Sadly (and yet it could have been so much worse) 2024 has been for our family the year of what used to be called 'the big C', but which increasingly (we have noticed since it affected us) is now spoken of openly.
First sister Lesley had a recurrence of something she had successfully weathered some years ago. As for many people, the progress towards full-on address and treatment seemed terribly slow, but eventually she had an extended sequence of radiation therapy which does seem to have done its job. The waiting was a strain, the weeks of treatment were a strain of a different sort, and the aftermath has been a slow clawback from persistent fatigue, but she is now reckoning herself back to something like 'normal'.
While Lesley was in the waiting stage, Jenny told us she too had been diagnosed with cancer. She had been struggling through the latter part of 2023 with unease in one hip, which initially she (and the medics too) treated as some sort of strain. But it didn't get better, and by about March 2024 she was in serious pain, unable to bear weight on that leg. And eventually the hip problem was diagnosed as a secondary cancer, the primary being in one lung.
Jenny was in hospital for about three weeks, and then for a much longer period convalescent/invalid at home. Nina was in Plymouth in support for about 4 months, with Ian there too for significant periods. Emily was a tower of strength.
Again, we have to be grateful for the good news. Jenny has been on a targeted drug for 7 or 8 months now, and it has had a marked positive effect, particularly on the primary.
Jenny has faced it all with courage and resource, and was able to return to work on a 50% commitment when term started in the autumn. She continues to take great pleasure and satisfaction from her work. She has also been able to resume her connections with the National Gallery, giving guest lectures on zoom, and is now preparing for a role in a major new collaboration with Jeremy Deller. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/across-the-uk/the-triumph-of-art She has also rejoined her Rock Choir.
Nina and I resumed normal residence here in Clees Lane on July 23rd. Obviously, gardening in the usual sense was gone for this year, and the whole place was wildly overgrown. Amazing how quickly it reverts. We have gradually clawed things back, and have settled into a rather provisional 'normal' life-pattern, with Jenny always in our thoughts, and mercifully usually in easy touch, with modern coms.
Emily, meanwhile, is in the thick of middle life. Ben is still internationally working from home. Leo is in his second year at University, and Angharad is in her 'A' Level year. She is turning into quite a traveller, with solo trips to Montpellier and Valencia. Emily is still in the latter stages of her MA at King's London; but has turned aside somewhat since landing a temporary Research Fellowship at the Constitutional Society, preparing a report on the policy and practice of democratic education in English secondary schools, with a focus on constitutional literacy. https://consoc.org.uk/people/emily-board/
In the autumn Nina has joined a pottery class, which she is greatly enjoying. Ian proceeds through cycles of the heir-to-work in wood and stone, playing his music keyboards, and occasionally tinkering with cyber matters. He has, for instance, recently switched the (Linux) operating system on the computer he uses for writing and editing photos and going online. Like the other mentioned activities, this is a fascinating mixture of the application of skills, and the achievement of practical outcomes. He has also enjoyed learning how versatile an air-fryer is.
Storm Darragh hit us with a power cut around 10.15 a.m. on the Saturday (7/12), and it wasn't restored until 11 p.m. on the Monday (9/12). At a practical level, it wasn't too bad. We have log-burners at both ends of the house, and a reasonable stock of dry wood. And also a useful array of battery or rechargeable lights. But it did throw our usual routines and interests into sharp relief - no phone, no internet, no TV, very little mobile phone connectivity, computer time necessarily kept to a minimum - just cut off. It didn't make it easier to bear, that Ystalyfera and Godregraig generally weren't off for long, and houses within easy walking distance back to normal. (Others were even worse affected, of course - some didn't get power restored until the Wednesday or Thursday.)
Our house faces East South East across the valley. In the manner of the Victorian workman's cottages these once were, we have biggish windows, originally sashes around 4' x 3', but only one per room, and those only on the front face. At this time of year, direct sunlight comes slantingly in two dimensions. And therefore there are in most rooms substantial dark corners to either side of the window, which in the case of the kitchen, is exactly where the sink and cooker are. The Monday morning brought sunshine, and it was interesting to see where the bright light fell. In the kitchen, mainly onto the stairs; in our bedroom, onto the face of the pine-end wall. In the room where my music keyboards are, they face into the room, so the light from the window falls on the cover of a score, not the music page I see when playing. Ie in no case did the external light contribute much to the functional lighting of the rooms.
The 4 Boards and the 3 Grahams will share Christmas in Plymouth - we shall all (Jenny included) be in a city-centre hotel for Christmas Eve night, and for the first time ever we shall 'eat out' on the 25th. Otherwise, we shall enjoy Jenny's elegant home.
