Motorway Madness

Went down to see the inlaws today. They live down south, around 225 miles from our neck of the woods. This meant that we had to endure some motorway driving. We had one of the worst journeys ever. Nothing boosts moral more than driving past a pile of smoking wreckage, one end of which looks remarkably like the same kind of car that you are sitting in. Two cars seemed to have spontaneously combusted. By the lack of ambulance and the number of people standing glumly on the side of the road I don't think that anyone was hurt, but it probably ruined their day.

The scariest thing we saw involved a couple of cars which had performedn a minor fender bender with each other; in the fast lane. The cars were still on the motorway and their owners were standing in the very middle of the crash barriers in the centre of the motorway with cars whizzing past them on both sides. Looking at the way that traffic is nowadays, they are probably still there.

We got to our destination OK though, and dug in for "Christmas 2: the sequel".

Boxing Day Sales and Human Nature

Even though Boxing Day was a Sunday there were still shops wanting to sell us stuff. And even though we had spent the last few weeks frantically buying things we still had the urge to go out and look what was out there.

I've never really understood the human condition on this one. Before christmas we buy stuff at full price. Then, the day after the hallowed occasion we zoom up town and find that what we bought is now half price. But rather than rise up as one and storm the cash tills in anger we just spend more money on more stuff, but now because it is a "bargain".

And then the shops complain that they had a "poor christmas" as if we have failed in our duty to go and make ourselves poorer so that their figures look good.

Next year I'm going to propose a "late christmas". There is nothing in the bible which pegs christmas to 25th December. I'm going to propose that we do it all on the nearest Saturday following the real one, giving the shops time to drop all the prices and us to get into them and buy everything cheap. I'm probably going to be accused of having the wrong kind of christmas spirit. But at least it will be around half price.

And yes, we did to go the sales. And yes I did get some "bargains"....

Steaming Christmas with Pictures

Now that the kids are a bit older we don't get up as early as we used to on Christmas day. But we were still down stairs at a reasonable hour (after all - I had been awake since 3:00 am... )

I think Dad liked his Steam Engine. In a similar vein he had got me a four lane racing car set which was great. We were raising steam and racing cars before lunch.

After a traditional christmas meal including flaming pudding we set out into Cottingham. I took along my new camera and annoyed everyone by taking loads of pictures. But as my dad said, if you take enough of them you are bound to take a good one every now and then. I put it down to artistry rather than weight of numbers....




Cottingham on Christmas Day

Merry Christmas Everybody

I'd like to wish both my readers the very best of all festive seasons. And I promise that I'll fill in the gaps when I've finished my last mince pie...

Christmas Eve Eve

The night before the night before christmas. Time to deliver the christmas cards. They are not officially late yet, but unfortunately there are not that many people in their offices to receive them, and so they might as well be.. I do this every year, and every year I vow to deliver the goods more quickly next time. And so it goes.

Then back home to stick up the cards that I have received. Over the next couple of weeks they will slowly come unstuck and crash to the floor at three in the morning.....