Mark & Clare Miscellany 2021

Variations on a theme

Following on from Mark's 'change employer without changing job' trick that completed with becoming a full Microsoft employee in March; this year Clare changed job without changing employer, and is now a climate data analyst for Arup. We both spent most of the year working from home, though Mark has managed a day or two per week in the office recently (got to keep the pool skills up), and Clare has done a few day trips to meet her now-London-based team.

Isaac started nursery in February and despite being born into a lockdown has become really gregarious. John-Luke left the nursery to start school in September. He gets on well with phonics and enjoys reporting back on which sounds they have done, what is coming next, and which they won't do until next year. They only do two trigraphs in Reception, apparently.

Isaac's first birthday in April was spent at Clare's godmother's farm in Sussex where he and Clare spent two weeks helping with the lambing. (Clare's '30th birthday present' sheep had her first lamb). We all returned to the farm on Mark's birthday to watch the ewe's being sheared, and sheep-sat for a few days at the end of the summer holidays.

Mark dusted off his (somewhat rusty and questionable at the best of times) chess skills to join a casual work league. John-Luke has taken a keen interest, and has been taking fortnightly lessons at a local club.

Clare and her sister took on the organisation of the biannual craft fairs at Brancepeth Castle. Mark isn't quite sure how he ended up in charge of ticketing, social media advertising, as well as serving food in the café - but thankfully despite the pandemic and Storm Arwen both events were a success.