Taylor family news and photos 2009

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since we wrote the last of these annual round-ups. But in truth, a lot has happened during 2009....

We have continued with our dual-national life, with Miriam based in England and Neill in France. This arrangement still works very well for us, with each of us making frequent trips in each direction, and periods spent together always seem very high quality time – much more than when we saw each other every day but hardly noticed.

Miriam’s therapy work continues to thrive. She spends 4 days a week in her private practice, 3 days a week at a trauma centre in Witney, 2 days a week supervising in Nottinghamshire, and every weekend tutoring at the Metanoia Institute. Or so it seems. This leaves plenty of free time for developing her art. She still hasn’t managed to get anything through to the Jerwood Drawing Prize, but has been encouraged to keep trying.

Neill has carried on his work at the ITER international fusion project in Provence. This is challenging and doesn’t leave much time for other things, although working on a project with people from all corners of the globe is an enriching experience, and it’s a very pleasant region in which to live. Not so much travel this year (except frequent trips back to the UK), although a week in China in the autumn was interesting. One of the UK trips was to Manchester to visit Rachael, and to see the city again after 35 years absence; so much changed and yet so much still the same.

There was no major holiday this year, although we spent a very enjoyable week in Pembrokeshire during Neill’s “home leave” in August.

Katherine is the family member with the most interesting travelling tales. After a month or so with Neill in Aix in March, during which time she progressed the novel that has been in fruition for some years, she set off on a European adventure that had long been her ambition. Just after Easter she embarked on a solo tour of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Romania, with a return journey that wound up back in France at Neill’s at the end of July. She has extraordinary stories of people met, cities discovered, landscapes appreciated and, above all, human histories taken to heart, particularly in Sarajevo. A great photo collection, too.

Now, Kat is back in London, having recently moved into a flat in Walworth with boyfriend Steve, who she had met back in January and with whom she has enjoyed much of her time in the UK this year, including a holiday in the Lake District. Still temporarily employed at LSE, Kat is busy trying to find long-term employment or, maybe, a suitable PhD project to launch in 2010.

Rachael has also set off for foreign lands. After a very successful first year back at university in Manchester, she took the opportunity of an exchange student scheme to take the second year of her Environmental Management degree course at Buffalo University, New York State. She enjoys her course so much and has sailed through the classes – scoring 100% or more (!) on most assessments. Meanwhile living close to the Canadian border has enabled trips to Toronto to see her dear friend Sarah from her Chichester Uni days. Plus visits to Washington DC and to NYC for a Roger Daltrey gig. She’s made some good friendships with other international students, most notably her Ghanaian room-mate Beryl. Buffalo is well-known for its harsh winters, and at time of writing Rachael is enduring the first full blizzard of the season. British weather will seem mild during her long Christmas break back home.

Ben, Ali and Amelie are continuing to thrive in Norwich, with Ben’s work going well, and their allotment producing an impressive range of vegetables. The rest of us enjoy so much to see them from time to time, and Amelie, a constant delight, was in very good form on her 3rd birthday when we all gathered together at Thrapston in August.

In recent months a major preoccupation for Miriam has been Neill’s mother, Jeanne, whose mobility has been very much reduced by the failure of one of her artificial hips. Unable to care for herself she is currently in a nursing home in Stanford in the Vale, and it could be many months before she is fit enough to have surgery (her fourth hip replacement), that may enable an independent life again. Miriam has spent much time dealing with health care professionals to try to find a good solution.