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Yet another year flies by. Just as we thought life couldn't get any more complicated we are proven wrong. It has been a year of change. Greg changed job again, albeit still with Reuters, Jill finished work (again!), Kiran graduated, James started his second year at Oxford, the stockmarket collapsed even further, and we bought a property in Spain!!

In December 2001 we all went to the Varsity rugby match at Twickenham, since this was the only year when when Kiran (Emmanuel College Cambridge) and James (Keble College Oxford) would overlap. This is a regular annual event between the two universities so we had to split ourselves up!. Jill went and sat with Cambridge (the 'Tabs' as they are known to the opposition) and Greg sat with James in the Oxford stands. Oxford won by a small margin. We then went drinking with the students, first the Oxford lot, then Cambridge, and then frankly we can't remember...

On the workfront.. Greg started the year in charge of Reuters Global Services division. Mid-year there was a reorganisation and Global Services was no more... At this time 650 senior manager's were 'let go'. Like a Phoenix Greg was appointed to a newly created CIO role. This is proving very interesting, however the business climate remains tough. Meanwhile Jill completed her one year contract with the UK Government's Treasury Department. The 'Sandler' review on which she was working was published in June see here for details. They did ask if she was interested in a permanent role. However she decided that she wasn't cut out to be a government worker and was very happy to go back to 'retirement', which is a strange way of describing being busier than ever but not being paid for whatever she is doing!

Towards the end of 2001 we had concluded that we were not getting much use out of our apartment on the Isle of Wight. And of course neither Kiran nor James used it much, a very uncool place. So with great regret we decided we would make a change and look for somewhere warmer (Jill), near some good golf (Greg), with access to night life (Kiran & James), and with frequent and cost effective flights (everyone). We looked at the south of France but it didn't really gel.

In February we went to southern Spain, on a joint villa hunting and skiing holiday. We skied in the Sierra Nevada's about a 2.5 hour drive from the Costa del Sol.

Anyway, we then spent several days driving round looking at Villas. By the end we had Villa blindness, however we really liked the weather, and feel of the area just west of San Pedro De Alcantara on the Costa Del Sol. To cut a long story short, after several days, we ended up buying the very first Villa we saw. One should have been wary after the agent said what do you think? Simultaneously Greg said, "Great but its too big", and Jill said "I love it".

Following Kiran's 21st and a suitable recovery period we went with twelve other friends to stay in a mansion in Cumbria, near the lake district - yes in March. In the end we had a really great time pretending that actually we were grown ups but behaving like we might have done 20 or 30 years ago. As well as some real exercise, as you can see below, we also ate very well and played some very silly games. Anyway much fun was had by all.

In June it was time to go and attend Kiran's graduation from Cambridge, where much to all our delight she graduated with a BA, First Class. This really is a major achievement and is much deserved as she worked incredibly hard and in addition won the Professor Peter Wildy prize for the most outstanding pathology research project. Needless to say we are all very proud of her. We all went to the graduation ceremony which was very special and of course we have the obligatory 'Graduation Photos'.

Meanwhile of course James had finished his first year at Oxford, where he is reading Economics and Management. He had a difficult start, finding the work hard, and having a difficult personal situation at the time (living in Oxford with girlfriend in Manchester...). However by the end of the academic year he had settled well, passed his exams, and appeared to be enjoying himself very much indeed.

At the end of June we all went on a family sailing holiday to Croatia. This was great fun and the first time we had been together as a family for ages. Given what was about to happen it was also going to be the last time for ages.

We had a very relaxing time sailing around the Croatian coastline which is very beautiful and rugged.

On return from Croatia it was time to go our separate ways. Kiran had decided to take a year out travelling. She left in early August, with Zelie, a friend from school. She spent the first few months in Thailand and Malaysia, missed the Bali bomb by 24hrs (having spent all 14 evenings in Bali in the Sari Club), and is currently in Australia. We will all be meeting up with her for a family Xmas in Sydney. Meanwhile James left to go and brush up his Italian working for Reuters in Rome. After Rome he went backpacking through Italy, to Greece, where he discovered the delights of Greek island hopping and sleeping under the stars. He returned just in time to return to his second year at Oxford but first having to seek medical attention for an injured leg - having come off of a rented moped in Greece - effectively ruling himself out of rugby for this year.

Meanwhile we flew out to Chicago for a brief trip down memory lane. Whilst there we managed dinner with our friends the Augspurger's and Bartecki's, as well as a barbecue with the Rose's in Glenn Ellyn.

The other memorable event this summer, apart from a great day at Wimbledon, was seeing a fabulous production of Carmen at Glyndebourne, which would be enough to convert even the faint hearted to Opera.

Here are a few shots to give you an idea. Just let us know when you are coming......!

As autumn drew in we went for a final quick walking weekend in Norfolk with friends who live near Cambridge. Neither of us had been to the Norfolk coast before and we were enchanted, helped by the fact that the weather was very kind to us, and the lunches after a not too strenuous walk were superb.

Its now December and the year is almost gone. Next weekend we pick up James from Oxford, and the weekend after that we are off to Sydney. Coincidentally we will also be spending xmas day with friends who like us are visiting their children,who like Kiran, are also exploring the world.

So we'll finish by wishing you all the best, hoping like us you have had an eventful year, and that 2003 is even better.

Love

Jill and Greg.

See us at: www.meekings.co.uk, mail us at jill or greg or kiran or james.