Congratulations Anna and Tom (even if a bit belated)

For the true freelance, the commitment to work sometimes gets in the way of important family matters, such as the buying of shoes for one’s children or even more serious matters. That is my excuse for the delay in communicating important family news.

Mrs Margaret Patricia Bollen and I are delighted to be able to announce the engagement of our older daughter Anna Louise Bollen, late of the parish of Loughton, in Milton Keynes, to Thomas Eastman-Thoy, late of the parish of Ecton Brook, in Northampton, after a three-year courtship.

The marriage will take place on June 7 2013 at the Kettering Park Hotel, Kettering, Northamptonshire. Or, as Anna might put it, one year, 10 months and eight days, but who’s counting?