2011 – Or more correctly the very tail end of
2010 was life changing. At a little
after 2pm on Wednesday 22 December 2010 we celebrated the birth of Liam Rórdán
Klaus Stones. Both mother and child left the hospital on Christmas Day and 16-1
White Gate Lane has never been the same. The New Year rang in to the sound of baby
wails and a never-ending cycle of milk and diapers. A full night’s sleep is a
thing of the past. All in all however, the experience is well worth the
sacrifice.
2011 has also been one of the driest on
record. At the time of writing we are only an inch ahead of the all time low in
1975. Consequently the water truckers have been doing an excellent trade this
year. In addition, the economic situation has gradually worsened with
construction drying up to a level most people cannot remember and Bermudians
facing unemployment for the first time in living memory.
In February (27th) Liam was
christened at St. Anthony’s Church in Warwick. His godparents are Kali
Winchell, Marie Trott and Brendan Stones. Fr. Joe Scollard C.R. presided over
the ceremony. Liam didn’t try to dive into the water like his mother apparently
tried to do, but he did not react negatively to the water being poured over
him. Around this time we also held the first official Highland Dancing
Competition in Bermuda, with almost all of our girls participating.
On 17th March, Liam
presented his grandfather with a shillelagh, the same one that had been
presented to my grandfather on St Patrick’s Day 1973 by me.
April was a busy month. We held
the second set of Highland Dancing Examinations. The Examiner was the President
of the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing, Shendl Russell. We also had
Easter. In the midst of this Liam developed his first ear infection and was on
antibiotics for several days.
In May we celebrated Mothers’ Day.
It also marked one year since we discovered that we were expecting. Our
postponed vacation from last September also happened and Liam took his first
flight and ride on a train. We stayed on a farm just outside of Canterbury in
Kent, which gave us the ability to spend some time exploring the areas around
which I had been at boarding school at Dover College. We visited Dover and
Walmer Castles and Dover College, where I met up with my old Housemaster Mike
Vanderhoeven and his wife (who also introduced us to his grandchild – now 13
and at Dover College). We had lunch in the old refectory (which is still being
used for its original purpose, built in the early 1100s.) and visited the
Chapel of St Martin on the grounds where I spent countless Sundays and other
occasions as part of the choir. The new music school, built into what was the
Headmaster’s House is now a first class facility. We also spent an afternoon
with Leo Forsdyke, my former music master in Walmer. The end of the trip we
spent in London. Natalie Pereech babysat Liam in our hotel room and we went to
see Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing” starring David Tennant &
Catherine Tate. We met up with Roz, Alan and Elizabeth and went to Hampton
Court Palace, which was an interesting day. In the evening we had dinner at Le
Meridien. We also met up with Josh Paulos for our regular Chinatown meal and were
happy to have a coffee with Nigel Hickson on a Sunday morning.
June saw Liam go to the beach for
the first time. He really enjoyed the water. He also visited the Aquarium and
was fascinated by the baby turtles. It was also Fathers’ Day and Marisa’s
birthday.
July was heavily weighted towards
prep for “Fortissimo”. Liam went swimming and to swimming “lessons”. He also
began to belly crawl and could stand on his own. Liam’s cousins, Alegña &
Aliyah, visited with us from Florida and enjoyed playing with the dogs.
August and we celebrated Cup Match
as far away from the crowds as possible. We had a picnic on the beach at
Mangrove Bay and relaxed. The following week was hectic. Both the Pipe Band and
Regiment Band travelled to Ottawa Canada to participate with the Canadian
Ceremonial Guard for “Fortissimo”. The three night performance took place on
the grounds in front of the Canadian Parliament Building, and the Regiment Band
performed at the “Changing the Guard on the Friday morning. It was the first
time that the Bermuda Regiment had participated in an official Guard Mount and
therefore we became part of history.
In September we celebrated our 5th
Anniversary (yes already) and my birthday in Boston. We took Liam to the New
England Aquarium, where he was fascinated by the penguins. We visited Babson College
and met up with one of Marisa’s professors, Bill Lawler. We also met up with
Carrie and Peter and were introduced to Ellie. We visited a farm and picked
apples. Liam also had his first haircut and we took a picture of 3 generations
of “Stones”. At my Grandfather’s
birthday (his 97th) we took a photograph of 4 generations of
“Youngs”.
October and November went by, with
Halloween, Remembrance Day, Thanksgiving Day (we’ll celebrate anyone’s
holidays). Liam is turning a toddler, and even though he is not walking, he is
standing regularly and using things to prop himself up while he moves around.
He also is a lot more animated, talking, complaining and generally making his
feelings known. He has also perfected his “fake” cry, to which we are getting
wise.
Marisa travelled to Antigua on
business in early December and unfortunately missed his Christmas pageant, but
we took pictures and video. The next big event will be Brendan & Suzy
having their child – any day now!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas
and hope for a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2012.
