Christmas Letter 2025 from Margaret and Stephen

This time last year, we decided to end our international travel – it was too much like hard work. Consequently, we have had to endure a full Melbourne winter, which is not a barrel of laughs. During our time of travelling, we visited about 25 different countries, which was great, but we are comfortable with our decision.

We can still see our overseas family every few years when they visit here. This year, Philip, Bev and Jeremy visited for about three weeks. We saw them many times, which was fantastic. We had one dinner with all of our children in attendance and four of our grandchildren!

Our children continue to do well.

Beth and Mark are in the process of building a house on a block of land that they purchased in Kilmore, just around the corner from their second son, Cameron. They are still at the negotiating stage with the builder, but hope that construction will start early in the new year. Michelle and David have completed their house renovation. Their kitchen, bathroom and laundry look great. They have also been travelling with their caravan. Recently, they spent a month away, mainly in South Australia. Catherine has received a new appointment. She is still a Salvation Army officer, but has been moved from her work in the Social Department to an appointment overseeing a group of Corps in the Western Suburbs. She will work with the officers in the Corps to improve the Christian and social outreach in the area. We will likely see more of her as one of her corps is Werribee. Philip continues to work at British Aerospace, redesigning planes. Phil and Bev have also recently completed a major renovation of their house in Preston, England. The photos of the house look great. Margaret and Stephen continue to live happily in our Retirement Village. Margaret is a leading light in the Craft group, producing many soft toys, some of which are sold in the Village Craft shop, and others are sent to local charities. She is also the treasurer of the Craft Group. Stephen is Secretary of the Residents Committee and also works in the bar and the Village Shop, all of which keep him busy.

Recently we purchased a new Car – the latest version of our CX5. We received an excellent deal, with a reduced price and a good trade-in. The car has many improved safety features and is a pleasure to drive. We had considered buying an electric car, with the aim of charging it from our rooftop solar and using the battery to run the house, but we purchased a household battery, so the second objective was less important.