The Ryall family festive news 2021
2021 was another strange year for us, as I’m sure it was for all of you. We had 10 adults in the house during lockdown, most of them trying to work or attend classes on Zoom, so we were very thankful that the broadband held up well. Amazingly, through the year the only one of us to catch covid was Kirsty, at Uni – and very recently Anna (Ali’s partner) has had to go into hospital with appendicitis, and it looks like she caught covid there.
We have done a lot more walking (mostly Nicola & I, not the rest of the team) and seen family and friends when possible. And towards the end of the year we have been able to get away a few times, and we have actually been out to a number of shows – including a couple of performances at Holland Park Opera in the summer, when because we were in the cheap (!!!) seats, right at the edge of the tent, we got rained on. Fortunately nothing could dampen the quality of their Traviata. This was shortly after lockdown ended, so we would still have gone even if there had been a hurricane blowing.
Other theatre trips this year have included Pride and Prejudice (sort of), an hilarious all-female retelling of P&P which had just transferred to London when covid struck, so was delayed by 8 months, and recently Magic Goes Wrong.
We’ve also been to the cinema en famille a few times, and we have a great one coming up, which is the new Spielberg West Side Story at the Rex (a very fancy local cinema with tables, swivel seats etc). We have also continued our regular Friday movie-and-pizza night at home, where we have mostly stopped watching classic movies suggested by me, due to the team being confused and/or shocked at the archaic mysoginistic/racist/homophobic attitudes of 50 years ago (although everybody did enjoy Repo Man, presumably because it was just so, like, intense). So mostly we have concentrated on Marvel/Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Tarantino fare suggested by the team.
Here is a bit more on what various people have been up to:
Nicola & I have had a few weekends and trips away – in April we went to Marlborough just as lockdown was easing. This was a really nice break, and we had a good long walk from Avebury along the Ridgeway, around various barrows and back. One problem on this trip was that It was difficult to find anywhere to eat, especially vegan, but we managed to get by on Thai takeaways and M&S sandwiches.
We also went to Chichester for a few days, which again mostly involved walks on the beach, as there was still not much open. We went to both Hampton Court and Chelsea flower shows (or ‘Garden Festivals’ as they are now) and returned laden with hundreds of bulbs which I have subsequently spent many happy hours planting.
We visited the Dalbies in the Wirral in the summer, and I was delighted to see that the shed I had previously helped Nick build was still standing, and full of useful stuff, which is more than I can say for any of ours. Kirsty and Lizzie joined us, and trips included a great day out at the glass-blowing museum.
In November we were very happy to join Lydia and Nick at their house in Spain for a fortnight – there is nothing to beat running along the littoral as the sun rises over the turquoise sea. Nicola & Lydia’s mother Veronica joined us all, this was the first time she had been abroad for some years so it was especially good to see her relaxing in the sun and even enjoying a beer on the beach. Veronica joined us again at Christmas, at which she announced that she ‘identifies as Veronica’ and has forbidden the use of the ageist terms ‘Grandma’ and ‘Mum’.
And we were delighted recently to be invited to a client’s Christmas party on board HMS Belfast – this was a Navy/WWII-themed event, and a special shout goes out to Lisa who did Nicola’s hair in a fantastic 1940s style.
Back at home, eagle-eyed residents of WD3 may have noticed that our house was up for sale for a while, but no longer is. What happened was, we needed to get the house valued to assist with some financial planning. The estate agent suggested to us that prices were currently at a ridiculously high level. We thought, if prices really are at that level, we would be stupid not to sell. However, it turned out the agent was being extremely optimistic. How could that happen? Anyway, as we have no need to sell, and have several very good reasons for staying put, we took it off the market, and we expect to be here for some years yet. Who knows, by then our neighbours’ houses might even be finished.
Nicola also enjoyed the best weather of the year on a trip to Bournemouth with her mother and sisters in the summer, staying in the beachside flat of Steph’s parents-in-law Shirley and Bill.
She has carried on working hard throughout the year, with online mentoring and facilitation sessions for local businesses, among other things.
Josie bought a house in Chesham with her partner Alex, and they have spent all year renovating it, so that, in the words of one builder, ‘it’s better than a new build’. It has proved quite difficult to get things finished, as tradesmen have become harder and harder to get hold of through the year.
However, the plasterer is booked to do the last room in a couple of weeks, and that will be that. I have helped out with a few small things, and they seem to welcome my input despite my putting a screw through a water pipe on the very first day they were in.
