Diary 2000
Happy New Year To All Our Visitors!
January
4th Back to aikido with a great misogi.
8th Gary finishing editing the video of our God-daughter Karen's christening.
9th Saw Sleepy Hollow. Excellent. See Linda's review.
23rd Dojo New year's meal at Zen CX Colindale.
24th Linda dropped a large man on her foot during aikido practice. Butterfingers! The next
few days will be spent at home contemplating how to be less clumsy in future. Visit
from Sensei Steve Magson, who is teaching at Shinmei-kan during the coming week.
29th. Dinner party with Steve and Louise. Delicious food and wine.
30th Gary busy editing the video of the Film and TV Modellers Club Convention, Dronerama 1999.
February
7th Linda at Arts Club with friends to attend talk on Sudden Violent
and Unnatural Death, followed by a three course dinner.
11th Linda and Gary at IMAX for Fantasia 2000.
19th To Didcot to see our lovely Goddaughter Karen Johanna. She is sitting up and
being very cute.
26th Saw Toy Story 2. Excellent! See Linda's
review.
March
2nd Gary's 40th birthday. Actual celebrations deferred to weekend.
3rd. Linda back at aikido after injury - very tentative - foot still not 100%
4th Drank lots of champagne. (see 2nd)
5th Gary completed the Film and TV
Model Club 1999 convention video.
24th London Drinker Beer Festival.
25th FTV Model Club annual day trip to London.
April
3rd Linda and Gary's 7th wedding anniversary.
4th Linda's birthday. To Wyndham's Theatre to see Art (see review) and dinner at Gili Gulu.
8th Ideal Home Exhibition
9th Star Wars Trivia Game with John and Paul.
14th To Bodmin, where we discovered The Hole in The Wall pub, which used to be a debtor's
prison. Good food and real ale.
15th. To the Shire Hall Bodmin to see the Charlotte
Dymond Trial Experience. Dinner to celebrate Professor David Bowen's 60th birthday.
22-24 Easter Science Fiction convention in Glasgow.
29 Elizabethan murder mystery dinner party.
May
5/6th To Manchester where Gary and Linda were part of the team
behind the pyrotechnic display at Old Trafford when Manchester United were presented with
the Carling Premiership Trophy. Many thanks to Stephen Miller of Live Action FX.
13th To Burton on Trent for an aikido course. Guest Instructors Steve Magson Sensei
and Coral Crane Sensei.
14th Firework display at Nailcote Hall.
21st Went to see Gladiator.
27th Canal boat trip with friends. Amongst other things, visited the Black Country Living Museum which we
strongly recommend.
June
9th Firework display at village Summer Fete. Lovely weather,
all great fun.
23rd Lovely day spent with Gary's sister Jane and family.
29th Red letter day for Linda. Graded to shodan (1st Dan
black belt) in aikido.
July
2nd Annual Newhaven Fort Full of Models event with the Film and TV Model Club out in
force. Gary's model of Gromit as a pod-racer, called "Cracking Pod,
Gromit!" (converted from the Wallace and Gromit motorbike and sidecar kit) won
first prize in the Science Fiction non-figure category.
8th Splendid barbecue blues-style party at John's.
9th Went to see Chicken Run - loved it!
10th Aunt Joan Stratmann visited from Australia
13th Another Red Letter Day! In Bradford for the graduation
ceremony of Linda's son, Elric. Elric and his girlfriend Eleni both graduated
with an upper second in Electronic Imaging and Media Communication. Elric will
shortly take up a post as lecturer in Digital Media Technology at Leeds University while
Eleni will work towards her PhD. Very proud of them both! We also met Eleni's
mother and sister for the first time.
14th Visited the National Museum
of Photography Film and Television in Bradford. Excellent. Saw the IMAX
presentation of 3D Mania - awesome!
15th. To Leeds to
take part in the Japanese themed weekend at the Armouries. Did an aikido
demonstration with Sensei Steve Magson and the students of Sakumeikan from
Middleborough. Linda also took part in her first ever public demonstration of
Batto-ho.
22nd Gary at War and Peace Show ay the Hop Farm, Beltring.
23rd Linda and Gary at the Annual Land Rover show.
August
4th Great British Beer festival at Olympia.
Particularly recommended - Black Cat Mild, gold medal winner, Umbel, gold medal speciality
beer, delicately flavoured with cardamom, and Linda's favourite, Zingiber, with a tang of
ginger.
5th - 11th Aikido Millennium Summer School at Bangor. Special guest instructors Professor
T K Chiba, Professor I Shibata, Professor Y Yamada and Professor N Tamura. A very
special event indeed.
12th Return from Summer School, stopped for lunch at the Old Three Pigeons, Nescliffe.
Lovely pub, smashing food.
19th Lovely garden party, and the weather was kind to us!
20th Went to the Art of Star Wars exhibition at the Barbican followed by a trip to the
cinema to see the X-Men.
26th Barbecue at the Lonsdales.
27th John and Carol visited, Linda cooked an Indian meal - tandoori tiger prawns, lamb
korma, fragrant rice, poppadums, green beans with coconut, cucumber and red onion relish,
followed by chocolate orange and cardamom kulfi with brandied oranges. Needed something
robust to drink with it, so we had Rawsons Retreat cabernet sauvignon, but still had room
for the odd cask strength malt to linger over later on.
28th Nice trip to Waltham Abbey and Waltham Cross.
September
2nd Firework display for a wedding at Theydon Bois. Went very well
indeed.
9th To Faversham for a very pleasant
day out in this attractive historical town. Lunch at the Carpenters Arms Eastling. Visit
to the Fleur-de-Lis
Heritage Centre. Saw a production of the play Arden of Faversham
performed in the garden of the house where the events ocurred.
16th Trip to Manchester to meet up with members of the Film and TV Model Club
22nd and 23rd Aikido Autumn Course in Durham, chief instructor Professor T K Chiba.
30th Enjoyable meal out on the occasion of Mark Jacobs birthday.
October
7th Fabulous dinner at John's to celebrate 10 years in his home. A
truly great evening.
14th Live roleplaying event which involved being up to the knees in mud in a wood in Kent.
Yes - we enjoyed it!
21st Dave's 40th birthday party with firework display.
28th. Almost prevented by floods from reaching Chris and Jenny where we had a great dinner
with good company.
November
4th Fireworks at the Old
Edwardians Club in Birmingham
10-12th Took part in live roleplaying event at Great Yarmouth
18th Aikido course in Ewell.
25th Mike Figg's birthday party
26th To Birmingham Memorabilia Fair.
December
2nd Brian and Caroline's annual party - excellent as usual.
9/10th Excellent aikicdo course at I Shin Juku
23rd Great party at Hitch's
24/27th Family Xmas
29th Went to see The Grinch.
30th Fireworks at Tetsworth.
31st New Years Eve with friends.
[The Stratmanns] [Site Map] [Home Page]