Seasons Greetings All ! I've been writing these Christmas Newsletters since 1995, online since 1996. Tap or Click on Father Christmas, at the top, for our 1996 Newsletter. If you got a paper copy, it was probably this smaller version, influenced by wife June ;-) Look at the date near the top: the online copy may have been updated. That link of www.gpss.co.uk/xmas24.htm is to my full newsletter, too big to print. That photo on the right, taken in December 2024, is for those who say my mug shots make me look too young, and/or they don't recognise me now, with that beard :-) In 2024, yet more "photo trail" videos were added to www.youtube.com/user/RobinLovelock/videos showing life with the Lovelocks in Sunninghill, and the state of our house and garden - needs "Handyman" work - particularly indoors ! e.g. putting things outside, in space created, like "workshop" areas; then giving or throwing stuff away ;-)

Significant events during 2024 and important background activity ...

* June's 2023 "Christmas Eve Covid" delays Lovelock Celebrations.
* New Year's Eve "delayed Christmas Lunch" at Saskia's & Gary's.
* Holiday in Maldives for June & Samantha 29th February until 9th March.
* Somerset Weekend with Gary, Saskia, Michelle, June, Samantha & Robin.
* See Holiday for Holiday in Sicily from late May with June, Samantha, & Robin.
* See AMRA for Barbecue (BBQ) on Sunday 23rd June 2024 in Amenity Area.
* Blenheim Palace Christmas Lights Family Gathering Saturday 30th November.
*Snoopy's Robot Boat MAY be ready in 2024. If not, then 2025. See Blog11
*Global Warming & James Lovelock's words - still not understood ? !-(
*DVLA still prevent Robin driving Julie Lennard leaves DVLA.. ??? :-)
*Robin's friends in China & GPS Tracking hobbies ;-)
*Samantha now redundant - BUT more time to help June, in house & garden ? ;-)
*Robin shifts priorities to Pubs, Cafes, Restaurants, & Sunninghill Comrades Club ;-)

Homer is on "Christmas Guard Duty" again, helping Bentley & Tody keep an eye on our property, including the Camper. This is us in December 2024, attending to Homer's needs ;-) On Christmas Eve 2023, June's cough & cold got worse, with tiredness, and she tested positive for Covid19 . It was, like for many, a mild cold, cough, and lethargy. Samantha had similar symptoms but tested negative. After a week, on New Year's Eve, we were all well enough for us to enjoy a "delayed Christmas Lunch" over at Gary & Saskia's place on New Year's Eve.

June has been happy to drive, and walk short distances, such as down into our village of Sunninghill, to visit the Bansals and/or shop in the newly opened Tesco Express. She continues with housework, watching TV, and the occasional game of tennis - if it's not too cold for her :-) By mid January, June continued to improve, and played an important role, helping others inside and outside the Lovelock family. Lots of trips to collect materials for our garden, including hawthorne trees for the birds to nest in - safe from the cats ! See Tody :-) June's Youtube Channel is on our Contact page, as is RobinsCV :-) June provided Robin with materials to complete the flatulent fairy - complete with handbag and expensive jewelry :-) Robin has been able to do a LITTLE bit of work on Snoopy's Robot Boat, Snoopy Sloop 11, that survived 6 weeks at sea in 2022, before miraculously sailing into Rottingdean, east of Brighton, so many miles from where it was last seen, west of Weymouth. This picture, from Blog11 - linked from the Snoopy page, shows much of the basic work on the boat was completed in 2023. i.e. hull, sails, rudder, etc. But in December 2024, help is still needed on things like GPS Logger, power system, and TESTING ! :-) e.g. check Robin's work, such as soldering :-)

Blog11 also has this picture Of John Sylvester, founder member of Snoopy's Team Joker. Tap on it for the tribute to John. Robin, June, and friend Dick Bailey met at John's funeral, a lovely event. Sleep well John.

Did someone say "Work" ? Everyone knows that, since the 1970s, Robin spends much of his time getting others to do the real work - he likes to "use his time efficiently" ;-) Robin's "Cunning Plan" - taking advice from his friend Baldrick in 2022 - was to create space in their back garden for tools and materials to be moved from places like their Games Room, into more suitable accomodation. Important work was done in 2022, including rainwater drainage into the "Top Pond", down the stream, into the "Lower Pond" - now the "Duck Pond" with it's new "mossy" fence - and into the "bog garden" at the end. SOME more work was done in 2023, but little in 2024, partly due to June's poor health, and Robin's change of priorities. In 2024, Robin's friend Baldrick came up with another "Cunning Plan": Robin to encourage Samantha, now out of work, to spend less time in her room, watching TV, and more time helping June with housework, gardening, and consulting with Robin on where things might be put, in space created in the garden. Robin is often told where to stick things ;-)

Meanwhile, while Samantha and June spend much of their time watching tennis or other things on TV, Robin invests much of his day, "networking" with old and new friends in our village of Sunninghil. e.g. in places like pubs, restaurants, and cafes, and - most important - the Sunninghill Comrades Club ;-)

Global Warming, The Revenge of Gaia, throwing mankind back 10,000 years, and James Lovelock ....

