And 2006 and how it was...
And another fascinating year was enjoyed in a myriad of ways. Retirement is a good thing and "the gift of time" is wonderful. My love of independent travelling takes me into the lives of people around the world. My love of hospitality brings people into my life in my caring sharing house. I had over 50 different visitors this year, staying over 160 nights. Lots of day visitors too. In January I went to Valencia to see Rafael and Julia. It is a delightful city and I soon found my way around on buses and on the subway. In February I went to Bydgoszcz in Poland to meet Krystyna, a friend from http://www.hospitalityclub.org/ I became a media tart there with interviews with two newspapers and on Radio Poland for 3 weeks. We went to Warsaw one day on a train. To think that this city was raised to the ground in Hitler's last bitter act of brutality after the Ghetto uprising and the Polish Army resistance. The Palace of Culture and Science built as some kind of appeasement by the Stalin after the war, is just a multi screen cinema now. We went to the top which was high enough to see around the city on an icy cold day. We met people creating Ice Sculptures with chisels and electric saws. An exciting art form but in a freezing location. The Jews didn't return.
I went to Krakow in March which is a beautiful city. There are 100 Roman Catholic churches and a small Jewish quarter and I went into the Synagogue. I visited Auschwitz which remains open as a living testimony of the misery created there, and throughout Poland and other parts of Europe, concentration camps remain open. Birds don't fly over it.
I saw Dachau years ago on my travels. Can't help shivering at the horror of it all, before I was born.
I went to the amazing Salt Mines which were fascinating and the acoustics are excellent so people organise concerts there. I live in a Garden City so I went to see Novy Hutte, the New Town. Stalin had invited architects and town planners from many countries to create this. It was still tall apartment buildings, and communal gardens. He refused to allow a Catholic Church, but religion has been greatly comforting to a tortured race. There is one now with beautiful stained glass windows. I stayed with Eva and her family of 2 daughters in Krakow in a tiny flat with great human warmth. Just two rooms and each was both a living room and a bedroom. I took books of England, an international plug converter, home made bread and Cadbury's chocolate for them. They put me on a bus to Novy Sacz in the Tatras to stay with Jane, another hospitalityclub member. Poor Jane had a bad cold and hardly any English ( I speak French and German and understand some Italian and Spanish) So I got on a bus back to Krakow and stayed in the Youth Hostel there, which was what I wanted to do all the time. It us in the main square, the biggest in Europe, so even I, who gets lost everywhere, could find my way back there. I played card games with the young travelers from five other countries. I got a bus to the air port. Found myself somewhere to sleep. Found a security guard for an early morning call, and settled down to sleep.I was rudely shaken awake by a man with no soul, shouting at me to take my boots off. I work with the homeless in London, and if you take your boots off, you lose them. So my early call happened and I caught my early flight and arrived home, from my sixth trip this winter.

We all grew up going to Saturday morning pictures and I have always loved films since I was 4 and made my brothers take me. The first time they took me they had drilled into me that I must say I was six. But when the very big commissionaire in a red coat with gold buttons looked down at me from his great height and asked "And how old are you little girl?" I answered "I am 4" . My brothers insisted "She is 6!!". I insisted "I am 4 and I am going to be 5 on 16 th of February". He believed me and we all had to go home and they were furious with me. I was SIX the next week. I became a full fledged junior criminal by letting people in through the girls toilet doors. My brothers let the boys in. We didn't charge for this service. I am sure Richard Branson would have done!!
I have lots of DVDs posted here from http://www.lovefilm.com/ and I have a long list of films to see. Sometimes I have 8 a week. Best films this year were... so many I can't choose. I saw 158 films so far. Today I had a big fix of Hollywood Musicals from the 50s. I cut my teeth on those. Then Kenneth Branagh's creative "Loves Labours Lost" in which he introduced dance and Gershwin, and La Dolce Vita later.
I love theatre too and this year have seen many local plays at The Barn Theatre. I enjoyed two Drama Festivals. One was The Youth One. 24 plays in a week. Such raw energy was impressive. Minimal props. I love being seduced by the performance into suspended belief that this is real. Hobbits, Some Like it Hot, Henry V, Sam I am, and lots more as befits a Leisure Professional. I finally got to the Battersea Arts Centre in Lavender Hill to see good theatre.
A great highlight of the year was Rachel Rob and Jaz coming over. We had such a good time in that wonderful weather. Rachel came with Jaz and Rob came a week later, after a week in Paris with his sister Deanna. Jaz couldn't step on the grass at first, as they have decking at home. But she soon got used to that and everything else and had a wonderful time. She loved the pond as we all do. The little girls next door are 4 and 6 and loved her. We all did. Barry and his son Leofric have been here since March, while their house is being rebuilt from subsidence, and Barry was living in the dining room, of this elastic house. Jaz always knew where to find him early in the morning. Rachel said to her to be quiet and a shrill voice called "Barry". He is 74 and very responsive. His grandchildren are in New Zealand. We had a great family party here, as we always do when some of us get together. My family lives in 9 countries. England, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Luxembourg and Afghanistan.
