Our fortnight in UK was, as most of you will know, a very different story. After the usual long and boring flight via Bangkok, it was great to be able to spend time with family in Tewkesbury and London, including the get-together in Coventry to celebrate the arrival of Esther, Philippa and Carl’s second daughter and our fourth grandchild who was born in August when we were last in England. We were very pleased to be able to meet with a group of the friends from Gloucestershire who have been taking an interest in our activities in China and to bring them up to date with our news. A big thank-you to Richard and Hazel who generously welcomed us to stay in their home while we were in Gloucestershire.
The family gathering at Esther's
"do". (Photo by Roger, Peter's brother)
Before we left Coventry the snow began. And kept on coming! The next day National Express got us to London and we managed to get quite close to Philippa and Carl’s home on the one train line from Victoria which was still running but then no buses and no taxis! Carl was eventually able to dig his car out of the snow drift and rescue us.
View from the aircraft window as we left Heathrow.
By the time we were left Heathrow for Bangkok the planes were flying again and we were wafted away to a 4 hot days in Chiang Mai, North Thailand. We swam in the pool every day and enjoyed exploring this lovely old city. We were there for the annual flower festival and an added bonus was an evening with Andrew Hay and his mother who were on their way to the Antarctic!
Judy has been especially busy back in Kunming because her school has been running extra classes to make up for the ones which the students missed in the holidays. Work in the workshop has been a bit held up by a loss of electrical power and overflowing drains but Peter has had plenty of other things to keep him busy.
