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Welcome to what might be regarded as the 'on-line' version of the "Damson Herald"

We hope to maintain this site with updates several times each year. Pictures will be an important feature, allowing us to share some of the events in our every-day life with interested friends.

Some of you will have visited Damson Rest and will able to pick it out as the house in the bottom left of the aerial ----> photograph immediately above the white house in the corner. The roof of the caravan, in front of the house can just be seen.

The Village of Codsall is twinned with St Pryve/St Mesmin near Orleans. During our Autumn trip to France we were able to drive there. It was not the most impressive of places. Admittedly it was raining, but the town seemed to offer little to compensate for that.

In February Kirstin and Matt travelled to Strasbourg to spend almost a week with Grant at the time of his 'half-term' break. A gite had been booked at a holiday complex at Corcieux near St Die, some 60km from Strasbourg itself. The place was familiar to us, as we had visited in September 2000 with the caravan. It was winter, and being close to Eastern Europe, it was very cold. The gite had an enormous log fire and an inexhaustible supply of logs; we were remarkably cosy. We almost failed to make the journey back to the ferry because of snow.

When it was time for Grant to return to the UK at the end of his year in France, it was necessary to collect him, and all of the odds and ends he had accumulated. A complicated trip was arranged using a combination of SNCF, Channel Rail Link, and Vauxhall Astra. Kirstin stayed in a local hotel and Andrew, his girlfriend Melissa, Helen and Grant stayed in Grant's student room. River boat trips, and a visit to a nearby (and most impressive) castle were among the activate enjoyed. The car was packed almost to overflowing for the return journey. Sadly, Grant had to abandon the bicycle he had bought for getting around Strasbourg, it could not fit in the car.

For the first time since leaving Leeds (8 years!) we held a barbecue. Most of the guests were Kirstin's work colleagues and their partners. A large gazebo and propane-powered patio heater kept everyone comfortable into the small hours. We must do it again next year!

Kirstin's work with 'Cats Protection' continues. We have had a number of 'guest' cats during the past year. Several were with us for a very time before being found new homes. Our own cats have had a good year, although at the time of writing Barnaby (11 years) has been unwell. A recent (and expensive) operation was carried out and he is now recovering with the help of a lot of TLC.

As mentioned earlier, Grant spent one academic year in Strasbourg as part of his civil engineering degree course. During 2001, his very focused approach to hobbies moved to vinyl records, turntables, mixers, amplifiers and loudspeakers (and when we say loud....) Helen, Grant's girlfriend of several years, bought a new car during the summer. The standard of living enjoyed by the young today is quite remarkable!

Andrew continues to work for the BBC in Bristol. He is training to become a Project Manager, and has recently sat his professional certification exams. He lives with two colleagues in a lovely flat close to Broadcasting House where they work. They are technology enthusiasts, and have installed a trio of servers in their broom-cupboard (this web site resides on one server) The flat also has been recently equipped with a home cinema system, and a new dishwasher. We visited recently and it would seem the traditional image of three young men living in a mess is now simply not true, their home was immaculate.

The Damson Herald