Christmas 2024

Christmas greetings to all our family and friends near and far. We hope 2004 has

been kind to you. This has been an eventful year for the Beddow family.

Gilly My life has improved with the arrival of our new vicar, in March, after a four-

and a half-year wait. Even though we have to share her with 3 other parishes and a

small diocesan job, she is making a real difference and easing my burden as

a churchwarden.

I made a good recovery from a hernia operation in June -again a long wait- and was

fit enough to fly to Jersey for a holiday in September. I also managed a trip to Suffolk

and at last saw the Sutton Hoo burial site. Otherwise, I am very stay-at-home and

have much-enjoyed art projects for my weekly class, reading 64 books, doing lots of

jigsaws and pottering in the garden.

The other main event was the sale of the two London flats, left to me by my parents-

yet another long, two year wait to complete the deals. Thus ends the London

chapter of our lives. We have shared the proceeds around the family and it’s making

a real difference. For example, it’s enabled Abigail to buy her first house, just outside

Bradford.

Abigail The Guessis family is now well settled in Bradford where Abs continues as

manager of the Bradford Waterstones. They had a big refit this year, ready for the

2025 Year of Culture. Aissa is still running a restaurant with a partner in a farming

shop/catering business near Harrogate.

Joseph passed all his GCSEs and is now

at a 6th form college in Leeds studying English Language, RE with Philosophy and

Law. Zara, still midwifing in Qatar, plans a return to UK next year. Who knows where

she will settle?

Katy The Banner family is still travelling a lot. Jo had an epic climbing trip to Canada

in the Purcell Range near Calgary. He achieved his aim to reach the summit of the

Hawser Tower via Beckey-Choinard. The whole family enjoyed a scuba diving

course in Croatia this summer. Katy has expanded her counselling practice to

include couples therapy and now has an office in Darlington for face-to-face

sessions.

Katy has completed some re-landscaping of their grounds and she has

developed a love of gardening- a sure sign of middle-age. Samuel successfully

negotiated his A’ Levels and is now studying Geography and Economics at the

University of Lancaster. Luke surprised us all, including his teachers, by achieving

good GCSE results, despite his dyslexia. He is now in the 6 th form studying

Computer Science, Maths and Chemistry,

Matthew Another busy year for the Beddow Family. Lily, Isobel and Eve are all now at West Kirby Grammer School and thriving.

A hat full of merits at the end of school year awards with a total of 9 between them, (Although Eve did bag the majority!). Lily is enjoying her after-school activities including Guides, her sewing class and more recently the RAF Cadets which she attends twice a week.

Isobel and Eve continue with their hard work on the running track and have picked up a number of achievements this season.

Eve broke the all-time British Record for the 1,200 meters this year for the under 13 age girls group. At 3.40s she beat Keely Hodgekinsons time by 3 seconds. Not to be outdone Isobel broke the all time British indoor record for the 600m. Last month they won their first team national title together in the UK Road Relays winning by a margin of 45 seconds with their team mate Daisy.

Matthew & Karen now work together for a firm of retail property asset managers with Karen now the Legal Director and Matthew managing a portfolio of three shopping centres. Its been a hectic year and the pace appears to be picking up! Karen has been appointed as the Chair of the Baltic Creative CIC in Liverpool. The Baltic is a ground breaking regeneration project in Liverpool that has trasnformed a former dilapidated inductrial area collection of offices, restaurants and appartments.

According to Matthew at least, his most significant acheivement this year is becoming a member of Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake a mile from where they live. Only four years to be admitted but apparently worth the wait.

This years holidays included Mexico, Lisbon, Puglia and Crete. With Sri Lanka at Christmas and Zambia at Easter 2025 (Matthew scatching a major itch) there will be more to report this time next year.

We look forward to hearing all your news. Here’s to health and happiness for you all

for 2025.