Dear Friends,
This year has been an interesting one for us as a family, with its ups and downs.
Andrew is still working for Group 4 Securicor having spent the summer months down at the Cruise Terminals in Dover, and more recently at Margate railway station. He had an interesting spell at the party conferences in Brighton and Blackpool. We were convinced it was him who ejected the heckler at the Labour Party conference but he assured us it wasn't. He also runs his disco company AP Events, going more and more hi-tech.
Rebecca is at Winchester university hoping to be a primary school teacher. We called in to see her over the October half-term and were pleased to see that she appears to have settled into her self-catering accommodation as part of the halls of residence. She has now obtained her driving licence but will have to remain without a car for the foreseeable future. Her e-mail address is R.Broughton@winchester.ac.uk Indeed the weather at half term was glorious and we spent three fabulous days with Nanny and Granddad in a farm house in the French Ardennes, just two and a half hours from Calais. Although everything is tranquil now, a visit to the War and Peace museum quickly reminded us how the area has been in turmoil three times since 1870.
Barbara continues to enjoy working in the boarding house and teaching maths. She has completed five years and extended her contract. She has an excellent team of tutors, matron and housekeeper. Her main complaint is not the behaviour of the girls but stroppy parents. Having decided that her fitness needed a boost she has joined a womens' only gym and attempts to get there three times a week when possible. There won't be any marathons but cycling on holiday was certainly easier apart from the suicidal saddle!!
JR is teaching RE and is pleased to be working in a very successful department. We had a very good student last year. So much so that the school offered her a job. (You can access the chapel page on www.doyrms.com) He has also been busy with the Dover Sea Cadet unit where he is chaplain. As well as passing his level one in power boating at Portsmouth in the summer he led the Trafalgar Day service for all the East Kent units in St Mary's, Dover and along with Barbara attended the Trafalgar Dinner at the Town Hall as a guest of the mayor.
Our summer holidays this year saw us in Sėrignan Plage on the Mediterranean coast near Bėziers in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. We made an overnight stop in Burgundy and then continued on the long journey south via the spectacular Millau viaduct (the highest in the world). Yes, JR did manage his sentimental visit to Castres, near Toulouse where he spent his year as an English assistant thirty five years ago. Andrew decided that he would prefer to work at the Cruise Terminal than come with us so we let Becky bring a friend with her. We think both girls enjoyed themselves even with us old fogies around. Next year (August 9th-25th) we are planning to go to a campsite at Luz St Sauveur near Lourdes in the Hautes Pyrėnėes so we will have to dust off our walking boots. Because of the long journey we have decided to take the French Motorail from Calais to Toulouse and hopefully meet up with former colleagues who have retired to that part of France.
We also have our own website. All you need to do is log onto our site at www.broughtonfamily.co.uk Finally, we trust the year has been as fulfilling for you as well and look forward to hearing from you. We have been particularly delighted this year to have friends from different parts of the country stay with us or simply call in en route from their continental holidays.
Best wishes and God bless.