Josie & Alex had a holiday in Cornwall in Alex’s parents’ place, and they have also spent a lot of time this year helping their friends George and Tegan celebrate their engagement and plan their wedding.
Josie moved to a new job in the summer, and is now deputy head of maths at RMS, the major private girls’ school in the area.
Alex has joined the Chesham Musical Theatre Company, and will be appearing in My Fair Lady in the spring.
Ali returned from his posting in the Netherlands, and has been working out of Liberty’s Hammersmith office. Except he has in fact been mostly WFH. He has been working in the Treasury department, which he has particularly enjoyed, and hopes to make his way in that area. He has been doing his CIMA exams as fast as he can – so far he has done 8, with 8 more to go. Liberty have told him he is the top performing grad from his intake, and in one of his CIMA exams he achieved the highest score in the world.
On the downside, he is still supporting Man U and Watford.
Ali’s partner Anna gained 1st class in her BA at RCM, and has now been given a trial at ENO. Her first performance is in Cosi Fan Tutte in March, which I believe we have tickets for!
They both enjoyed a holiday in Cornwall in the summer, and were joined by Kirsty and various other reprobates.
Ali and Anna moved out in November, to a flat in Ealing, now graced with one of my paintings and an enormous TV.
Recently she appeared in a new musical, Antigone, and got a rave review, leading her to question whether she should do her finals or head straight for the stage. Watch this space.
She has also been down to stay with James in Plymouth, appeared in a radio show on Cam FM, been to see Ian McKellen in Hamlet, and bought a car.
Originally her intention had been to travel around the world, maybe working in Australia or NZ, but events have transpired to make this impossible. Her travel plans are in flux, but will probably end up being rather more local. In the meantime, she has enjoyed working at GeoLabs in Watford, and will probably do that for a while longer yet. She has had breaks in Edinburgh and York with friends, recently both organising the Air-BNB with hot tub in York, and doing all the driving to get there.
She is now playing oboe with the Herts CYO, unfortunately their Christmas concert was cancelled due to covid, but hopefully there will be one at Easter.
Lizzie has been doing all kinds of artwork throughout the year, experimenting with lots of new media; she and I submitted an artwork to Grayson’s Art Club on Channel 4 in the summer, which actually got featured! Admittedly only for a few seconds, but you have to start somewhere!
When I first took him down to Bath, he was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful architecture and ambience, having not apparently read or seen anything about it prior to signing up. It may have also helped that there was a food fair going on with a fabulous crepe stall.
Jonny has continued to tutor a number of students in Maths, which he has been doing all year. As well as his private students he has now joined the government tutoring program.
This year Jonny and Lizzie should also have had their final year prom at school. Sadly this was cancelled due to covid. We offered to put on a party for them here, but they opted instead for a more civilized soiree – a dinner party & drinks with everyone in their finest. N & I did the catering and waiting, and a splendid evening was had by all.
Xavier has recently moved into a new (larger) room in the house. He has started learning to drive, despite his trepidation over using gears, and has managed to have several lessons so far without losing his provisional licence.
He continues to be obsessed with all things Russian, and bought himself a Russian army officer’s uniform on the internet. Who knew that Russian men were such strange sizes?
Xav has also enthusiastically taken up going to the gym, which is great for the obvious reasons.
He has continued to work towards his A-Levels next year, a process which was interrupted in the autumn by him leaving his laptop on a train, while going to visit Jonny in Bath. Amazingly the laptop was subsequently recovered, but the temporary loss caused chaos for several weeks. Hopefully with no lasting damage.
Xav has been to Battle to see his Granny Valerie several times during the year, from which he always returns refreshed, but with flat devices because he forgets to take the relevant chargers.
One of his guardians, Teresa, has also been particularly helpful this year in getting Xav through some sticking points.
Finally, back to me – I have been starting to work with oil paints over the last few months. I can’t say my work looks any better for it, but it certainly smells more like real art.
We have just taken a quick break in Lyme Regis – some great subjects for future artwork were acquired!
I have also treated myself to an electric bike – this has certainly rejuvenated some ageing limbs, and the other day I cycled to Watford and back, coming back on the Ebury way in about half an hour (former railway, flat as a pancake). I am now engaged in my usual practice of changing every element of the bike, bit by bit, to make it ‘better’.
Plans for 2022 include some building work in the house (making the rear dormers bigger), selling the Brum house (which may also require some building work), and maybe, eventually, taking Fridays off.
Wishing you all a happy and successful new year!
