advent letter 2014
Anne and Murdoch Mackenzie
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat. Please do put a penny in the old man’s hat. Have you seen the old man on the streets of London, or of Glasgow or of any of the great Metropolitan cities around the globe? We have been writing these ‘Christmas’ letters since 1966. In 1968 we wrote from India about “The Cough on the Verandah” saying: “It’s the cough of those who will wait on the verandah just as long as they have any hope that by some miracle you can find them employment, or food, or clothing ………” Or think of T.S. Eliot: ‘A cold coming we had of it…Just the worst time of the year’. The Journey of the Magi, wise men en route to worship a baby lying in a manger because there was no room at the inn. When will they ever learn? When will we ever learn? Sitting here in a comfortable flat in Edinburgh it is all too easy to forget that there are people starving less than a mile away. Of course there are the Food Banks but we can’t bank on them. In any case our money is safely in the Savings Bank!
When we moved to Edinburgh we had every intention of becoming involved in various ways but Murdoch’s health problems have put paid to that. Having recovered from a wedge fracture in his back, he was then diagnosed with myelodysplasia andf has been receiving monthly blood transfusions. Then came the cancer in his neck which was removed by a major operation on 22nd May. This was followed by 30 sessions of radiotherapy, further operations for cancer on his legs and face, recent skin problems and olecranon bursitis, and now he is waiting for another operation under his left arm. All this meant that we have had something of an ‘annus horribilis’. However we have been surrounded by an avalanche of prayer from around the world, with postcards and get-well cards from many friends and by constant e-mails, phone calls and visits from a whole variety of people both near and far. Time would fail us to name you all, but your love and care will never be forgotten.
There have been other family matters – some sad – and some joyful. Anne’s sister, Jean, died quite suddenly in Devon where Murdoch conducted a family funeral on 19th May followed on 20th by the Rector conducting a Thanksgiving Service in St Michael’s and All Angels’ Parish Church in Torrington attended by 500 people. A new small housing development in Torrington is to be named ‘Tyler Meadow’ in memory of John and Jean and all that they did over 50 years in Torrington as the local Vet and as a G.P. In the months since May we have been greatly comforted by Jean’s family with visits from Wendy and Trevor, Richard and Rachel, Mark and Helen and contact from Charles and Alison.
Murdoch’s brother, Kenneth, is still unwell with Parkinson’s disease, but we live quite near which means we see him and Irene fairly often. Their granddaughter, Cara, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in London in October, and both Ruth and Iain were able to attend. They also visited the 888,246 poppies at the Tower of London. It has been a year of remembrance in many ways with so much about the 1914-18 War and with a special ‘Homecoming Exhibition’ of Mairead and Catriona Macdonald’s artwork in the Skye Archive Centre in Portree, which we were fortunate enough to be able to visit on two gloriously sunny days in October. A number of our relatives and friends have died including Murdoch’s cousin, Mackenzie, in Devon and two long-lived ladies – Rhoda Smith from our young days at Prenton Congregational Church in Birkenhead in the 1950s and ’60s and Mary Riber from our time at St Andrew’s Kirk in Madras in the 1970s.
Here in Edinburgh we have many old friends and close family members. Ruth often calls in on her way home from school and she and Chris with his sister Alison visited India, meeting many of our friends and worshipping in St Andrew’s Kirk and in the churches in Vyasarpady. Catriona in her social work, and Damir in his immigration law are both very busy whilst Hana and Benjo are doing exceptionally well at school and still winning medals galore for swimming. Hana won a gold medal in an international meet in Sarajevo. They also visit us regularly. Iain is fully occupied with his work for the Green Deal in London and with various sporting and other activities. He visits us for a few days from time to time.
The big event of the year was undoubtedly the celebration of our Golden Wedding. Ruth, Catriona and Iain had arranged all sorts of surprises. 53 friends and family came from far and wide to a lunch in the Lindisfarne Room at St Cuthbert’s Church followed by the cutting of the cake and afternoon tea, with an exhibition, illustrating the past 50 years, in our home. On the next day 22 of us enjoyed an open-air lunch in Damir and Catriona’s garden overlooked by Arthur’s Seat. Several of those who came had been at the wedding in 1964! Many family members, and friends from our days in Merseyside, Oxford, Edinburgh, India, Runcorn, Birmingham, and Connel, graced us with their presence.
