Snow

You may have heard that we had a bit of snow in the UK around Christmas/New Year time. Well, it's true - the whole country was covered and some places were snowed in for days. In Woodham we were snowed in for 3 days to be exact - assuming "snowed in" translates to school being closed. Getting a big dump of snow is jolly good fun: apart from the snowmen, sledging and snowball fights, there's the thrill of clearing your driveway with an old shovel and the excitement of driving to Tesco's on the slippery roads - scary but fun.

A few people in Aus have been worried it was too cold for us, but to be honest we didn't really felt it much at all - with the notable exceptions of (1) Lucy burying herself in the snow and discovering that it gets into your clothes and melts and (2) Keezee heading off to work in Perth, Scotland (where he was for a few weeks at the time) and noticing the car thermometer read -12. Anyway, enough of all that - as you'd expect we got the camera out and took a few pics.

But for starters, here's a quick vid of the general shenanigans round our way:



Of course there's the mandatory snowman to make...


... but keep an eye on the carrot.


Turned out quite well in the end don't you think?... just kidding!


A snow chair for relaxing.


Out the front of a nice house - not ours alas!



Waiting for the postie.


Caiti managed to sweet-talk her way into borrowing the neighbour's sledge...


... and then get them to drag her round the street all afternoon...


... last seen disappearing into the sunset.

Ice

With it being winter and all, there's a fair bit of ice skating to be had round these parts. We went and checked out the ice rink in front of Hampton Court Palace, which is on every year during winter, and although we didn't partake ourselves on the day of our visit, the girls got the bug and had to do it themselves. So, before we joined the hoards at one of the outdoor rinks, we thought best way to learn would be indoors at our local, the Guildford ice rink. It was all good fun for the kids and Caitlin got herself a penguin (or "penglin", as she calls them) for a bit of steadiness, which was definitely needed, but Lucy didn't bother with any of that and was off on her own after one lap - much to her parents horror.



Checking out the skating at Hampton Court Palace


And here is Hampton Court Palace in case you haven't seen it before.
Although it looks a bit spooky in the (4pm) evening light, it is very grand and is in a lovely spot by the Thames.





Luckily, although we couldn't go ice skating, we could go on the merry-go-round. You don't have to book 3 weeks ahead for that.


And you don't have to book 3 weeks ahead at Guildford Ice Rink either. You just turn up and get your skates on (literally!).




You may notice Caiti needed a little bit of support to stay upright for the photos. She wasn't real steady on the ice to be honest, but she's a trooper and got better once she had her penglin for support.


Lucy on the other hand took to the ice like a duck to (frozen) water. This is when we finally found her in the Olympic training area trying to perfect her double axel/triple salchow combination.

Bodiam Castle

Here's some pics from the day we went to Bodiam Castle, which is a National Trust property in East Sussex.

It's an impressive little castle, with a moat and all those classic castlie bits that everybody loves. It's also got a pub right across the road, so there's something for everyone really.




That's the castle in case you didn't realise.







Some unusual looking knights.




And here is our dinner being served at the pub.

..... And a Happy New 'Ear

Today's blog title is thanks to Caitlin, taken from her recent rousing renditions of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

So a happy new 'ear to everyone. We hope 2010 is good to you all.

These occasions give us an excuse to post photos from the "unclassifiable" folder, or in other words, let you see a few of the things we've been up to here and there in Blighty. Hope you enjoy.


First day at school. Caiti looked pretty excited (before leaving home at least).


But she didn't seem so cheerful once we arrived at school itself and took a couple of family shots....


.....if looks could kill - is she trying to tell us something here?


Here we are at Winkworth Arboretum. We've been here before in early spring, but it's also a spectacular place to visit in autumn when the trees turn very colourful.




Lots of reds and yellows.


The vista from the hill.


Ready for trick or treating on Halloween.
In our old street the local urchins used to knock on the door all evening, but we were wondering why we didn't have any visitors at our new place. After we ventured out into the street ourselves, it soon became apparent that you need to have a pumpkin (preferably hollowed out with a candle) on your doorstep if you're offering "sweeties" for trick or treaters. We'll try and remember that for next time.


A spot of baking


Less talking more mixing


Yummo!



Lucy at Tonbridge Castle, in Tonbridge (funnily enough), which is in Kent. A nice town, but a bit of a drive to be honest.


OK, everyone say "cheese"


Tonbridge shops can be very Tudor


Tonbridge Pizza Express - Jo loves Pizza Express. She took the photo.


And here's the gang at Lucy's 7th birthday party. We had an afternoon tea with a few friends.
Note it's dark outside at 4.30pm - you gotta love winter.