*sneezes*
Yes, we are still alive, just, and (fairly) well.
We both have been sneezing at regular intervals, sniffing and generally feeling very grizzly. But, it hasn't stopped us going out and doing stuff. Well, going out a few times anyway.
Once upon a time, you would buy the Christmas editions of both the Radio and TV Ties, and plan your festive viewing like a military operation. It seems, gone are those days. We did end up buying Radio Times last week, to see what was on, but we both had a flick through and nothing really grabbed us. It doesn't help that we really don't really watch much TV these days, I guess.
Back to the blog:
Boxing Day was pretty much like Christmas Day, just with no presents or calls to the family. Jools picked up Nan in the morning, and soon we sat down to pork pies followed by home made mince pies for lunch. I had made a fresh bunch of mince pies that morning, and the smell of cooking spiced fruits filled the house. Wonderfully Christmassy.
In the afternoon, the sports marathon began, but with games from the lower divisions at first. Nan soon fell asleep, and so Jools wrapped a duvet around her and we turned the volume of the TV down. With just the Christmas lights on, darkness fell; we all dozed.
At half four, I put a joint of beef in the over, prepared more veg, and mixed more batter for Yorkshire puddings. I really am getting quite good at this roast dinner malarkey, and at half six we sat down to eat another fine dinner with more red wine.
In the evening, as Jools took Nan back to Whitfield, I slumped on the sofa to watch another game on the TV.
Holiday Tuesday was pretty much the same as the two previous days but without roast dinners! I cut the salt beef I had prepared, and we had that in a sandwich for lunch. That afternoon we watched Super 8 on PPV, and it was OK. I mean it was good, but was really ET with an ugly rather than cute alien.
And more football in the evening.
Wednesday was not a bank holiday, but may have well as been, as we are both off all week. We did venture out of the house for a walk, to try and clear our blocked sinuses. This the keen wind did; but as expected, the land down the hill was way too muddy to walk down without waders, so we turned back home but did feed a couple of friendly horses with the carrots and apples we were carrying for just this eventuality.
yesterday, we got our shit together and headed up to London on the train for a walk and a wander round the Victoria and Albert Museum and then along Regent Street to have a look at the Christmas lights.
we took the first cheap train out of Dover at a quarter to ten, and were in London before eleven. A quick walk through St Pancras to see the Lego Christmas Tree, and then on the Piccadilly Line to South Kensington where the trio of great London museums can be found.
As usual the train was full, it emptied at Knightsbridge so the shoppers could get out to go to Harrods, but just as many got on. Once more stop and the train emptied and we all walked along the subway connecting the Tube to the museums. Most families turned off to go to the Natural History, but a few of us headed towards the V&A.
The V&A says it is the worlds best museum of art and design, and it is hard to argue with that. But even more, it is housed in another stunning building, or collection of buildings, and inside decorated to the extreme as only Victorians would.
I could tell you each room we visited and the glorious things we saw, but that would take an age, and my words would not be good enough. The best thing is to visit it for yourself, it is free and it will enrich your life. I guess the room I enjoyed the most, was the 20th century room, as it was full of the wonderfully designed items; it had record sleeves, Dyson vacuum cleaners and the such. But so much more than that, and the room was an old library, which seemed to be perfect setting.
After a couple of hours our senses had been overloaded so many times, we headed out to find a place for lunch. Across the road from the museums were a collection of places to dine in; and we had such a choice. In the end we couldn't decide and so went into the nearest, an Indian place called Qwality or something.
It was quite swish, but the service good and the food very tasty.
Afterwards, we thought we would head to soho so Jools could visit a bead shop. The thought of being squeezed on the tube did not fill us with glee, so we thought we would ride a bus. But, as we walked down to the bus stop, it began to rain: I saw a church like building, and the doors were open, so we went inside.
We had stumbled into the London Oratory, a Catholic church of immense scale. I was awed, really stunned by the scale and the detail all around. Along each wall was a chapel to another saint, I guess, and in each many candles burned. I took shots of each, but unknown to me, by lens had filled with condensation and the first shots are unusable.
In time the lens cleared, and I have a couple of shots. It was only on the way out I saw the sign forbidding photography, for which I apologise, but I saw no sign on the way in.
Back at the bus stop now the rain had stopped, we saw that we had just missed one service and would have a 15 minute wait; we took the decision to flag a taxi down and soon we were heading to the bright lights of Soho, or the better side of it according to the taxi driver.
We climbed out near to Regent Street. we dodged our way through the crowds and headed along Carnaby Street and along to Kingly Court. I waited in a nearby pub, and tried their own-brewed beer. I had a pint of strong IPA which was very lemony in flavour, but nice enough.
And then, back into the gathering dark and into the crowds in town for sightseeing and some shopping in the sales. And for me to get some shots of the lights.
We walked up to Oxford Circus and back down to Piccadilly Circus, with me snapping away. The crowds were not quite as bad as they could be, but were thick enough and difficult to get shots. I got some I was happy. And after snapping Eros we walked down to Leicester Square, to the left the bright lights of Chinatown and the seedier parts of Soho beckoned, but we were tired, and we sought our way home.
There was time enough to head to St Pancras and wait 5 minutes before our train arrived and we slumped in seats around a table and waited for the departure. It is still amazing that we live just over an hour from the centre of London, and within 15 minutes of leaving the station, and a blast along two tunnels, we emerge into the inky blackness of a winter's night in Dagenham. Over the marshes and the M25 at Dartford, before dashing through another tunnel under the Thames and into Kent.
And home.....
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