The other major event was the Scottish Referendum, on Murdoch’s father’s 107th birthday, 18th September. As St Andrew’s Day approaches we have hopes that out of it all there will emerge a new sensitivity to and awareness of human suffering around the world be it on the streets of Scotland or of Africa. Now at Advent, with World Aids Day and Human Rights Day on the horizon, we look forward to Christmas aware that on 2nd December Murdoch will be having another operation to remove the cancer under his left arm. As we journey to Bethlehem bearing our gifts and our burdens may our eyes be open to see this thing which has come
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat. Please do put a penny in the old man’s hat. Have you seen the old man on the streets of London, or of Glasgow or of any of the great Metropolitan cities around the globe? We have been writing these ‘Christmas’ letters since 1966. In 1968 we wrote from India about “The Cough on the Verandah” saying: “It’s the cough of those who will wait on the verandah just as long as they have any hope that by some miracle you can find them employment, or food, or clothing ………” Or think of T.S. Eliot: ‘A cold coming we had of it…Just the worst time of the year’. The Journey of the Magi, wise men en route to worship a baby lying in a manger because there was no room at the inn. When will they ever learn? When will we ever learn? Sitting here in a comfortable flat in Edinburgh it is all too easy to forget that there are people starving less than a mile away. Of course there are the Food Banks but we can’t bank on them. In any case our money is safely in the Savings Bank!
When we moved to Edinburgh we had every intention of becoming involved in various ways but Murdoch’s health problems have put paid to that. Having recovered from a wedge fracture in his back, he was then diagnosed with myelodysplasia andf has been receiving monthly blood transfusions. Then came the cancer in his neck which was removed by a major operation on 22nd May. This was followed by 30 sessions of radiotherapy, further operations for cancer on his legs and face, recent skin problems and olecranon bursitis, and now he is waiting for another operation under his left arm. All this meant that we have had something of an ‘annus horribilis’. However we have been surrounded by an avalanche of prayer from around the world, with postcards and get-well cards from many friends and by constant e-mails, phone calls and visits from a whole variety of people both near and far. Time would fail us to name you all, but your love and care will never be forgotten.
There have been other family matters – some sad – and some joyful. Anne’s sister, Jean, died quite suddenly in Devon where Murdoch conducted a family funeral on 19th May followed on 20th by the Rector conducting a Thanksgiving Service in St Michael’s and All Angels’ Parish Church in Torrington attended by 500 people. A new small housing development in Torrington is to be named ‘Tyler Meadow’ in memory of John and Jean and all that they did over 50 years in Torrington as the local Vet and as a G.P. In the months since May we have been greatly comforted by Jean’s family with visits from Wendy and Trevor, Richard and Rachel, Mark and Helen and contact from Charles and Alison.
Murdoch’s brother, Kenneth, is still unwell with Parkinson’s disease, but we live quite near which means we see him and Irene fairly often. Their granddaughter, Cara, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in London in October, and both Ruth and Iain were able to attend. They also visited the 888,246 poppies at the Tower of London. It has been a year of remembrance in many ways with so much about the 1914-18 War and with a special ‘Homecoming Exhibition’ of Mairead and Catriona Macdonald’s artwork in the Skye Archive Centre in Portree, which we were fortunate enough to be able to visit on two gloriously sunny days in October. A number of our relatives and friends have died including Murdoch’s cousin, Mackenzie, in Devon and two long-lived ladies – Rhoda Smith from our young days at Prenton Congregational Church in Birkenhead in the 1950s and ’60s and Mary Riber from our time at St Andrew’s Kirk in Madras in the 1970s.
Here in Edinburgh we have many old friends and close family members. Ruth often calls in on her way home from school and she and Chris with his sister Alison visited India, meeting many of our friends and worshipping in St Andrew’s Kirk and in the churches in Vyasarpady. Catriona in her social work, and Damir in his immigration law are both very busy whilst Hana and Benjo are doing exceptionally well at school and still winning medals galore for swimming. Hana won a gold medal in an international meet in Sarajevo. They also visit us regularly. Iain is fully occupied with his work for the Green Deal in London and with various sporting and other activities. He visits us for a few days from time to time.
The big event of the year was undoubtedly the celebration of our Golden Wedding. Ruth, Catriona and Iain had arranged all sorts of surprises. 53 friends and family came from far and wide to a lunch in the Lindisfarne Room at St Cuthbert’s Church followed by the cutting of the cake and afternoon tea, with an exhibition, illustrating the past 50 years, in our home. On the next day 22 of us enjoyed an open-air lunch in Damir and Catriona’s garden overlooked by Arthur’s Seat. Several of those who came had been at the wedding in 1964! Many family members, and friends from our days in Merseyside, Oxford, Edinburgh, India, Runcorn, Birmingham, and Connel, graced us with their presence.
The other major event was the Scottish Referendum, on Murdoch’s father’s 107th birthday, 18th September. As St Andrew’s Day approaches we have hopes that out of it all there will emerge a new sensitivity to and awareness of human suffering around the world be it on the streets of Scotland or of Africa. Now at Advent, with World Aids Day and Human Rights Day on the horizon, we look forward to Christmas aware that on 2nd December Murdoch will be having another operation to remove the cancer under his left arm. As we journey to Bethlehem bearing our gifts and our burdens may our eyes be open to see this thing which has come
Our Golden Wedding June 2014
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End this slide show by clicking X at the top right of the image.
