Festive greetings to you all, dear readers, and many thanks for clicking my way. I'm pleased to announce that much like Take That or a similarly successful chart-topping comeback, after a lengthy absence from the blogging world, I've finally decided to make my return. Credit must be given to the ingenious Tom Fyans for the witty blog name.
As The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year is well and truly upon us, so the round robins come flying in. The fuzzy scanned-in images of various Darling Children on their Gap Yahs, the latest family charity endeavours, the local village's yuletide toilet plans...I read them all avidly, as I'm sure we all do.
And so, in the spirit of things, I've created my own round-up. True, embellished, or entirely fictitious...I'll leave that up to you.
I'll try to post as regularly as possible, or whenever something vaguely interesting occurs in my life. But in the meantime, eat, drink and be merry!
Ella xx
The Dove Family in 2013
Sara
Aside from opening the door to the window cleaner in her
onesie, Sara has had a very successful year. Once again, she has been a key
member of the East Malling PCC, and championed the ‘keep our new chairs clean’
campaign through the largely preventative measure of discouraging them from
wandering down the church aisles with biscuits and juice. She has won her
weekly badminton matches with a Wimbledon-like gusto, and the West Malling
Community Choir continues to flourish from her involvement. Indeed, they have
been invited to such prestigious events as the annual Christmas Lights Switch
On, which this year was attended by an X Factor auditionee and a former
Waterloo Road star. Juggling her roles as teacher and mother is a challenge she
relishes, and with the Lord watching over her life and her laundry, she has
every hope for a happy and successful 2014.
Richard
Richard has considerably less hair than he did last year. His
weight loss has proved an equally successful venture, and he is pleased to
announce that he has dropped from ‘morbidly’ to ‘borderline’ obese, an achievement
that his friends and family look upon with great admiration. For his birthday,
he received a pair of Spongebob Squarepants lounge pants, and his greenhouse is
coming on a treat. He fears the winter weather somewhat, but has every faith
that it will not affect his plums. In 2014, Richad aims to eat less brie and
enter his massive courgettes into a charity competition. He also plans to cycle
to Croatia armed with nothing but a screwdriver and a packet of Fruit
Pastilles.
Althea
Althea has graced the West-End stage twice this year and
will do so again in March as part of a diverse all-star cast in UCL’s
production of ‘Hair’ at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Do contact her for tickets.
Meanwhile, she continues to be an all-round university success, working and
playing on the streets of London in her quest to become a Speech and Language
Therapist. Since completing her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award in 2011 and
trekking across the Atlas Mountains, Althea has developed a real sense of
adventure. She has travelled Europe, embarked on her first skiing trip and regularly
displays outstanding confidence when navigating London with her personalised
student oyster card. In 2014, Althea will continue in her university
endeavours, simultaneously revising anatomy, choreographing five ballet dances
and providing night-time counselling for the destitute. She also plans to take
full advantage of her local Waitrose self-service coffee machine.
Ella
Ella rounds off 2013 with a high 2.1 in her BA French and
English at Southampton (1.4% away from a First!!), employment prospects and work
published in both a national women’s consumer magazine and the East Malling Parish
News. She has also written a novel. Ella is currently searching for an agent,
and has been in negotiations with Bloomsbury and Harper Collins having sent an
email to both. At work, she has joined the choir. When she’s not rehearsing for
a concert, Ella spends her lunch hour networking, editing and teaching French
to those less capable than herself. In 2014, she will once again appear on the
St James The Great reading rota, an exciting prospect that she is very much
looking forward to.
Merry Christmas and a very happy 2014 to you all.
The Dove Family xxx
