New Years Day 2010

New Years Day was a relaxing day (for most of the time...) with plenty of excellent food served up by Jean followed by what turned out to be a surprisingly contentious game of Scrabble. My 'badger' effort was refused because the 'e' was adjacent to an 'n' to spell 'en', and this was denounced as not being valid*. Later our love of food came to the fore with 'yam', 'loaf' and another of my efforts, 'rosti', which was reluctantly allowed until after I'd won, when it became a bone of contention because it was deemed Italian rather than English. Questa è la vita.

After Scrabble we looked for something else but our attempts at a family game of Cluedo (for ages 8 and above) and even Happy Families (age 3+) on Christmas Day had proved too much of a challenge, so we resorted to good old dominoes. Fortunately this proved to be more like our level, with no major difficulties with the rules, but even so I was still criticised for taking it too seriously (aka trying to win). But maybe this comes from watching some serious gamblers in the snooker club 25 years ago who would regularly play (even back then) for £1 a spot. In our first game today I'd ended up holding nearly 50, so its a good job we didn't play for similar stakes! Of course all this acrimony was only in jest (though I wasn't convinced when Carole up-ended the scrabble board at the end of the game!).

Earlier we'd handed a belated Christmas present to Mum & Dad which had taken longer to be delivered than I'd expected. It was a photobook of pictures from our holiday in Wales back in September and was a lovely surprise for them. They often look at the pictures on the computer, so this will be a great way to remember what was a fantastic week.

* If you're wondering about the word 'en', then it's actually a unit of measurement used in the printing industry, equal to half an 'em' (taken from the letter M). Of course I'd like to say I knew that before, but I can't. But I will remember it next time!

Where to find a Caffeine Rush in Carlisle

If you've stopped off at Carlisle railway station at any point over the past nine years or so then you'll probably have seen John Almond, and possibly you'll have bought a coffee from him too.

John runs a successful business on the station platform serving a range of coffees and hot chocolates to passing commuters and as his reputation has grown he's has built a following for his high quality coffee.



I've known John since we moved next door almost 30 years ago when we used to play football in the street and cricket on Dad's drive. When we got older we shared driving duties to watch the football wherever Liverpool were playing but even that was a long time ago now. Sadly we don't see much of each other these days, so it was great to catch up when we were invited for supper last night.

John is even becoming a local celebrity through the Carlisle-based magazine "Carlisle Living", who ran a two-page article on him earlier in the year (though unfortunately I can't find it online). In the article he talks about his daily drive to work from Blackburn, setting off at 5am each morning. That's dedication for you.

Having fun on Christmas Day

Our arrangements for the Christmas meal this year were a little disrupted by the snow. Kevan and Jean had collected the turkey for us as planned, but because of the weather they couldn't bring it over to us during the week and ended up cooking it themselves! By the day itself the snow had thawed enough so that we could cook the rest of the meal ourselves and serve up a treat.

Will it be a White Christmas?

There's been plenty of snow over the past few days, which although very Christmassy to look at, it's been causing difficulties on the roads, particularly the minor roads near where we live. Whilst the snow has thawed a little after the first band moved through on Sunday, further snow in Monday and again on Tuesday meant several inches had accumulated in the back garden.











Then overnight into the early hours of Christmas Eve the snow came again, this time for a while in a blizzard. Fortunately by morning it was already becoming a little milder and the fresh snow made the roads a little easier to navigate.

So, would it be a white Christmas? It's difficult to see the lying snow disappearing until well after Christmas Day, but the weather forecasters don't think it's likely that fresh snow will fall on the big day itself, no doubt to the relief of the bookies.

England's home is a castle

Earlier today we braved the snow and ice to pop across town to deliver some cards and a present to Helen, one of our colleagues from work, who I've known for getting on 20 years. Helen always takes time off this year beacause her other 'job' is helping her husband on their farm - full time work in itself, but somehow she fits this in with her regular work too.

Anyway, whilst there we got the chance for a sneak preview of their new home which they've recently finished building near the entrance to their farm, and it was amazing! We'd seen Helen's pictures several times during the build, but now it's almost ready it was great to see it for real.

Helen's a true inspiration and we wish them every happiness in their new home.

Cards by Carole's Christmas crescendo

Carole's been busy over the last few weekends...

Travelling in luxury to Edinburgh

For a shared early Christmas present to each other, earlier in the summer we booked ourselves tickets on an exclusive rail trip to the Edinburgh Christmas markets. We'd chosen this trip from a specialist website who offers other similar day trips and even short breaks by rail, many of which are hauled by steam, and we were very much looking forward to the experience. So, despite the early start for a Saturday, by 8:45 we were eagerly waiting on the platform, scanning the horizon down the track for the tell-tale plume of smoke signifying the approach of our train.