I am one of six children. We had 19 children. They have 23 children. Some of us keep in touch on line.
Another great experience was a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace with The Queen. I was invited in recognition of my "Services to the public". I invited my wonderful friend Margaret, and Jackie and an Australian visitor, Suzanne, staying here came too. We parked in The Mall and I borrowed a posh and expensive hat. My mum would have been so proud. She never did approve of me changing careers. I was a nurse, a midwife then worked with the local government as "Community Activity for over 50s" and changed thousands of lives.
I belong to http://www.womenwelcomewomen.org.uk/ and to http://www.couchsurfing.com/ so lots of people come here and I can find a welcoming place in very many countries in the world. If Rachel didn't live in America, I would have gone to many other countries, but I usually go and see her, so will go for a month in February. By the time I return here, it will be spring. My brother Kevin and his wife Ann will come down from Calgary when I am there. And my brother Roger and I are going to Dublin for New Year to see our beloved niece Karen and her dad, our brother Mike, from Ontario. That will be fun.
It was great at my reunions this year. The Midwives from Plymouth all met up at Avril's house in Teesside. We had so much to catch up on. The Hammersmith Hospital nurses met up in a delightful cottage in Worcester. We all share good pasts together, living in flats in London and caring and keeping in touch.
I still organise evening dances. 20 next year. The Bank Holiday big ones bail out the Friday small ones.
50 visitors have stayed over 160 nights here this year. I have a fascinating pond and a summer house at the bottom of the garden and sometimes people stay there. It is warm and cosy in summer. Everybody brings me interest. About a quarter are bed and breakfast guests. The others come free. I like it better when the lodgers pay. What a shame I was duped by Tulin and her family staying here and paying nothing. Very manipulating. Dishonest too.
And I am sad not to have seen my younger daughter, Elizabeth who lives in Milton Keynes. Rachel saw her twice when she was over. She cannot remember any happy incidents of her childhood. She must be very damaged. How very sad. I had a much tougher childhood. (read my early years)
We have seven for Christmas day lunch. And two more friends staying. I like having an open house. On risk assessment we only had police here three times this year and no ambulances. I had a gallon of water thrown over me in bed one morning so that lodger left here. That was very sad. A man with a brilliant brain whom I have known for years, and the son of old friends. We had had such good times together too. He liked my photos and my early years. Barry and Leofric have been here since March and will probably return to their rebuilt house in January. They have had a much extended social life since living here. I will interview new people to live here then. I am better at living with people than I am at being broke. Life is never dull.
I photographed 3 weddings and a golden wedding. I gave everyone website access. Many of my photos are on www.photoboxgallery.com/photosbyVal
Special people who came to stay this year, are, of course Rachel Jaz and Rob. Louise Nyomi and Carmel stayed happily in the summer house.Senthall, from India stayed a month and cooked rice and dahl in his room and everything was mouldy. Martin rescued it. His other personality would welcome me to India where I keep saying I will go. And never manage it. Lots of things happen here. Mireil is 84 and my South African friend Elise's mum, came for a week for Drama festival. Gave her my bed. Suzanne from Australia came for a week and loved staying in the summer house. She was fun. Robyn returned from Oz now she has retired and is a very impressive traveller yet was scared in the summer house. I would enjoy travelling with her. Don and Nancy came from Alaska. They learned about couchsurfing and found me and other welcoming people in Spain and Italy on line and we all had a great time together. They are Republican and I think, victims of propaganda. But I have travelled East and West and seen the results of propaganda in Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria in the 60s,The Czech republic, Bohemia, and in America etc I hate this war in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of my Canadian nephews is there.
Ales from Slovenia came to stay for a week. A very charming idealistic young man. Really into healthy living. Eating very little. I took him to the Sunday Jazz which he enjoyed.
Simon came home for his 50th birthday. We were both on The Tall Ships Race in 1983 when we were involved in a collision at sea. He was the Navigator. We all stayed in The Naval Club in Mayfair which was an ideal location. Next to Berkely Square. It was a great party. The Navy knows how to entertain. I used to love Tall Ship sailing. I did 12 trips. I love London so went walk about to enjoy exhibitions at the National Gallery.
And this is the season of parties with the groups I belong to. The photographic club. The Mid Herts Footpath Society. The Barn Theatre. Welwyn Garden City Women Luncheon Club. My "Top Girls" group. The Thursday women's group. The Badminton club. I finally gave up LETS. Local Exchange Trading System, in which I have believed for years. We just couldn't get enough other interested people to join us. Yet there is a huge and vibrant group in Hemel Hempstead, 10 miles away. So many people have skills and we could all manage non financial agreements with services given. I could run lots of people to airports and someone/some people can maintain this house, for example.
I am enjoying badminton at the local sports centre which is how my job in Leisure started.
And the end of another year with interesting things happening. People first. And are welcome here. I love having visitors. The house is self entertaining.
With bad luck I have pleurisy on 16th December so have 10 days on antibiotics and no alcohol. Barry is ill too. We both went to the impressively effective weekend doctor service. He was moribund for 2 days but is talking now. And back to the land of the living. I don't have any social commitments for a few days.
Hope you are all well and happy.