Oops!

2018 already! I knew I hadn't written anything here for a while, but nothing since May?

So ... where did 2017 go?

The biggest change over the last few months is that M has a new job, rather to his own surprise. He had been semi-retired and doing some irregular freelance work for the last couple of years, but following a conversation with a friend who was planning to join the ambulance service as a 111 call handler he decided it was something he would like to try. He applied, was accepted, started training in September and is now a fully fledged call handler on a part time basis - he works just two six-hour shifts a week, which although they are mainly at weekends seem to be fitting in with the rest of our lives pretty well. It also leaves him time to carry on as a freelancer whenever work comes along. 

If you are not familiar with the 111 service, according to the NHS website "111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It's fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you" - this could be an out-of-hours clinic, an emergency dentist, a GP visit, a call-back from a doctor, an accident and emergency department or minor injuries unit, and in more serious cases the call handlers send out ambulances. There is more about the service here. After scrambling up a very steep learning curve, M is now settling in to the job and finding it challenging and satisfying in more or less equal measures. After forty years working in financial services, he is still slightly surprised to find himself as working in such a different field.

Life for the rest of us has ticked on much as usual. I am still working two days a week as an archivist, senior daughter is still working hard and enjoying her job, middle daughter is part way through her second year at university, also working hard, and youngest daughter is now in Year 7 at school and hitting the pre-teen stage.

We are still travelling as much as we can manage. M and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to France in June (worthy of a post in its own right). We spent a week in Weymouth (Dorset) in August, and a couple of days in Amsterdam in October. Plans for this year include a trip to Stockholm later this month and travelling through Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic by rail in the summer.

I love new years and new starts and can never resist making resolutions and giving myself challenges. This year I have signed up to two formal challenges:

1.  Veganuary - eating vegan for January. After that, who knows!

2.  Read 100 books for the Goodreads 2018 Challenge - last year I beat my 52 book target by reading (or listening to) 55 books. This year I intend to up my game.

General resolutions (much as usual) are to exercise more and to write more (yes, blog, I am looking at you!)

I hope 2018 will be a good year for you and yours.