REVIEW OF 2005

January 2005
We started the year in high spirits, the decision had finally been made to get the flat at Derwent Grove renovated. We had found a builder and we knew what we wanted and how much it would cost (about £15,000) and how long it would take (about 6 weeks). So, in January it was all arranged.
During the beginning of February we moved into Lucy's flat and handed over the kitchen and sitting room to the builders. As it was only going to be 6 weeks, Malc left his office at Derwent Grove and went there every day to work. Big mistake. Have you ever thought about having major renovation work done whilst trying to live a normal life in the property? Well don't, because everything and everyone gets covered in dust which takes months to get rid of!




Four months later we had spent twice the estimate and we had run out of money, so the builders moved out without the job being finished. What an interesting experience. The next time we have building work done we'll take a different approach.
Now we are slowly finishing the work off ourselves and at the current rate the flat should be ready to entertain people by next summer!

Ami went away in January with a 'Gap Year' organisation called Frontier Conservation who were going to provide her with ten weeks environmental research in Madagascar. After only three weeks, the camp that they were staying in was completely flooded and they lost contact with the 'outside world'. The group escaped to a hillside where they spent two nights in the open until some villagers took them to their homes. They were finally rescued by boat two days later and flew home having had a very scary experience (and they didn't get their money back). If anyone you know is thinking about a trip with Frontier.ac.uk tell them to get in touch with Ami!

April
After Ami came back from the Madagascar trip she and Malc decided to have a short break in Barcelona during April. The flat that we rented was a good find, being quite cheap and very central, just off Las Ramblas. We both had a really good 5 days exploring the city and the Modernista architecture.




June/July
June is repainting and repair time for our apartment in Lanzarote. There is always something needing to be done in order to keep it in tip-top condition. Most of our bookings are over the British winter and so the summer is the best time to do it. So Malc has to drag himself off to the sun and beach and get on with it :-)



Meanwhile Ami had organised some trips herself and she went off to Thailand and Asia for a month, followed by another three weeks in Costa Rica later in the summer. She had a fantastic time, including the idyllic days that she spent with her friend Maiya riding horses along deserted beaches where they could stop to swim whenever they found somewhere particularly special.


July/August was not such a good month for Lucy, she continued to have severe pain in her stomach from time to time. It was finally diagnosed as gall stones which were causing pancreatitus.
Finally after being admitted to hospital twice she had her gall bladder removed by key-hole surgery. The great big plasters hide four tiny holes that now are almost invisible. Quite amazing when 10 years ago you would have had a scar the length of your abdomen.



Immediately after the operation we went to France to visit Jane and Martin for a few days at their home near Carcassone. What a wonderful relaxing time with siestas in the afternoon and good food in the evenings. The holiday (and the afternon nap) really helped Lucy to recover quickly.




September
After Lucy's experience of NHS care the first week that she went into hospital, compared with the private medicine experience(courtesy of Grosvenor) during the second week we decided that Malc needed to become a registered 'spouse' and be covered by the healthcare plan. So, on the 12th September (Lucy's birthday) we sneaked off to Wandsworth registry office and got married.




October's big event was Ami starting at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. So far she is really enjoying the 'university' experience but the amount of work is getting in the way of her social life!

November was the month for our winter break to Lanzarote but this year, instead of a week of sunshine we had a hurricane! Ah well, we had a plague of Locusts last year

so we know that we always have an interesting time in Puerto del Carmen.


That's pretty much it for the year. Lucy's team at Grosvenor continues to grow as does her role (and unfortunately the pressure on her) but she still enjoys the challenge of developing a team of people who understand what the customer wants and can deliver it.

Malcolm, well, I press on with my Young Enterprise charity work and the odd bit of small business consultancy. Oh yes, and I'm still trying to become a good photographer but I haven't had much time for that over the last few months. You can see my photos at Malcs Photos

There have been so many varied and interesting experiences this year. Of course the memorable ones are the ones that are the most dramatic or stressful but you know our philosophy, experiences are simply that, it's how you react to them that matters. So, overall the impression of the year is that it's been a very good one with lots of things to remember. Let's hope 2006 will be as exciting.