'twas the day before the day before...

Nope...I've not been asleep from the Zimovane since I flew back from HK. Real life stuff interrupted the stream of consciousness virtual stuff I'm afraid...but I can do no better than post the #1 Skerratt annual newsletter that we compiled at the last minute. I'll do better during 2007 - a New Year's resolution - so it's bound to work :)

Glynn, Robyn, Mark and Taz wrote this...

We can’t remember how many years it’s been that we’ve said that we wanted to write one of these things, but until now we have just never got round to it. Now we’ve got around to it – but it’s so late that it’ll have to be a really short walk-through of Glynn’s, Robyn’s, Mark’s and Taz’s year.

Glynn’s year really has flown – must be his age. Life at the University is still interesting, varied, fulfilling…and of course underpaid! In addition to the teaching and admin. stuff, for the next two years he’s a University Teaching and Learning Fellow – carrying out a project looking at injecting some enterprise and entrepreneurship into the curriculum. Work has taken him to some interesting places during 2006 – including Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Helsinki, Italy’s Southern Tyrol [with Mark] and, less glamorously, London every six weeks or so for Institution meetings and interviews.

Home-wise, Glynn, Mark and the cat cohabit happily (for the most part!) and meet occasionally in the kitchen for sharing of conversation, internet service provision nightmare-swapping and caught mice. He’s still taking the medication for the atrial fibrillation and has managed to lose over 6kg during the last couple of months. Justifiably proud of this, he has calculated that, at the present rate, he could disappear completely within 5 years.

Music seen and heard has included Ralph McTell at The Lowry and Litchfield Garrick, Eagles, the Moody Blues, the Hollies and Bruce Springsteen (twice – I am truly blessed!). People seen and heard…Gavin Hewitt, Robert Winston, Matthew Parris, Kate Adie and Bill Bryson (twice – I hope people don’t start talking about us!)

Robyn is now in her second year at Durham University studying Geography and she is thoroughly enjoying it! This year she is living out of college with 4 other girls close to the city centre. Over summer she went to Poland for a month to teach English to Polish children. She spent 3 weeks teaching in a summer camp and one week touring the South of Poland visiting Krakow, Zakopane and Auschwitz.

She had a great time and hopes to go back next summer to write her dissertation on Polish migration to the UK, although she needs to work on her Polish a little first! For the rest of the summer Robyn worked at a recruitment agency as a temporary receptionist and went to Leeds festival! When not at university Robyn comes back home to see us all and the much-loved cat Taz.

Mark started college in September studying Construction and he also has a part-time job working in an outdoor/hiking shop in Freeport (a local shopping centre). In October, Mark started learning to drive – watch out world!

We hope that, wherever you are, you have a lovely Christmas and a very happy New Year.