Back to Christmas 2009!

Sorry for the delay...

A few days before we flew home, we were sitting in a lodge in the evening, each with a bottle of local beer. On a tv over the bar, it showed some film of Cockermouth in Cumbria, completely flooded. Amazed I stood up, went to the bar and watched the news. As you'll remember, there was severe flooding across a lot of the UK at end of 2009. Shocking.

Paul and I knew the first thing we'd have to deal with at Manchester airport and that is our rings. To show my Mum and Dad we'd tied the knot, uh oh!

We got on the plane in Nairobi where it was a hot 30 degrees and sticky. When we landed it was a freezing -10, brrrr what a contrast. We both quickly ripped off our shorts and dragged on our jeans and boots!

I found driving home a real shock. We'd been used to the ochres and sienna of Australian landscape, but everywhere I looked was green, all possible shades of green...

We celebrated Christmas in Cumbria in the usual way - huddling around a huge fire, a turkey dinner with about 20 veg and plenty of fizz all round. We also spent it with my sister and her family. My eldest niece had of course grown, and I met my youngest niece for the first time!