2010 bids farewell

That's the end of another year. A quick look back over the blog reminds me of some of the highlights.

January - It started watching Stuart doing a Lonny Dook in North Berwick. I opted for towel holding in a bid to preserve my manhood. Soon after a weekend away with the clan St Margarets in the lakes giving us time to catch up with old and getting older friends. the low point was my marathon training hitting the rocks with some dodgy swollen ankle thing. A whole month and a bit wiped off my training plan for London. It was a long month as the schools return was delayed by a week due to snow. It was the first proper snow and we spent almost the whole week sledging on the golf course. It's funny how a year on the novelty of snow has well and truly worn off.

February was uneventful. I regained some fitness and did the National Cross Country championships.

March saw an early Easter and the second and very successful Holy Ghost Walk. One of those rare occasions where the churches pulled together and let their hair down. I did the Alloa half marathon in a half decent time and it was one of 2 visits to York with the school kids.

April saw me pull off a PB at the London Marathon. It was a surprise to me that the crowd support and the sense of occasion would be so good and I'm looking forward to doing it all again this year. The volcanic ash cloud lingered around most of Europe but in Sunny Dunny the sun was out and we headed to the beaches and the gold course.

May saw yet another trip to York and also school related a great sense of pride when we finally won the East Lothian Primary Schools athletics competition. We'd worked hard for that...30 years to be precise!

June was Andrews last year in Primary School. Out with a bang, he and his mates and Wagette's hired a big limo to take them to the school prom. It's been good working with his year and I continue to do so in the grammar school. On the racing front i crashed and burnt at Loch Leven's half marathon.

July saw us take our first ever fly drive holiday. The warmer climate of Tuscany was our destination, which was stunning in parts. Apart from getting fined for jumping a toll barrier, we enjoyed the life of Riley in our Eurocamp budget tent! the latter part of July was also spent in a tent...just 12 miles up the coast at Scoughall where I was helping out on the SU Camp.

August took me to the Edinburgh Festival for the first time where I met up with the Jones' of Burnage! We also had a very good holiday club with the churches in August and it rounded off well a long busy summer. The was a tragic end for some. 2 of our Guinea Pigs croaked in the same afternoon. Unknown causes but the long haired one lives to tell the tale.

September brought new life in the arrival of Myfanwy over in Oz for Colin & Sharon.

October saw us visit London twice! First for the wedding of Rory and Anna and the second time for a jolly with the kids at half term. Good times were had by all. Another baby arrived. Elsie became the latest addition to our Sarah's lot. Apart from getting attacked by a swarm of wasps, it was another good month.

November was most memorable for it's rather early snowfall. Yet again the schools shut in fear of some awful thing happening (like kids getting an education or learning some basic survival and adaptability skills). Something I have not mentioned much is that Andrew's football team take me all over Edinburgh and further afield as they take on a mixed bag of teams. They are playing well and they came close to getting into the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. And Emma is now coaching the 3rd year girls hockey team. After a disastrous opening season last year, things have turned a corner and as it stands they are on to 4 wins in a row....including beating the formidable North Berwick.

December will too be remembered for snow. It all ground to a halt and brought a premature end to what had been a very enjoyable year. I hate it when you look back at a year and nothing has gone on. Not 2010, it was a good one!