01 January

Two photos describe what we did on New Years Day. Happy New Year everyone.

31 December New Years Eve

As you can see the New years Eve Party at Mark and Sue's was a theme party, although I was not sure if it was a 60's theme, a 70's theme or a disco theme.
We showed up at 8:30 and the party was rocking. The first thing to happen after the greetings was having exotic drinks placed in ours hands by the host / bartender / DJ / all-round nice guy, Mark. Every time you turned around Mark would place a new concoction in your hand as he made his way to the turntables, yes turntables, to change the LP's.
Sue had spread out a wonderful table of hors d'eouvres and munchies. So wonderful was it that I couldn't take a photo because of the crowds.
Unfortunately the 'senior citizen' in the crowd pooped out around 11:00pm. It was a short walk home where J.J. kept me company while I had a nightcap before sleeping in the New Year.

p.s. you will notice that one of the Blues Brothers a.k.a. Dan Ackyrod dropped in to wish us well.

31 December

Jeff and I were feeling a little bit of cabin fever so we decided to venture out and do some Geocaching. For those unfamiliar with Geocaching click on this link to find out more; About Geocaching.
Our first stop was in Stukeley, a village not too far from home. We followed the directions given by our GPS units and ended up in what I would have called a subdivision; but a subdivision in miniature. I am used to 66 foot road allowances, road frontages of at least 50 feet, large front lawns and deep backyards. This subdivision was compact and with houses adjoining each other, narrow roads, and front yards just big enough to park a car in front of the house. There was room for a small patch of grass that was as often as not covered with flint shards, coloured stone, or pavement. Far different from a Canadian subdivision, but very appealing.
Our first cache was an eye opener for me. Winter caching is usually easier because there are no mosquito's, no leaves and no undergrowth. But even without all these it was a chore. Everything, and I mean every tree, shrub and plant had needle sharp barbs that reached out to ensnare me and prevent me from advancing. In Canada I have fought my way through wild raspberry canes, Juniper bushes, and wild rose bushes, but nothing prepared me for the English version of a jungle.
I spent most of my time extracting myself from the flora and it was up to Jeff to find the cache. It was a film canister lodged in the crook of a tree, hidden by ivy.
After signing the log and taking a picture we struck out for the next two caches, which were in walking distance of the first. They presented little problem to an avid cacher like Jeff and we were soon back in the car heading for the fourth cache.
This cache was located in Hinchingbrooke Country Park, just outside of Huntingdon. A creek barred our way until we found a bridge and we soon had the cache in hand. Another quick photo and we were off for a well deserved lunch.
We gave the pubs a miss and opted for pizzas at PizzaExpress. My favourite gourmet pizza restaurant, Atomica, is located in Kingston, Ontario. This chain of restaurants could certainly give Atomica a run for my money. This was my second pizza from PizzaExpress and it was delicious.
We soon headed home tired and content to rest up for New Years Eve.

24 December Christmas Eve

OK, another first in England; actually, it is a first for me, period. I was quarantined by the NHS (National Health Service). But I will get to that later.
After a quiet cup of tea on the patio, it was time to get ready for the party. The house was given a thorough cleaning much to the dismay of J.J. He does not like the vacuum cleaner and I think he also fears it will sneak up on him while he is not looking. He has to know where it is which means constantly checking on its progress and then darting off to the farthest place in the house. It is no good putting him outside as I believe he thinks he must protect us from the monstrous sucking machine. It does put a little fun into a tedious task.
With the work done early we had time to rest and prepare for a busy evening.
The guests began arriving for the pot luck dinner, which was brilliant - fish pie, sausages in gravy, perogies, and much much more.
The guests were the same wonderful group I had met at the village hall for badminton. We had to put in some time before the 10:00 pm service at the church so we divided off into groups; some to play poker, some to play spoons, and others to drink and chat. I am sure you know about poker, but spoons may be new to you. It is a game that involves four cards being dealt to each player and a pile of spoons (one less than the number of players) being placed in the centre of the table. The objective is to get 4 of a kind and is achieved by each player passing an unwanted card to the left. This continues until someone has four of a kind and makes a lunge for a spoon. This starts a free for all and the player without a spoon at the end of the melee leaves the game. Physical injuries are not uncommon. Maeghan was left with a bleeding lip and a cut finger - but they all had fun.
It was soon time to head off for a short walk to the Christmas Eve service. We left the 'heathens' to continue playing poker with a promise to say prayers for them.
I was concerned about finding space for us all, but we arrived to find plenty of space. I am still blown away with being in a church that was built before the new world was discovered. The list of rectors begins in 1130!
The service was conducted using the New Rite (I hope I have the correct term) which is very similar to our page 185 service. I thought I was following the leaflet closely, but was told after the service that I "lapsed" into what they assumed was the Canadian service.
We arrived home to find two experienced players looking very glum, while their student Bradley counted all of his winnings.
After a few more hands of poker the party broke up and all went home to await the fat man's nocturnal visit. I fell asleep nestled all snug in my bed, while visions of poker chips and flying spoons danced in my head.
Unfortunately I did not awake feeling too cheery, in fact it felt like the worst hangover I have ever had, not that I have had that many hangovers. I had not had that much to drink the night before, some pear cider, some wine and a nightcap of scotch, but nothing else seemed to explain why I felt terrible.
Jeff was not feeling too well either, so it was assumed by the rest of the family that we had had too much to drink the night before.
After we opened the presents I went back to bed and stayed there until Christmas night. Louise had cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner, the table was set in the festive mode, but all I could stomach was two pieces of cucumber and a glass of water. I had to go back to bed. That started an evening of hourly visits to the bathroom.
The next morning Jeff told me that he, Louise and Maeghan had started throwing up last night. Jeff did a little research and made a couple of calls and found that we had the dreaded Norvovirus. Jeff then received a phone call and was informed that we were quarantined by the NHS.
The next few days were a blur as we all tried to cope as best we could. Only Alexander seemed to have escaped the the old P&P ( I will let your imagination figure out what the two "p's" stand for).
We were suffering from cabin fever by the 29th and ventured out for a trip into Huntingdon and an order of medicinal chips.
Monday night we had our first full meal since Christmas Eve. We were all pretty nervous about what would happen after eating so much food. But all was well, except for Alexander, who finally succumbed.
It is now New Years Eve and we are about to venture out among people again, hoping that the old P&P will give us a miss until next winter.

