To celebrate a special birthday in February Joan was treated to The ABBA Voyage event in London. We were joined by Matthew, Wesley and Emily to join the avatars of the Swedish foursome. There was some singing and dancing too. It was an amazing experience, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately Joan was unwell at the concert which turned out to be a second bout of Covid, a virus she promptly passed on to Barrie (and possibly a few thousand others at the venue). Annoyingly the aftermath of covid, coughing and congestion, carried on for several months afterwards.

Alex performed really well in his GCSE exams. Outstanding results gave him a pass into 6th form where he’s studying science subjects at A level. Alex also won an award for his cricket, being the youngest player to be awarded the “Great Baddow Top Bowler Award”

Emily performed in her first ballet with the Chelmsford Ballet Company and is now in rehearsal for the next one scheduled for 2024. She also did well with her Citizenship GCSE, taken early in Year 9. Now she’s into Year 10 the proper start of her GCSE studies,

Anna has just celebrated her 6th birthday. She has also started a new school in Cambridge which she seems to really love. Rowan absolutely loves trains, from Thomas the Tank Engine right up to The Flying Scotsman and Mallard. They are delightful children; creative, attentive; who love stories, reading, writing, drawing, fun and games.

Matthew has his first feature film credit. He was one of the animators on Chicken Run 2 which premieres this month on Netflix (and a few cinemas). Laura is on a sabbatical from face to face lecturing and tutoring so she can write. Wesley is managing to ride the BBCs staffing reorganisation as it tries to put more staff outside of London. He works as a Senior Data Journalist at New Broadcasting House in the West End. This year will be busy with elections on both sides of the Atlantic. Deborah continues to work (mainly remotely) as a director of a boys school in Manchester.

Our brother in law, Derek, has moved into a care home because he has vascular dementia. Joan’s sister, Ann, was no longer able cope with him at home and reluctantly found a care home nearby in Royal Wootton Bassett. It’s been a sad year for the family. Sadly, their daughter, Jo, died in June.

There were two weddings this year. Barrie’s nephew, Joel married Rachael in Northern Ireland. They met and live in London. Joan’s nephew, Adam married Helen in Wotton under Edge in Gloucestershire, they are living in Birmingham. Two happy events that brought our respective families together.

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Holidays
Refugees
Church
Claremont News 2023

Our Ukrainian family moved into a house of their own just after Easter. They had stayed with us for eight months and at times it seemed they would never be able to rent a home of their own here in York. But thanks to the efforts of the Homes For Ukraine team of City of York Council and the council’s letting agency, Yorhome, they were offered a small terraced house only a few minutes away, and it was right next to the school their 5 year old daughter, Vira, was attending. When they left Yuliia was six months pregnant and baby Elizabeth was born at the end of August. Seva is working as a chef at a cafe in York and is enjoying his work. This Christmas Yuliia’s parents are able to visit York for a month from their home in Dnipro.

Restore, the York housing charity Barrie helped to found, has opened two houses this year to give refugees a home. One of them is home to a Ukrainian family and the other houses three Afghani cousins. This has been a new venture for the charity, Its main work is still the provision of supported housing for single men and women experiencing homelessness. The most recent large donation to the charity will allow it to open three more houses and meet the cost of providing support in those houses. All of this expansion means it is no longer a small charity. Restore remains the largest provider of supported housing for single people in York, playing a vital role in local services to help people into a home of their own. The success is also measured in the number of residents (70-80%) who ultimately move on to a home of their own. We are very thankful to God for the success of Restore and also to the dedicated staff who prayerfully and enthusiastically provide the service.

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Family News
Holidays
Church
Claremont News 2023

This summer our church building, St Michael-le-Belfrey, was closed for extensive reordering and refurbishment work. The ten million pound project has begun. The pews, balcony and narthex have already been removed leaving just the shell of the grade I medieval structure ready for repairs and reordering to start. In the meantime the church is meeting in a very grand recently restored building called The De Grey Rooms, a former Officers Mess and ballroom just a short walk away in St Leonards Place.

As well as closing our church building we also lost our Vicar, Matthew Porter, who was consecrated Bishop of Bolton this year. The vacancy has been filled by our Associate Minister. Revd Andy Baker has been installed as Interim Priest in Charge until we move back to our refurbished building in three years time.

My (Barrie) term as Parish Safeguarding Officer came to an end at the Annual Meeting in May. I handed the responsibility on to the person who had been my assistant. In a church the size of ours it is a big job, and I was ready to pass it on.

We are still Belfrey Group Stewards, looking after the leaders of three home groups and we serve on the welcome and coffee rotas for the 11am Sunday service. Joan is on the pastoral visiting team (as well as being a volunteer at York Hospital two mornings a week). We belong to a home group which now is mainly made up of people who belong to other churches. They were all at one time or another part of St Michael-le-Belfrey but have moved on in the years we have been meeting. Everyone values it and we have some very good friends there. Sadly we said goodbye to one of our dearest friends in the group. Paul Burbridge, the artistic Director of Riding Lights Theatre Company, died after a short illness just after Easter, leaving his wife Bernadette and children, Patrick, Caitlin and Erin.

More recently we lost Dave Playle. Dave was the pastor who married us in 1971, and prior to that I lived with him and his family in Holmfirth. He had been living in the nursing home where his wife Rosemary lives in Warrington.

We also meet regularly with our friends who formed the leadership of Harrogate Christian Fellowship in its early days in the late 1970s and early 80s. Richard and Jenny Dean, and Colin and Rhona Stanbury. We usually meet up about once a month, enjoy lunch together and an extended chat. We often start with coffee at 11am and finish with tea at three, with a cooked meal in between.

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Family News
Holidays
Refugees
Claremont News 2023

Here’s our annual news from York as we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem – a birth that changed history and is still changing it.

May we send you more good tidings (in the following pages) and trust that we all experience a better New Year – especially for those fleeing war and injustice. But to all of you, Christmas Blessings in whatever way you celebrate it, and whoever you celebrate it with. 

There has been much more to our lives than can be contained these few brief snippets. We both continue to serve in our church community at St Michael-le-Belfrey, Joan volunteers at York Hospital and Barrie with Restore. 

Just click the links below for more news:

Our Guests from Ukraine

Unmasking the year

Divine Coffee

Back to Madeira

Last Run

Our address as ever: 12 Claremont Terrace, York. YO31 7EJ

Tels: B 07885-297669 J 07810-225831

emails: barrie@barstep.co.uk, joan@barstep.co.uk

Seva, Yuliia and Vira arrive in York

As soon as the war broke out in Ukraine we offered to be hosts for refugees fleeing the conflict. At first it seemed our hospitality wasn’t required but in June we were asked if we could take a family who were part of a larger group of people from a church in Dnipro – a number of whom were already in York. We agreed and the family started the long process of obtaining visas. 

Seva, Yuliia and Vira finally arrived in York by train at 1.30am on August 23rd. After a night’s sleep we joined a rally organised by our MP, Rachael Maskell, outside the Minster. Before the rally had finished we were treated to a patriotic Ukrainian song as Yuliia led the gathered crowd in full voice. Yuliia loves singing.

A few weeks later their 4 year old daughter, Vira, started school on the first day of the September term. Mum and Dad started English lessons to improve the limited vocabulary they brought with them to this country. Vira, not surprisingly, started to pick up the language at school.

There are many stories to tell, but enough to say here that hosting them is largely good (the kitchen is a little crowded at times) and they are starting to think about finding a place of their own in York. The situation back home means they are unlikely to be returning anytime soon.

Next page Unmasking the year