My apologies for the absence of my blog for so long.  We have had some challenging times the last few months with my 89 year old dad being poorly and now, sadly, in a nursing home. My amazing mum who is 87 and has health issues of her own is still at home and coping remarkably well. All of this has meant that work has had to go on the back burner for a little while, but now that we have dad settled in a truly lovely place, I can start to get back to normal again.

Mum and dad have been together for 65 years and I can’t begin to guess how heartbreaking it must be for them to be apart. One of the things that dad always did was de-frost their upstairs fridge (don’t ask why it was upstairs – that’s another story). My brother and his wife were up last weekend and helped mum to start the process off, then mum managed it herself. The weird thing is, the same time she was defrosting the fridge my dad had a bit of an accident in his room at the home and left the tap on in his sink, causing a flood. They had to dry out his room, so put him in another one temporarily. It might be just me, but it seems that they are almost still telepathically connected. I must make sure that mum doesn’t start any bonfires.

Mr Chalk and I have been together for quite a while too – 25 years this year. We celebrated by going back to the same hotel where we had our honeymoon – the Kata Thani in Phuket – and had a truly relaxing and restful stay, just what we needed. That area where we stayed had been very sadly affected by the tsunami, so the hotel and surrounding resort had been re-built, but we could still recognise bits from when we had stayed 25 years ago. We also had a lovely evening at a favourite restaurant called the ‘Lobster and Prawn’ where we were made to feel like celebrities by the owner, who had started the restaurant up 30 years ago. We showed him pictures of us there when we were on honeymoon, and he was delighted to see them, as this was when he had been going for just a few years. It was very moving for all, as some of the staff had been there since the beginning and they all came to say hello. A lovely evening.

Well, we are now into silly season, so I am hoping that you all manage to grab some peaceful time with your family and friends amidst all the chaos.

warmest wishes,

Wendy x