The Toddy Times

Hannah and Anthony’s Year

August was bigger still - two incredible weeks in Nashville visiting Veda and her family. It felt like stepping into another life. We packed so much in: Nashville and Chattanooga Aquarium, the Corvette Museum, Mammoth Cave (the world’s longest cave system - dark, vast, and amazing), and Buc-ee’s, which turned out to be a service station on an entirely different level. There were ball games with Melanie, trips to the lake (including some fishing), domino games with Veda and Gene, swimming in the pool at Jason and Jana’s home and laughter stitched into every day.

September slowed things down again. We visited Brooklands with Anthony’s brother Gareth and sister-in-law Heidi. We’ve seen so much of them this year, which feels like a gift in itself - the kind you don’t wrap up, but treasure anyway. We went crabbing with Ophelia and Anthony enjoyed fishing trips with Papa - one of which ended with an impressive 11lb carp.

October brought dust, tiles, and determination when Anthony decided to redecorate the bathroom. The very first tile he removed took the wall down with it - a dramatic start. What followed was weeks of hard work: gutting the room, learning

This year felt like one of those storybooks where the pages are a bit dog-eared and smudged, because they’ve been turned so often. A year of proper living. The kind with muddy shoes, happy tears, tired evenings, and moments that quietly lodge themselves in your heart. We were busy, really busy and the year swung between highs and lows like a playground swing that sometimes goes a bit too fast. Still, there were so many moments of joy tucked in between.

One of the loveliest parts was having National Trust and English Heritage memberships, which made ordinary weekends feel like small adventures. We wandered through old places and imagined lives lived long before ours. Porchester Castle stood out the most this year especially when we visited with Ophelia. The stone walls felt huge and solid, and she explored with that perfect mix of curiosity and confidence, as if castles were made especially for her.

March arrived full of excitement and curls, the good kind. Amy and Tom’s wedding on Hayling Island was beautiful, the sort of day that glows in your memory. My hair was styled and curled so carefully that it felt like a celebration all on its own. Everything shimmered with happiness.

Winston, our dear old dog, turned fifteen. Fifteen! He’s slower now and rather deaf but he still greets each day with enthusiasm, tail wagging as if life is still full of wonderful surprises. Watching him enjoy every day so completely feels like a lesson. He enjoyed his staycations in Brighton with Izzy and Kaye while we were busy travelling the world!

And as if our house wasn’t already lively enough, we welcomed two new guinea pigs: Bluebell and Willow. Small, squeaky additions who quickly made themselves at home.

Not all chapters were easy. In May, we lost Uncle John to a respiratory disease. He left behind a space that can’t quite be filled. Even towards the end, he kept telling his stories, making us laugh, reminding us who he was right up until the very last moment. After his passing, his daughters Teena and Sally came to visit - Teena from Australia and Sally from Cyprus. We gathered, ate together, talked and remembered. Teena stayed for two whole months, and we soaked up every second of having her close, as if time itself might run out again.

The allotment became a place of calm and satisfaction. We finished building the raised beds and watched everything grow - plums and apricots bursting from branches, sweetcorn, peas, leeks, apples and pears filling baskets and pockets. There’s something quite magical about growing food with your own hands.

July brought colour and a sky full of movement at the Southsea Kite Festival which we enjoyed with the rest of the family.

And then there was work. A huge change. After fifteen years at Rake C.E. Primary School, I said goodbye. It was emotional in ways I hadn’t expected.

I’ve now moved to Seasons, a Farm and Forest Nursery School in Aldingbourne a much shorter drive from our house. The transition hasn’t been smooth - there have been wobbles, doubts and moments when I wanted to give up. But I keep going. I love being able to choose what we do and where we go, letting the children and the land lead the way.

Looking back, this year was full of love, loss, learning and laughter. Not perfect. Not tidy. But real. And somehow, that makes it feel just right.

Hannah pictured above with Angelina and Lizz, also leaving Rake School

how to tile from YouTube, replacing a sink after a bottle fell and smashed it and fitting new taps with Papa’s help. Most evenings and every weekend, Anthony worked away. The bathroom only needs painting now - proof of just how much effort he’s poured into it.