It started early – much earlier than I would have liked. I awoke at about 4:30 AM on Christmas Day but unfortunately it was not the sound of sleigh bells that had roused me. Outside there was the sound of…

This was a pretty quiet day; everyone seemed to want to take life slowly after the preparations of the previous week. In the afternoon, Carol and I went visiting Carol’s sister and mother (who was down from Scotland) to exchange…

(Well, “Wild Goose Chase” would have been a little too obvious as a title, wouldn’t it?) On the day I wandered into Waitrose intent on ordering a goose for Christmas, they were unable to take such orders due to their…

Saturday morning got off to a poor start. There seemed to be a dispute brewing within BAA (British Airport Authority – it looks after the running of Heathrow and Gatwick airports, amongst others) and an intention to strike on January…

Calendars get pretty full around Christmas so family gatherings can be a little difficult to coordinate. However, Friday evening seemed to be free for both my mother and cousin so Friday had been set for our traditional exchange of presents…

About fifteen miles away from us lies Waddesdon Manor, a mansion styled on a classic French chateau and built by the Rothschild family towards the end of the 19th century. At this time of year, its many visitors are particularly…

On Wednesdays, when we are at home, Carol joins in with a group of volunteers that helps maintain various local natural habitats for the Greensand Trust. Recently, as well as the more usual scrub clearance (much too much like gardening,…

There are ways in which Milton Keynes seems like a clash of cultures. Its network of roads, for example, appears to have been lifted from an American city in that it forms a largely orthogonal intersecting grid with the roads…

Monday was essentially a lazy day recovering from flights from Prague and Stansted Express runs. Apart, that is, from not one but two trips out to buy tinsel (which actually turned out to be garlands) for the poor, partially-dressed Christmas…

Well, not exactly express, perhaps; on Sunday morning the roads were seemingly full of Sunday drivers. Nonetheless, the kids were due back and we were to drive over to Stansted airport to collect Keith and Marlene from their 11:50 flight…