"We can't stop Global Warming. but we may delay it by a few decades, to give us time to prepare for it's effects: vast areas of the World, including as close as continental Europe, becoming arid desert; shrinking of habitable areas of the planet to much smaller parts of the planet, closer to the Poles. The Earth will then only be able to support a small fraction of it's present population, and there will be the need for massive migration. Places like the UK will remain temporate a little longer, so will be an attractive destination. We need all World Governments to cooperate, to prepare for this inevitability; also to agree things like reduced use of fossile fuels, to give us a few more decades to prepare."

The above is not a quote, but how I remember what James Lovelock said in his book "The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back and How We Can Still Save Humanity", published in February 2007. I read the book years ago, and have watched how World Governments have failed to grasp his main message. In my opinion, if Jim's prediction is true ( the end of this civilisation, throwing mankind back 10,000 years ) , it would probably be after Worldwide anarchy, and at least one nuclear or bio/chemical war. I hope he and many others are wrong, but I fear that they may be right.

Most people don't understand the main thing that James Lovelock said. In short: Global Warming is going to happen - and you ain't seen anything yet ! This has been on my Grumpy page for years, and appears near the end of many of my 2024 videos on www.youtube.com/user/RobinLovelock/videos .

Covid19 has "eased off". BUT the UK National Health Service (NHS) has been neglected for decades, by ALL UK Governments. No change needed to NHSCare.info ! Topics overlap... In early 2022, Robin was contacted by Dr John Raffetto in USA, with significant updates to Robin's "NATO" page: Memories of SHAPE Technical Centre and Sir John Manniello . Perhaps the USA will take an even bigger role in the NHS ? But see important updates in 2024: the "Roman Communist War".
Thanks Dr John, and Enrico in Sicily for my publishing that story. In short, Italian Healthcare was used to prevent Communists being part of the Italian Government in late 1970s. Maybe Rome would have become the next capital of the USSR, after St Petersburg, then Moscow. Who knows ? Who Cares ? Let's have MORE peace & understanding, not less ;-)

Robin's Driving Licence: from 2022 Newsletter: In early February, June & Robin were surprised by a letter from the DVLA, which banned Robin from Driving. Robin's response was not conventional: he simply created a new "Press" page , linking to a detailed DVLA Funny Farm page, putting all details into the Public Domain. He then contacted several people. He did not drive for two months, but found alternative transport - see below ;-) Miraculously, on April 1st, "April Fools Day", he was told he COULD drive again. But "the jury is still out" on how this happened, and it may happen again * , so this page remains open and updated. December 2024 update: It has been, showing events through 2023 & 2024. By coincidence, on 25th November 2024, Julie Lennard changed her job from head of the DVLA to Keir Starmer's old job, head of the CPP. See my sympathetic words near the end of DVLA Funny Farm page, including how "the right guys" might help the DVLA. Others can speculate, and/or research, things like cash flow, and to what extent this is a common problem, and if it makes "business sense" for "deliberate mistakes" to happen - particularly within the physical and mental healthcare industry. Were Robin's problems due to flawed procedures and/or "disgruntled employees" within the "Health" part of the DVLA, hoping they will get Press attention again ? Who knows ;-)

Added in January 2024: Old "Crime" videos; Peanuts shared by Deer, Foxes, Hedgehogs, Pidgeons :-)

The August 2020 Crime video is below. The text on the above picture reads ...QUOTE: There are many cameras in Armitage Court ;-) The thieves leave the house, carrying the stolen goods. One frame from 4000 line Swann. Reduced 1000 line published. Better released later ? ;-) UNQUOTE. Some other videos here are directly relevant ;-)

Wrapping up this 2024 Newsletter ...

Making those "photo trail" videos, in 2023, became an obsession. Some local friends may have been pleased that I "paused" the habit, briefly, but others encouraged me. Failure of my Samsung pocket camera has not helped :-| The photo trails are certainly valuable as an "aid to my memory", and a communication aid on a wide range of topics - not just Snoopy's Robot Boat - to my Worlwide network of friends;-
There are many photo trail videos on www.youtube.com/user/RobinLovelock/videos , and most include an amusing introduction, and end with what is important to me: the prophetic words of James Lovelock, and my thoughts on the UK DVLA ;-)
Here are several of our 2024 videos ...

Have a Great Christmas, New Year, and 2025. Love & Strength ! :-)