I've had a quiet Christmas for the most part, with Mark only staying over the present swap weekend before going to Italy to spend Christmas with Monica's family, and Adrian and Emma going home a few days later, the house seemed a bit empty, especially as Nan was feeling unwell and Mum was working. Still some family is better than none

It can now be officially announced that Dad has accepted a new job at St Mary's Church, Bushbury (near Wolverhampton) starting after Easter. Because of the rules of the Church of England, Dad couldn't let anyone know that he was looking for a new job, and it's been very stressful for him not to be as open with his congregation as he feels he should have been. He has been at St Martin's, Camberley for about ten years now, and was justifiably reluctant to leave the people he has ministered to. For obvious reasons Dad was a little busy and a bit tired over the Christmas period.

One major consequence of the forthcoming move is that we've started to sort through our stuff at Camberley with a view to relocate or discard everything depending on if we really want to keep it. Moving house is about the only time when you truly realise how much junk you've accumulated.

Yesterday I drove Nicholas back to Swansea, on route to Exeter, using the car to transport my Ikea storage unit to my flat in Exeter, annoyingly it's just a few millimetres to tall for my ceiling, thankfully the local DIY shop had a suitable hacksaw on sale, but Dad has kindly offered potentially useful tools, so I'll wait for now. Bought a small step ladder as well, I don't feel safe standing on chairs to reach the highest shelves or change lightbulbs.