24 December

We have been sticking close to home these last few days. As we draw closer to Christmas traffic and crowds become more of a problem.
I had to take a break from writing this post and take J.J. out for his morning you know what. J.J. has one of the most curious noses I have ever seen. He must make the rounds of the orchard, checking for anything new since last night before he gets down to business. A good friend, Doug Wigle, refers to this morning sniffing as the dog reading his newspaper.
It may be cheeky of me, but I have to tell you that I was quite comfortable outside with just shorts and a T shirt.
Monday afternoon was occupied with a quick dash into Peterborough; quick until we hit the city limits and then a slow crawl into the city centre. We picked up last minute things for Christmas and beat a hasty retreat back to Abbots Ripton.
Monday night we went to the Village Hall for the weekly get together of badminton and ping pong. As there were Christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling, we had to give badminton a miss. In lieu of badminton, a WII (pronounced wee) was set up and projected against a wall. In teams of two we played doubles tennis. Although it was an electronic game that required only small movements of the handheld sensors, one soon got into the spirit of the game with true to life serving and bobbing and weaving.
Just to keep Maeghan happy (and quiet) I wrapped Christmas gifts Tuesday morning. The afternoon was spent at the cinema with Maeghan and a friend watching the just released Twilight, a movie based on a series of books Maeghan has been reading. Louise, Alexander and I had planned on seeing Australia, but as it was not to be released until Boxing Day. We settled on Madagascar 2, a really fun movie.
Tuesday evening was spent in front of the telly watching the International Darts Tournament with Jeff. For some reason Louise, Maegan and Alexander found this "boring". Louise went to the kitchen, to begin preparing for a Christmas Eve party; and Maeghan and Alexander went to their respective computers.
I have been remiss in not introducing my family before this. From the photos you see Maeghan, maybe not looking directly into the camera, but had she seen me taking the photo, I would have captured an excellant photo of the back of her head. Alexander is a little better as he simply lowers his head when he sees a camera. Louise can be seen slaving away in the kitchen, while Jeff and I relax over a pint at the local pub.

Sunday 21 December

Another warm sunny day in Abbots Ripton. There was an open house at the Village Hall which we attended from 12:30 until 1:30, partaking of very hot, but delicious muled wine and sausages, sausages in pastry and minced tarts. I found the sausages delicious, but the minced tarts a little too sweet. After a few glasses of mulled wine we made our way back to the house for a little nap before heading off for the 6:00pm service at St. Andrews.
The children put on the Christmas story and it was delightful. Many of the little ones knew their parts by heart and were so proud they could recite it without reading. It was made even more delightful because they all had funny accents.
I was waiting for someone else to begin taking pictures, but as no one else was flashing away I put my camera away. Didn't want the congregation to think poorly of a visitor from the colonies.
I must say the priest here has it pretty easy. It is a three point charge and he presides at only one church per Sunday.
After the service, in true Anglican fashion, there were "drinks"; there always seems to be "drinks" before or after every occasion, and sometimes before and after.
It was an early evening for me. I am not sure what the rest of the family did, but they were not up too early the next morning.
Maeghan and Alexander are getting excited as Christmas draws near and Maeghan constantly reminds me that I have not wrapped my presents yet!! I still have three days.

Saturday 20 December cont'd

More photos.