Have been inspired by a work colleague to review our Blog today and do some 'catching up'.
I didn't realise how long it has been since I last shared my thoughts here - doesn't time fly?!!
The second half on 2009 was a bit crap to say the least, but I think that sometimes life does throw periods of time like this at you. No idea why, but I guess it will all become clear to me eventually!
In short, we have had a running dispute with our neighbours which has been terrible, then my older brother David died very suddenly after a battle with cancer (will be sharing my thoughts on this in a future Blog). To cap things off, we had a car crash on the way to be with my brother as he died, when a man did a u-turn on the motorway in front of us! My car was written off and it has cost us a considerable amount of money to furbish us with a new vehicle, due to a pitiful amount of money from the insurance company. To say we have been stressed is definitely an understatement!!!
Seeing the back of 2009 is a big relief and feels like a new start.
We have already had a slight change in direction with our beekeeping, as we now have 2 hives at Kelmscott Manor http://www.kelmscottmanor.org.uk/ . Steve is mentoring them in their quest to keep bees and have their own honey supply for their shop. It is an exciting project for us and has already brought us the lovely gift of new friends too!
We went to our first Anderida Druid camp last September which was wonderful! A long weekend was spent with old friends and new while we wove a ritual together around the theme of Cerridwen. The ritual culminated in the walking of a huge fire labyrinth which was scary and awe-inspiring. It felt like a re-birth.We are very much looking forward to the next camp which will take place in May.
We are members of OBOD (Order of Bards, ovates and Druids) and have been for a number of years. So far we have stayed within the first stage of the order, as Bards. This is due to a mixture of our idleness (not sending in our bardic homework!!) and just having too much fun as this grade! We have promised that we will shift ourselves before the next Summer gathering in June to progress to the Ovate grade - there, we've said it publicly!!!!!
I am still studying with the Open University for a post-grad certificate in 'Advancing health care'. It is a long process, but will be completed in the next 12months hopefully!
Steve is planning on attending an advanced trauma course in the spring, which is a course he has wanted to be part of for a long time. Additionally, he will soon be part of the local 'First Responders' team, helping people in our local area when they have a medical emergency - absolutely brilliant news and a great use of his skills in trauma, resuscitation, etc.
So, in summary, bye-bye 2009 and hello 2010 - may we learn from last year and take our new knowledge forward wisely.
