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A Very Merry Christmas
and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2026

Hi Everybody, we are back, It has been a very busy time since I last updated the website – sincere apologies but you will understand the delay by reading on.

About a year ago – late 2024 - a buyer surfaced for our house in Cyprus. After much to-ing and fro-ing, by May 2025  we came to a mutual agreement and the house was considered sold but with conditions. Even after ‘owning’ the house since 2005, and despite much effort, we have never managed to get the deeds. Even now the Cypriot  a---h-le  who built the house is trying to say that he owns part of the land the house is built on – fortunately we have a signed receipt to say that we paid for the land. But, true to form, the Cypriot land registry, behaving like an incapacitated snail, still  have not produced the land deeds. Accordingly, the house is considered sold with the buyers having paid 90% of the price and 10% held in reserve until the deeds appear – better than sitting back doing nothing!!

So, by May this year Isobel and I were looking to move out of the apartment we rented and go into the house hunting mode. It didn’t take long to find another apartment in the same development – very similar to the one we rented but much more modern. Cutting a long story short and taking into account delays, which nowadays seem an inherent part of legal degree training, by September the new apartment was ours. 4 weeks intensive redecorating and alterations by a superb workman called Chris Maxwell and the apartment was ready for its new occupants.

     Morning sunrise from our new lounge window

At this point can I give you a bit of advice – don’t go moving house at 80 years old !!! Two weeks carrying and using a trolly, and with the magnificent help of Gareth, James, Rhian and Guy Culley we moved and took up residence in 23 Riverine, Grosvenpr Drive, Maidenhead – I think it took another 2 weeks to get our breaths back!! The rest of October / November has been a settling in process not to mention the opening and deciding what to do with the dozen boxes of bits and pieces from Cyprus which have been living in Rhian’s garage for the past 4 years – not an easy task to move the contents of a 5 bedroom house in Cyprus into a 2 bedroom apartment in Maidenhead. Now all finished and we are blissfully happy.

So, onto us. Isobel is remarkably well despite a very painful trigger finger (seeing the plastic surgeons next year), and osteo arthritis  of her back (blessed be Ibuprofen and Paracetamol), she still walks miles every day! Me? Off to see the radio therapy team next year to fire gamma rays at my prostate cancer (fortunately still encapsulated with no spread), auto immune hepatitis (and I’m blowed if I listen to everything they say and avoid my G&Ts) and a fairly well managed 80 year old heart, everything is tickety-boo!

News from the Culley household – grandson James is travelling all over the country working as a development officer for M&B - work experience as part of his degree course. He goes back to Portsmouth University next Autumn to complete his architecture degree. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back with M&B because he is making such a favourable impression. Gareth still works in a supervisory position at a local restaurant, but he considers this a holding position at the moment. Last year he made moves to apply for officer training with the RAF but despite numerous interviews and examinations the wheel is moving very slowly before he can put on a uniform!! In the meantime, he is spending hours running and training at a local fitness centre to get himself in tip-top condition. Richard down in Newport is fine, Over the past year he has developed a superb new hobby in carpentry and garden furniture making – must have inherited the genes of his grandfather Doug ! If you go to Richard's picture page you will see some of his finished  products – if you are interested give me a call.

So what is planned for 2026? Isobel and I, along with Rhian and the boys, are hoping for a week in Cyprus. Originally we were aiming for March / April but with the radio therapy looming we may put this off to May. We are also hoping for another river cruise later in the year because we enjoyed the last one so much and, taking my wobbly knee into account, walking too much and too far is a no go. Incidentally, Ted Gamage, Isobel’s distant uncle passed away in November aged 94 and guess what came my way thanks to Gareth and Janet (Gamage) - a mobility scooter !! Absolutely superb for longer ‘walks’!

That’s it for the moment, after a long wait a new desk is due to appear and all my files and paperwork will have homes to go to. Finally, all back to normal  so its time to sit back and enjoy it all.  Keep in touch all of you – have a wonderful 2026 and keep happy and healthy and, despite Rachel Reeves, hopefully prosperous.