on Thursday evenings: a facility for people to develop their language skills in a fun and informal way – the students are mostly of Eastern European background.

This year we have both been taking part in a CPAS “Growing Leaders” training course run by the church. We are about half way through the year long course, with a class around once a month, and homework projects between times, along with meeting with a mentor.

Dylys used to be a member of the local hospice choir with weekly practise sessions, but this came to an end. However, she really enjoyed taking part in a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at one of the other churches in town this autumn. It was a three-night production, and the tickets were a sell-out.

Graham used to be more involved in youth work, but other activities have taken precedence in recent years. He still takes part in “Unleashed” youth leader networking events in the town, and one of the highlights of this year, like last year, has been the “Youth Unleashed” concert for which he organised the Powerpoint slides. This year there was a guest band “Crossfya” which made it a noisy evening, and the number of young people who came along was rather greater than last year.

Thanks to Facebook, Graham renewed contact with an old school friend Pete a couple of years ago. In September this year they met and went on a bike ride. The weather was excellent, and they were able to exchange information along the quieter stretches of road as well as over lunch.

We really appreciate our holidays, and this year we headed to Llanrug just north of Llanberis for a week in Snowdonia. The weather was great for walking and admiring the fantastic scenery in Snowdonia – with an exception on one day when we got a thorough soaking! Graham particularly appreciated getting wifi on holiday for the first time – and without leaving the caravan!

Our living room has received the Dylys treatment – she took a week off work in July and gave it a facelift with new wallpaper and paint.

Last Christmas our car let us down: we had to call out our rescue service and consequently failed to make one of the visits to Solihull – but we had the car checked over, and it has behaved  perfectly since then. As usual, we are due to be covering plenty of miles again this Christmas.

Graham and Dylys' news in 2011

We found New Year 2011 to be a humbling time, when our next door neighbour died – he was younger than either of us. He left a widow and two lads, who have been picking up their lives without him. Then in April we had to say goodbye to Aunty Jean – we made the trip over to Loughborough for the funeral, a big family occasion – we know that she is now in a better place with the Lord Jesus Christ. On a happier note, we were delighted to be able to take part in our niece’s wedding: Sandra and Simon were married in Betley near Crewe on a beautiful summer’s day in July.

In terms of breaks, we only managed one trip to Cornwall to see family (a few days in March), and a week’s main holiday in Northumbria (in May), as Graham’s holidays from work are getting fewer and more restrictive. That said, the week in Northumbria was excellent – it is a very quiet corner of the country, very pleasant driving, very relaxing, and a good variety of walks and sights to see.

We celebrated Graham’s 50th birthday whilst we were in Northumbria: on his big day, he chose to climb the Cheviot – a very decent walk, although wind was up and the clouds were down on the summit, so there were no views. Then went out for a meal in the evening.

Conquering the Cheviot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . conquering the Black Bull

Back at home, Graham wanted a bread-maker for his  birthday; however, despite the ready supply of nice fresh bread through the rest of the year, he has not grown big and round like his age.

At our home church, Graham was elected as a deacon at the AGM. We both took part in Child Safeguarding training, and Graham needs to organise a review of our church Safeguarding policy. Dylys is the building fund treasurer, and is helping out in Sunday School and with services at a local sheltered housing centre. Graham continues to maintain the church web site and sermon podcasts.

We both took a week off work in October. We took the opportunity some tidy-up work in the bathroom during that week. We are not sure that we would use grout restorer again – it looks very attractive when it goes on, but it soon cracks and starts to fall off.

Graham and Dylys' news in 2010

Holidays

We are conscious of just how well we have done for weather on our recent holidays. In the middle of October last year, we enjoyed an excellent week walking the North York Moors and coast: a mix of warm sunshine, low cloud and mist one day but only light touches of drizzle, and a bitter wind on the final day, but nothing to spoil our getting out every day. In May this year, we spent a week in North Wales. We did climb into cloud one day and there were no views, but the only rain during the week came overnight or whilst we were in the car. Then in October this year we paid a family visit to Cornwall, spending a week there on a wonderful summer holiday with not a spot of rain.

Home

There certainly has been rain this year. We bought a new water butt which collects water off the roof of the green house, and since it was installed we have never managed to empty it – as there has been no prolonged dry period over the summer. In January we found a damp patch in the boxing around the water pipes in the kitchen: and we suspected that we had a leak from the pipes. However, when we called in a tradesman, he diagnosed a broken tile vent on the roof. The boxing is where the original boiler used to be, and it hides the old redundant flue pipe – rain was coming through the tile vent, down the pipe, and into the kitchen! Then in the spring, we noted that a damp patch in the corner of the garage roof seemed to be getting more noticeable – we opted to call in Everest before the damp patch developed into a leak, and we had the flat roof replaced. We also had the kitchen radiator replaced before its rusty blisters got any worse: the new radiator has made the kitchen the warmest room in the house!

Out and about 

We had an interesting day out of a different kind in August. A friend had fallen out of a tree, incurring serious injury, and was in hospital in Sheffield. His poor wife was making daily trips from home in Macclesfield to visit him in Sheffield; so we took a day off work and drove her over. It was a really nice drive over the Peak District (through Castleton). We found Mike in the process of moving wards, and it was almost funny to see him racing about in his wheelchair getting everything organised – he was in good spirits. We are pleased to see him back in church now.

Lud’s Church, Gradbach, Staffordshire

We are getting old! On August Bank Holiday we decided to do a walk over Shutlingsloe (our local hill) and a circuit around the south Cheshire / north Staffordshire borders. It was over 15 miles – not really strenuous climbing, but not much of the walk was flat. Our hips and thighs really felt the hammering with each step along the latter stretch of the walk, along roads into Macclesfield Forest. It was a good day out, but we have rarely been so relieved to get back to the car. We have done the walk before, though from a different starting point and a rather shorter route. It has a number of highlights, including the summit of Shutlingsloe, and the amazing Lud’s Church: a passageway between walls of rock where a persecuted saint used to worship.

The nice people in Dylys’ office gave her two garden plants for her birthday. Sadly, the Hattie’s Pincushion was enjoyed by unwelcome predators. The Passion Flower has proved much more domineering: it has helped itself to a large section of the tall fence down the side of the garden, and has produced some nice flowers!

Church

At church this year we have stepped down from some official duties. Dylys had served as Deacon for six years, and Graham as Church Secretary for six years. The constitution obliged Dylys to take a break after this time period, and Graham was ready for a break too. But we have both got involved in Hope Mission Action Groups: Hope being the banner that unites most of the churches in North East Cheshire, and the action groups being the practical outworking of different types of mission. We were both looking after tables at the Hope Expo day in the Town Hall in November.