Christmas grotto

Last year my landlords went to town decorating their house, and consequently my annexe too, but this year I think that they are going to surpass themselves. The icicles have not been put on the gables yet, nor have the reindeer come out (think this will be done tomorrow), but the hedge has been freshly decorated with glowing sticks, which it wasn't last year. As a result I am fully expecting to feel even more like I am living in Santa's grotto. That is, until I walk inside and see my 3 decorations: 1 piece of tinsel, 1 3 foot tree and a mini navity scene, none of which are up yet.

The decorations are up just in time for my week (well actually 2) of work Christmas parties. Hopefully my ankle (which I twisted a fortnight ago), will be up to playing sport this week, otherwise I'm not going to have enough room for all that food!

London

London

Here are some photos of when I went to visit Thea, Jo and Ben in London for dinner, then went to Ben's brother's birthday party.

Miho's visit

My Japanese friend Miho came to visit for a couple of days in early November. It was fantastic to see her. Fellow Tokyo Albatross badminton club member Jason joined us for some of our trips. We went to Cambridge to visit the Botanic Gardens and Wimpole Hall to see the sheep (of course!), which are a rarity in Japan. It was quite funny trying to chase sheep to get photos of them! We also visited the slightly further attraction of Brussels! We took the Eurostar there. Once there we spent the day seeing the sights,such as Grand Place and the Manneken Pis, buying and eating a lot of chocolate and enjoying a huge bowl of delicious mussels each. We had a lot of comedy on the way back, taking some caramel sauce covered waffles through customs and the x-ray machine. They surprisingly let us through!
Jason has put up some photos of our trips on his picasa site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jason.morley/200910Wimpole
http://picasaweb.google.com/jason.morley/200910Brussels

Halloween

Halloween

Royston Hockey Club held a disco for halloween and I got a little too enthusiastic about being dressed up as devil to make up for the lack of effort in my costume, hence the photos. :)

Sheffield

Sheffield

In October I went to visit my university friends Jo and Ben in Sheffield and we were also joined by our fellow flatmate Thea. We had an enjoyable weekend of bowling, eating and taking several brisk and wet walks in Sheffield and the Peak District, with their dog, who looks like Dobby from the Harry Potter films.

Pangbourne

Pangbourne

Here are a couple of photos from my day trip to Pangbourne to meet up with my university CathSoc friends: the Servais' and the Brays, with their new addition, Matthew.

Oxford

Oxford

Despite having an enjoyable trip to the Peak District earlier in the year, the hotel had a few problems, so the chain let Claire and I have a free night in one of their hotels closer to home. We chose Oxford, so spent Saturday sight seeing and shopping and the Sunday visiting Stowe House, which has some really beautifully landscaped gardens. All in all a very fun weekend.

Buckingham Palace

Every year (for a few years at least) I've thought that I should have visited Buckingham Palace during the summer opening and this year I actually managed it. I didn't really get a chance to visit it properly when I helped out at the Queen's garden party when I was 17, but this time I got to see all the main public rooms. The palace is stunning. The collection of bizarre gifts was also very impressive. It is definitely worth a visit. (If anyone wants to go for a visit before August 2010 and wants some company, I can get in free.) Unfortunately the visit was slightly hampered by Jason and I having to rush across London beforehand while eating sushi and that I was not able to wash my hands until the end of the tour. I am looking very happy in the photo because I've just washed the smell off my hands!
Afterwards I went to Thea's birthday party, for a very strange, but enjoyable, evening with several drag queens and Thea's other friends. Photos of the evening are on facebook.

Inverness

Inverness

At the beginning of August I made a much-looked-forward-to trip to visit my hockey friend Elli in Inverness. Having only been to Edinburgh in Scotland, it was great to see more of the country. I was really lucky with the weather and even got a bit sunburnt. I visited Loch Ness, but although I didn't see Nessie, I can see why people would think that they saw it, as the water is so black and opaque. Other trips included Culloden Battlefield, Nairn beach and Fort George. I will definitely be going back and next time Elli keep well! Thanks to you and Dave for a fantastic trip!