Daveys in Britain 2019

We made a quick trip to the UK, flying into Bristol and then visiting places like Swansea, Leicester, Chippenham and Darlington.

Part of the goal was to spend some quality time with our sending church in North Wales. We've now been away fourteen years so we needed to get to know some new folk as well as to renew more established relationships.

Otherwise it was mainly the pretty standard Daveys in Britain experience - motorways and different towns galore - but we were also able to sneak off for a couple of afternoons. One we spent walking the Chester walls - well as far as we were able to because of maintenance work - and we got to re-explore Bath a little as well as spend a weekend with Pat's sister and a family barbecue with the Hodgson clan.

We're very thankful to folk who helped in myriad ways, meeting us at the airport, giving us a bed for the night, feeding us delicious British food, loaning us a car - or rather a Ka - and ferrying us hither and yon.

Another important part of the goal was to have our five-yearly review interview with a section of the Mission Council of UFM. Firstly Pat was interviewed by the kindly Linda, then I had my turn with council chairman Matthew. Some weeks later we met with the council who reviewed our situation quite thoroughly, talking about the past, our health, our current situation and work, immediate goals, and plans for the next five years and for 2025 onwards.

2025 is our retirement date when we cease to be supported by UFM and live on our various pension funds in the UK and in France. Little is certain about our retirement just now. Some things should be clearer on 1st November. There are various pension pots fermenting in different places, but even with all of them combined it may be difficult to afford to stay in Bordeaux. Not only that but we'll need to prepare for one of us to lose the other - and Pat thinks that she would find it impossible to live in France without me.

So there we are. A hectic month of June! Now I have quite a lot of admin to do - some important letters arrived while we were away!


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