It has been some considerable time since I last posted an
entry on Fred’s blog. A friend of mine,
Katy Graham, is raising funds for CLIC by running the London marathon this year. Hopefully through people being more aware of
the great work CLIC does, it will mean that Katy can raise as much money as
possible – and spur her on to make the 26+ miles through the capital. That is some doing and good luck to her. I (and some other friends) abseiled down the children’s
hospital in Bristol although that only took a few minutes and I was aided
greatly by gravity, so no stamina or training was required, unlike a marathon.

Reading through some or all of my ‘blog should give you an
insight in to the good work that CLIC do for ordinary people, like our family,
who unexpectedly need their assistance at the drop of a hat. The ‘blog does go on a bit in places so it
may take a while to find the CLIC related information.

Fred would have been six this year in May and he would have
started school proper last year too. Time
has passed so quickly but it still seems like yesterday that Fred was with
us. His little grave in the church yard
in Chagford is regularly visited, trimmed and tidied up. In the spring the birds pick at the moss to
make their nests, although at the moment slugs and snails seem especially
prevalent in attacking the wreaths and flowers placed there. There is fox-run by the side of him, which
runs down on to the lane below. Over in
the distance you can see Castle Drogo across the valley so he has a good view
from there.

His little sister Heidi, who will be four in May, also takes
great pleasure in making sure her brothers windmills run smoothly. She started pre-school in September last year
and enjoys this very much for her 2 ½ days a week. Her learning and social skills have developed
well, even though at home she can be a real pest and somewhat domineering….. She is due to start school in September of
this year and she talks about Freddie a lot, even though she never met her
older brother, knowing who he is in the various photographs that we have around
the house, so picks she things up quietly.
She has got to an age where she has started asking more searching
questions about Fred so we will address those as they arise.

Since my last post Heidi and we have been joined by baby Wilfred
James, who was born on the 14 January 2011, weighing in at 9lb 10oz and as he
grows he bears many similarities to his late brother Fred. We chose the name
Wilf as it is a bit traditional, includes “Fred” in it and retains James as his
middle name. This relates to Rachel’s grandfather.

No doubt I will post another entry sometime soon, but as I
say, time flies all the quicker nowadays.