This is Ali once again.

The first thing I must say, is a big "Thank you" to all those of you who have sent good wishes both to Bill and myself. These were very much appreciated.

Secondly I apologise for not having updated the site for such a long time, but it has been a strange and sometimes difficult year for us, not least because we discovered that Bill had developed a condition known as Sleep Apnoea.

Basically, for those of you who are not familiar with the condition (as we weren't), it is caused by a collapse of the throat muscles during sleep which results in insufficient oxygen getting to the brain. The brain then goes into alert and brings you back into semi-consciousness. The effect of this is that there is complete loss of important good quality sleep and so the following day is usually spent falling asleep at 'the drop of a hat', quite literally sometimes. This can of course be quite debilitating and dangerous, especially when driving.

Often, however, for us it was just embarrassing and amusing, such as when visitors called round and whilst holding what they considered to be an interesting conversation, Bill would fall asleep and commence snoring. Trying to convince them that was not personal, wasn't always easy. After this had been going on for a few weeks, with neither of us understanding what was happening or getting the sleep we needed, I decided it was time for some answers and after seeing a specialist Bill was referred to a sleep laboratory for some tests, where the condition was confirmed. The 'cure' is that he now goes to bed wearing a mask connected to a machine, pumping air which keeps his throat passages open, and looking, as our young Grandson says, "Like an Alien". My life with Bill is certainly never dull.

Sadly this did have an effect on his singing ability and he became quite despondent for a while, thinking that this was irretrievable. However, becoming an 'Alien' seems to have done the trick and he has finally been able to finish his album, "Incurably Romantic". I think it is wonderful, but then I am biased. Derek, has arranged some beautiful old songs (he is so clever) which Bill has sung with great feeling and together they have produced something special. I hope you think so too.

All that remains for me to say is;

" I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and the New Year brings you peace, good health and the happiness which goes with both".

God bless you all.

Ali