2012

Well, this has clearly become a Tradition!  Welcome to my one-and-only blog post for 2012: the now-traditional year-end newsletter!  (You should probably be grateful that I don't blog more frequently - my life is really not that interesting!)

If I was to sum up 2012, it would be as a year of extremes, with some of the highest highs and the lowest lows in my recent experience.  It got off to a good start, with my handing over the role of Head of Department to one of my colleagues after nine years.  While that had been a very good and rewarding position, it was definitely the right time for someone else to take the reins.  Along with that change came a little extra sabbatical leave, and the first major highlight of the year was the break I was able to take in March, which allowed me to ride in the Argus.

After the Argus

Riding the Argus (properly known as the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour) had been on my bucket list for many years, so this was a great opportunity.  To make it even better, my good friend Theo was also able to get away at this time.  We had an incredible week-long road trip down from his home in Pretoria to Cape Town, seeing some amazingly beautiful parts of South Africa and doing some cycling along the way.  In Cape Town we were hosted with great warmth and generous hospitality by Theo's aunt and uncle.  The ride itself was amazing: the weather was almost perfect (a little hot, if one was going to be fussy), and the ability to cycle around some of the Western Cape's most beautiful scenery with the roads closed to vehicle traffic was a great privilege.  Theo blogged at length about our experiences on the road trip and in the ride, so I won't go into any greater detail here.

After the Argus, I returned to Pretoria with Theo and spent the rest of March and the first part of April (including Easter) there, making some good progress on my research (which was the main purpose of the additional sabbatical leave).

Spencer, Liz, Tanith & Tarryn

One of the first lows of the year, at the end of April, was the news that my uncle, Spencer, had passed away in September.  My parents and I were able to get to Durban for his funeral.  I hadn't been there for years, and so it was good to meet up with my aunt again and to get to know my cousins a little better.

July then brought more bad news as my sister, Liz, was diagnosed with suspected ovarian cancer.  Fortunately, my parents were with her at the time (on holiday on the Isle of Man where she lives), and my mother was able to extend her stay to remain there while Liz went through the whole process, including surgery and her recuperation.  Fortunately, the surgery revealed that the lump was benign, but it was a worrying few months.

In the middle of this process, I had my second, short period of sabbatical leave, and again spent a block of time from mid-August to mid-September in Pretoria, where I was able to make very good progress on my research again.

Liz, a couple of days after surgery.

I was able to get away at the time of Liz' surgery (I got my UK visa the day before I flew out!), and spent ten days with Liz and Mum, first at the hospital in Liverpool where the surgery was performed (and where we were also joined by my cousin Jayne who lives in Scotland), and then for the first few days of her recovery at home on the Isle of Man.  I have to say that I was very impressed with the quality of the care in the NHS hospital (Liverpool Women's Hospital).  One hears many bad stories about the quality of care, but Liz had the best of care with a real warmth and humanity from those providing it (the nurses, specialists and others).

Mum, Jayne and I were also able to do a little sight-seeing around Liverpool (it was my  first visit), in between visiting hours at the hospital.  I was pleasantly surprised at the city, and wouldn't mind going back again for a proper holiday visit.  I did manage to fit in one quick geocaching expedition, close to the hotel where we were staying, and so introduced Jayne to the joys of caching!

After getting Liz settled back into her home, I had to leave her and Mum and dash back to South Africa for my next block of lecturing.  I did stop off in Jo'burg on my way back to apply for the US visa for my next overseas trip, two weeks later!

SLC Conference Centre

That was a fairly lengthy trip, starting off on the Isle of Man, where I was able to help out with cooking and driving duties.  It was good to see Liz making steady progress after the surgery.  From there I headed across to the States, primarily to attend a conference in Salt Lake City.  That was a very good experience, despite the unusually early heavy snows that had fallen (and continued to fall for the first 24 hours of my stay).  That made Salt Lake City (which I had visited several years before in mid-summer) very beautiful, but very cold!  After the conference, I was able to travel to California, spending the week of Thanksgiving with my good friends, the Hobsons (it was Colin's birthday that week too, so a very good week to be visiting).  I was also able to fit in a quick visit to Davis, and it was very good to meet up again with various friends from my time there and to revisit some of my old haunts on the campus and in the town.

From the USA, I returned to the UK where I met up with Mum and Liz briefly at Gatwick airport, and then was able to travel back to South Africa with Mum, leaving Liz with some friends there for a few days.  Shortly after our return to Grahamstown, my aunt and uncle arrived from New Zealand, and then a few days later Liz arrived for the next major "high" of the year.  That was my parents' 50th wedding anniversary on 8 December.  We had a very good celebration together with family and friends, enjoying a leisurely champagne brunch at the Fish River Sun, and then spending some time down at the beach.

A few days later, Dad and Liz took my aunt and uncle for a quick trip along the Garden Route, before sending them on their way to Cape Town.  They had a good time in Knysna, Oudtshoorn, etc.

Christmas was spent relatively quietly in Grahamstown, before the final highlight of the year, when the Hobsons were able to visit briefly.  It was really interesting (and at times hilariously funny!) to see aspects of South African life through the youngsters eyes.  While they were born in South Africa, they have grown up in America, but hearing a lot about Africa from their parents (and the occasional, odd visitor ;-) !), and so had a very interesting perspective.

And so it's the 31st of December and another year draws to a close.  As I said, it has been year of amazing highs and some tough lows, but fortunately we end on a pretty positive note all-in-all.  I'd like to wish anyone who's had the patience to read these ramblings all the best for 2013.  May God bless us and keep us, whatever it may have in store for us.

The Wells Family (Christmas 2012)