The Westhead Times December 2007

Long-time readers of the Times may be shocked to discover that 2007 saw us cele-brating our 10th Wedding Anniversary. They have been 10 great years and a lot has hap-pened since then! Two of the children in the photo are now married with their own children (well almost for Adam and Adèlie!) and the small tearaway is now a very competent and independent 12 year old. Of course I (Brian) don’t look a day older and Julia just keeps on getting more beautiful! Not just a pretty face either – this year saw Julia towing a caravan to Anglesey and Dover (though she let me do it in France…).

I have always been a little hazy about when eternity rings are supposed to be given – I’ve heard first baby, 1 year… Well Julia got hers on a ‘re-proposal’ 10 years after the first one. Fortunately she hasn’t re-considered in the intervening period so there is now an extra item on her bling finger (“so far I haven’t had any better offers” - Julia). Where else should a significant anniversary be cele-

brated but the most romantic city of them all? – Venice. Somewhere that’s been on my hit list for years, and quite as stunning as expected, though as a result of careful accidental planning we had to share the experience with about half a million other visitors during one of the busiest weekends of the year – the Festa del Redentore to celebrate the end of the plague. Comprehensively the

biggest crowd (and biggest firework display) we have ever seen. My generosity does however have limits and I was too tight to pay for a singing gondolier – it was cheaper just to watch other people. (Brian’s Travel Tip No 1: “There are two important rules to remember about gondola rides in Venice: 1) If the price both-ers you, don't do it. 2) If the price doesn't bother you, make sure you under-stood the gondolier correctly”). We stayed on the island of Lido (where the name for an outdoor pool originally came from) which meant we had to arrive by Vaporetto (water bus) every morning – definitely the best way to see Venice! The experience was completed by standing in Ryanair queues, and almost spoilt by my excessively laid-back departure on the Vaporetto that meant we caught the airport bus with literally two seconds to spare… (A stressful end to a great weekend but we’re still married).

Brian’s Travel Tip No 2: The Landmark Trust (http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/). The Trust rescues eccentric buildings and finances it by allowing people like you and me to stay in them! We stayed in ‘The Music Room’ at Lancaster dur-ing a particularly cold February half-term. The heavily plastered (that’s the room) folly complete with Grand Piano and Four-Poster bed made for a great (if chilly) winter break. If you’re looking for a break with a difference I suggest you check it out! Oh – we also took the caravan to the Loire Valley but decided it was rather like East Anglia – totally flat with a load of pylons. Not quite what we were ex-

p e c t i n g though the weather didn’t help, however the wine cellar certainly benefited. (Brian’s Travel Tip no 3: Go to the Dor-dogne if you want a French valley). As mentioned earlier Sasha is generally unfazed by any challenge. Her abilities include cooking rather nice meals, looking after small children (nappies no problem) and travelling solo to Thailand where she spent a week with Gary (her dad). She had a fantastic time!

If it ain’t baroque

Am I bovvered?

She is a laugh a minute and at twelve years old she has just enough ‘attitude’ to make her amusing without being rude. I know this can all change very quickly but we are con-vinced that Sasha had her teenage years between the age of eighteen months and about nine years old. Due to her busy social life she is only a part time member of the household but always brightens it up when she is here. It would appear that the ‘baby’ (Lydia), at nine years old, is showing signs of inde-pendence. (“Is it all right if I choose a new coat for you Lydia?” “Yes as long as it isn’t pink.” Later: “I’ve bought you a black coat,

Lydia.” “It isn’t sparkly is it?”) So although black is the new pink, Barbie is still very much in favour and we are regularly victims of the latest marketing ploy. (Last year’s was ‘Barbie in the twelve danc-ing princesses’ and yes, you guessed it, that meant twelve dolls to buy!) Her musical skills are still in demand and this will be the third year running that she has accompanied the choir piece at our carol service. She has ploughed ahead with piano and violin – one of the few children I have come across who plays the piano for ages without needing to be ‘loaned some self-control’ (as an old friend of mine put it). She almost gave up the violin because she couldn’t pitch the notes accurately enough and it offended her ears – you’re in with a chance if you know when it’s wrong! Adam and Adèlie are expecting their first baby on 8th January. We think they secretly hope for a boy as the family is awash with girls but we will see what the stork brings. Lorna and Rob are expecting their third child in February and guess what? It’s another girl! 2007 has been a busy year at church – we finally decided that we couldn’t find land or a bigger building so we really had to spend some money on the building we’re in. As a result we completely redeveloped our main hall to remove the old stage that took up more than a quarter of the space. We now have a rather swish multi-purpose hall with bigger kitchen, disabled loo and a platform that is as small as we can manage.

Tea Ern?

In Swing time?

Sasha on duty with nieces

Abigail and Ivy

As any of you involved in building projects know they always seem to take longer, cost more and produce more hassle than originally imagined. We are however delighted with the results. Julia also managed a building project this year – my parent’s old bungalow. Complete renovation but so far no-one wants to buy it. Anyone fancy a small retirement bungalow in Marple convenient for all local amenities? As usual we have had our fair share of visitors this year, including the highly-talented Innocent Chikezie. Innocent’s story is amazing—coming from a small Nigerian village (‘50 men’ - you have to guess the women and children) to a Masters in Fine Art at Not-tingham. We had him on face (and arm)-painting at the New Mills One World Festival… You can see some of his work at http://innocentchikezie.com/. When he discovered it was my birthday he disap-peared for a couple of hours and re-appeared with a brilliant painting he’d knocked up using the girls’ art equipment. You don’t have to come from somewhere exotic to be a visitor chez Westhead. If you are pass-ing within hailing distance we’d love to see you!

Brian & Julia Westhead, 65, Godward Rd, New Mills, HIGH PEAK, SK22 3BU brian@westhead.org, julia@westhead.org, 01663 747192