Bon Voyage Elaine and Vic!

I can now put pen to paper about the upcoming move of our wonderful friends Elaine and Vic Ward! It is quite a story, and they have been through the mill over the last few years! Approximately three years ago Elaine started with a tickly cough, it wasn't anything untoward to begin with, but when the cough lasted for months, and after much nagging, she finally went to the doctors. Thankfully she has a good G.P. and he referred her to be seen by a specialist. The 'cough' turned out to be a little bit more than that, and was, in fact, a lung disease that had been caused by mould! Yes, mould, the stuff you find in your bathroom, damp areas, many places that you would not even think of looking, and not something that you would see as a threat to your very existence! But this mould was in a shower room in her home, which is also her place of work as she runs a small care home. This shower room was put in by a builder for use by the clients, one of whom Elaine has to shower every day, so every day she was going into what was basically a ticking time bomb for her! The builder, unbeknown to her, had never actually wired up the extractor fan, and while she thought that it was working it wasn't. Lethal! Thankfully Elaine has medical insurance so could pay for her care, and was seen very quickly. She has had incredible care, but she has also been seen on the N.H.S., and it is at times like this that we feel grateful that we have it.  Elaine has been seen at the chest hospital in London, The Brompton, one of the best hospitals in it's speciality in the world! We are so lucky and thankful for that! She has also had a mild course of chemotherapy, she has to take a vast number of tablets every day, including Steroids, which has caused her to gain weight. My lovely friend has been to hell and back, and at times I have been so scared I might lose her, selfish of me, because not only would I lose her, but so would Vic, her 5 children and many grandchildren too! But what has been the hardest thing for us all is the fact that we have had to watch her health deteriorate, and she has had to continue working, caring for others, which is tragic! As a small care home owner, if she doesn't work, she doesn't get paid, and for the last two plus years they have been trying to sell the business, all to no avail. It has been so difficult to watch her struggle, knowing there was nothing I could do to help her, wanting so much to take all the worry away from her and Vic, but not being able to.

So after all that time, the worrying and waiting, the sale almost happening then falling through, things have finally gone right for them and they have found someone to take the business on a Leasehold basis, so they can at long last get out! All this happened so quickly, one week it was a 'no go', the next week it was all happening! Why do I mention all this, because all the time this has been going on I have been 'plotting' to throw them a 'Bon Voyage' party, and then I find myself in the position of having to organise it in two weeks! Quick phone call to Elaine's daughter Emma, rally the family, and hey presto we had a party yesterday! We wanted to surprise them, so it was all very much cloak and dagger, hide the cars, hide the coats, hide them all in the house, but we did it, and they didn't have a clue!!

I have realised what a good fibber I can be, but I also have such a bad memory because of the Fibrofog that I have had to keep contact to texts so I don't go and say the wrong thing! The ploy to get them here was brilliant, I invited them for a barbecue with us and Luke's girlfriend Abby's family, because they had met them at many events, and in January Elaine and I and Abby and her mum Les, had had a girly weekend at Alveston Manor in Stratford, nice massages and a meal in the restaurant and a night away! Bliss! The reason I wanted to throw them a party here was simple, they have always had the parties at their house and for once we wanted to do something for them! As well as their family being here, I also invited their neighbours, so there was much sneaking about by them to get here without being noticed! It was just brilliant!

I spent the two weeks ordering cakes, sorting out food for the barbecue and Pat and Wendy, Elaine and Vic's neighbours also helped with it, and everyone very kindly brought along some drink. Amazing how great it is to work as a team to make a day special for two very well loved people! I was calm all morning, but once everyone was here, I did start to worry about how they would react, if the children would keep quiet - which considering there were two eight week old babies was really a big worry - if we would get away with it, or if they would see someone before they got here!

Luke and Abby stood at the landing window and did 'Wardwatch' and shouted us when they saw them coming, and as Elaine & Vic always walk into our house without knocking (as we do at theirs), this was a necessity!! Abby's parents sat on the sofa where they could see them, the rest of the party sat the other side of the room where they couldn't see them, and we milled about in the hall so that when they came in they wouldn't go into the kitchen - where all the glasses were set out - but would go straight into the lounge! In Elaine walked and I steered her and Vic into the lounge, Elaine hugged Abby's mum, and when they all shouted SURPRISE that was exactly what they were! The look was priceless!

Shock, then questions, then tears!

Then a hug for me and a handshake for Rich from Vic!

The afternoon went really well, and considering we had 8 children, 2 babies, and 18 adults in the house, it was a little bit chaotic, but it was great fun! Because we didn't want to get Elaine & Vic a gift, as they are moving into a much smaller property and are already struggling with storage and where to put things, I made the decision to make them a photo album of all the different parties, holidays, outings and get togethers so that they will take with them an everlasting memory of their time at Sorrel Drive! We will all miss them, me probably more than most, but the good news is, where they are 'retiring' to is literally a couple of hours away from our apartment in Spain, so when we are out there on holiday we will be able to get together, and when they are back in the UK they will be staying at their mobile home, which is about 40 minutes away from us.  Whatever happens, we know we have lifelong friends, we have been through a lot together, laughed together, cried together, helped each other and to me Elaine is my 'sister' by chance, not by birth, and I would choose her over my actual sisters any day! 

The two newest additions to the family - Oliver and Kylan! Born just 3 days apart!

The Cakes and some of the food! Yummy!

Elaine and Vic with all the grandchildren, all 8 of them!

Ray, Elaine's eldest son with the older grandchildren!

Rhiannon, Elaine's mum, sitting on the sofa, Brett and Danny standing, Simon sitting!

Auntie Danielle with Kylan!

Isabelle, Shayla, Charlie, Katie and Ciara!

Abby and her parents with me, Vic in the background!

 

Uncle Simon with Oliver!

Pat, Wendy, Charlotte and Owen, the neighbours!

Vic, Elaine and me!

The perfect end, to a perfect day!