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They were in Cuba for two weeks and had an amazing time , they loved it so much they are going again 7 years later. It was lovely having them back and settling in their new home as man and wife.
It was a really lovely house and had a cottage style garden with lots of bushes and fruit trees planted in a sort of haphazzard way. All too soon it was back to work for them both.
I missed the garden I had in Milton Keynes this summer being in the flat meant I had to go for a walk to get the sun not as I used to do sit in the garden with Meg. I loved being back in Hemel it was like coming home we had lived here since 1967 so it was home.
Steve and Sarah often came to see me and I went to their house. I was definitely not as lonely as when I was in MK. It had been a good move in spite of the drunken Irishman. Also Roxanne my granddaughter would come and stay with me quite often.
I had booked a caravan holiday for Roxanne, Frankie and myself also Meg my dog in Brean Sands, Somerset for a week during school holidays, it was set right on the beach , just out of the door down a short path to beautiful sand dunes and the sea. This was the first time I had taken Frankie on holiday, Roxy and I had been to Jersey a couple of times. We all had a great time we had a couple of days of rain but the rest of the time was warm and sunny. Meg loved walking along the beach. We also visited Cheddar Gorge and Weston-Super-Mare and loads of other places. All too soon it was time to drive home but a good time had been had by all.
Not long after our holiday Lesley and Jim and the children were going on holiday to Bulgaria and I was going to stay at their house for a week to look after Paddy their Jack Russell and the cat. Paddy and Meg got on really well, they were buddies. It was nice being able to go to the shopping centre as we had nothing like it in Hemel but a week would be long enough.
Christmas of 2002 would soon be with us, myself and Sarah's Mum and Dad and Sarah's Nan over from Portugal were all invited to Steve and Sarah's for Christmas Day. The dinner was superb she had been worrying about it as this was quite new to her. She did really well she did herself proud. I was shocked, her Mum and Dad bought so many presents for Steve and Sarah it was like an Aladdins Cave. my few looked a bit pathetic.
On Boxing Day we went to Lesley and Jim's for dinner. The tradition in our family is that Boxing Day dinner consists of cold meats, turkey, gammon and beef with chips and pickles, red cabbage and onions ,homemade of course. All in all we had a really lovely Christmas. Steve and Sarah were so happy together it was a pleasure to see. He was a good husband too he always helped with the housework and household chores. Theirs was a real partnership. Lesley and Jim's was very one sided Lesley did everything he did nothing, when at home he would lay on the sofa and watch TV and drink or be at the pub.