Celebrating 2006 with the Bardricks

Oscar, Johnny and Jack..the lads

James and Sophie

James and I

Island Hopping

In May Caroline and Nina stayed and after a few days we drove down to Chichester to attend Daisy’s Confirmation at St Peter and St Mary’s, Fishbourne. It was good to see so many old friends there.

The summer upon us, the grounds of Scrips were a delight and the fabulous weather meant I could spend a lot of time outside whilst builders added a shower room to my Cottage. Over the week-end of 3rd and 4th June the gardens were open to the public – apparently we hosted over 800 people.
I attended Old Bancroftian’s day, July 1st, and was overjoyed to be made an Honorary Old Bancroftian. I’d spent a lot of my 7 years at Woodford High trying to associate with Bancroft’s and have finally made it in my 70th year!

 

On July 8th, Sophie and James were married at St. Peter ad Vincula in Coggeshall coming back to Scrips for the reception. It was a fantastic affair with two huge marquees, one for the childen with entertainers to look after them and a main marquee superbly flower-decked by Sophie’s mother and her team of helpers. The champagne flowed from another small marquee and music was provided by two different bands. The Old Bancroftian and Old Woodford ‘girls’ table was extraordinarily lively!

The day ended for 270 guests with an enormous firework display. The festivities carried on the next day with a hog roast and a huge screen set up above the stables so that we could all watch England win the world cup. This was the only part of the week-end that failed to go to plan but unfortunately that was one thing Sophie was unable to organise!

During August I went on another cruise. Starting at Dover we visited the Channel Islands, the Portugal coastline, Casablanca, then along the east coast of Spain, returning home from Livorno in Italy. Two days later I was offered another cruise - the one I had originally wanted – so I washed and ironed my clothes and re-packed them to pick up Minerva II again at Venice and thereafter cruised down the Dalmatian coast visiting Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, onwards to Greece and Turkey. The weather was superb and the sites visited quite amazing.

 

I went to Woodford for School Birthday at the end of September and then in October drove down to Chichester. Visiting an old school friend en route, I stayed with June White also recently widowed and spent time with three other friends whose husbands had just died. I was also able to see Diana and her family in between their hectic schedule of sporting activities and social commitments. In November we all gathered in Coggeshall for Remembrance Sunday – also the anniversary of Brian’s death – when a short service of blessing was held with the family around Brian’s grave whereon had been newly erected a beautiful headstone carved by artist David Parsley……………and in a couple of weeks I fly to Australia via Thailand for three months.

Celebrating 2006 with the Bardricks