At about the time our train was due, a speck appeared far down the line; but as there was no smoke, we concluded it was just a regular service. But as it came closer it became clear it was a spruced-up diesel engine from the 70s and it was indeed pulling our train. Our disappointment soon passed though as we stepped on board our Pullman dining carriage, where we were greeted by immaculately dressed staff who sat us down at a sumptuous breakfast table and served us a glass each of bucks fizz as our journey commenced.

Over the next hour or so, we were treated to a hearty breakfast of cereals, smoked salmon, full English, croissants and toast and marmalade, washed down with plenty of coffee. Suitably stuffed, we relaxed in oversized comfy seats as the train sped northwards. As we crossed the border into Scotland, more coffee and a selection of pastries and biscuits kept us topped up into Waverley station.



We spent the afternoon with the crowds along Princes Street, watching the big wheel and then the skating in Waverley Gardens and enjoyed a gluhwein in the German markets. There were thousands of people in town, so after a while we left the markets behind and walked up George Street and back to the station in plenty of time for our return journey.


The train home was just as special, with a fabulous four course meal washed down with champagne and wine, rounding off a wonderful day.

Bottom of the class!

Recently I've discovered a new way to channel my thirst for photography, through the local Camera Club. Hopefully I'll pick up some new skills and ideas as well as some feedback on some of my favourite photos. The club meets in neighbouring Darwen each week, but it's only a mile or so from where I live, so it's virtually on my doorstep.

I was a little apprehensive at first but everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. On my first week the club had arranged for a slideshow from an experienced photographer from a nearby club, and the theme was landscapes of Snowdonia, which is where I'd been just the month before.

This week was my third visit, and the meeting would be devoted to the club's monthly competition. There's no prizes or medals, but even so it is competitive and I was eager to hear how my three entries had fared. The pictures, presented anonymously, were being judged by one of the club's most experienced photographers, and my first effort, of our Welsh holiday cottage (shown here) was soon on the screen for critiquing. The earlier pictures had all scored a healthy 8 or 8.5 out of 10, and I thought mine was in with a shout. However although the judge liked several elements of the picture, he felt the sunlight through the leaves 'killed it' and I earned just 6 marks! If this wasn't disappointing enough, one of the next pictures up, despite being clearly out of focus, beat it with a score of 7!

After this setback, things improved with the two other pictures I had in the competition, both taken during the photo session with Ian's girls Alice and Grace the other week (see 'studio portraits' from my other blog). These did fare much better, with some very positive comments and respectable scores of an 8 for one and a very impressive 9.5 for the other.

Despite being close to perfection it wasn't enough as half a dozen pictures had been shortlisted for the top spots, but joint 7th wasn't bad for a first effort.

Happy birthday Jean

For Jean's birthday we visited Smithills in Bolton for a very pleasant meal and the usual photo. Happy birthday Jean!

A soggy short break

With me only having one day's leave left to book for this year, Carole (who somehow still has a couple more days left besides - how has she managed that?) suggested we should book into a B&B in the Lakes for the weekend to do a little Christmas shopping and, if the weather played fair, perhaps a walk too.

We'd picked out a pleasant guest house in Ambleside but taking the Friday off work was perhaps not our best move as the rain set in almost as soon as we'd arrived. Not to be disheartened, we scurried between shops in Ambleside's attractive town centre, umbrellas at the ready. Feeling brave, we even walked down to the garden centre on the outskirts of town, learning along the way that whilst umbrellas can usually keep your top half dry, your legs still get a soaking.

Back in the centre in the evening we enjoyed a very nice meal at the Priest Hole, one of Ambleside's oldest buildings and a fine restaurant too.

Next day the weather wasn't set to be any better, and after a visit to Kendal we popped over to Lightwood to say hello to Ann and Barry and drop off an anniversary card for Julie and Stewart (is it really 12 months since the wedding?). The rain still fell outside, but Ann made us feel very comfortable with tea and plenty of cake!

In the evening, our host in the B&B recommended Dodds, close to the bridge house in Ambleside centre. Although the name doesn't give a clue, it's actually an Italian and a mighty fine one too. Despite gorging on Ann's cakes all afternoon, we still polished off a hearty meal. The diet will have to wait another week!






Sunday morning, and it's dry! So before heading home, we drove over too Rydal and had a stroll through the trees and up to Grasmere lake. The river Rothay was frothing and raging for the eager canoeists that had parked up ahead of us, but for us it simply acted as an energetic companion alongside the path to the lake. With our senses restored by fresh air and beautiful scenery, the journey back became less of a chore especially after stocking up with fresh food at Lower Sizergh on the way.