...So This is Christmas?!

On Saturday night...yeah, that's the 20th, we finally got the Christmas decorations down from the loft [attic].
Paulster went up and shouted down the labels on the boxes and I shouted back whether or not that box should come down. I'm sure the neighbours appreciated that happening after 10pm. Oh well.

Anyway, a few hours later, the tree was up, lighted and decorated.


If you look closely, you'll see that Kenny has taken up residence under the tree for now. Sweet boy!


As I started putting the ornaments on the tree, I was reminded of the people and places that are special to me that I don't see or chat to nearly enough. Most of my ornaments come from places I've travelled--like my yellow cab from New York City when I travelled there for a weekend with my friend, Sal. Or the ornaments that were given to me during an annual ornament exchange with 3 girlfriends in Texas.
Here are a few pictures of some other special ornaments.

My chili pepper ornament, purchased in Red River, New Mexico--no telling how many years ago...


My glass heart ornament. Given to me by the Holstes--parents of my university roommates. They now live in Qatar.


My handmade Christmas tree ornament. Made by Jake and given to me as a gift the year that I left the US. It goes on my tree every year!

Of course, no English Christmas tree is complete without a Tea Pot ornament.


Moving on from the tree, are another of my favourite Christmas items. One new addition that was shipped by Aunt Karo just this year...and the large glass Santa that she gave me many years ago.
They have prominent places in the new house now. Next year, they'll look better up against painted walls.




Of course, the Grinch, the HoHoHo and Mr. Hanky have also been unpacked and placed in their new homes for Christmas.

We're nearly ready for Santa to arrive!

It's a British Tradition- Christmas Style

Christmas in Britian wouldn't be Christmas without the entertainment phenomenon of the Pantomime. This is the slapstick, cartoon of a theatre experience where the leading lady is ALWAYS played by a "Bloke in a Dress" and there's lots of interaction with the audience. For the US-based readers, I can only tell you that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is as close as we get in the US. It's the Rocky Horror Picture Show on steroids.

Our Christmas tradition always entails a trip to Sheffield to take presents to Paulster's sister and family and visit his mother. This year, Auntie M (let's call her) arranged for all of us to go to the Pantomime. It was Aladdin. The story that was adapted by Disney about an evil man who uses Aladdin to find a lamp and access the powers of the Genie to make him an evil sorcerer.
Kind of a heavy story...
Not so much when in the setting of a pantomime.

Here's a picture of the press photos for it...to give you an idea.

And the writeup of who's in it (it won't mean anything to the US readers):
The iconic Phil Daniels (Eastenders, Quadrophenia and Blur's 'Parklife') plays the role of evil Abanazzar; Kevin Sacre (Jake Dean in Hollyoaks) plays Aladdin; Sheffield's very own comedy legend Bobby Knutt (back by popular demand) plays The Chinese Policeman and Damian Williams (the funniest dame in the country) plays the role of Widow Twankey.

I simply cannot describe the hilarity of the pantomime adequately. It must be experienced. There was one point in the show where I was laughing so hard that I was literally crying. The most hilarious thing for me was the part of the show where the main characters were "looking" for mummies. Sitting on a bench, singing the Monty Python song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"--the mummies would come out of one side of the stage, wander behind the singers and back off again. The job of the crowd is to point and scream, "It's behind you!" Which Paulster's 4 year-old niece did with EXTREME style. Watching her was the funniest part of the entire show.

Another really funny part was the song of the 12 Days of Christmas--which had new lyrics. Including on the first day of Christmas, a bra that was made to hold three. The actors spent the entire time of that song trying to throw each other off.
Like I said, it really must be experienced...I'm so glad that I finally got a chance to see it.
I think it will become a part of my UK Christmas tradition...

Catching Up

This post is literally a catch-up--in late September, two friends/colleagues from the US got to come to London on official business. This was major stop number 1 on their world tour. You may recognise the faces...but the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

We took full advantage of the lovely weather and the visit to see the London sites, laugh and otherwise catch up. JMo and Ricky Bobby were troopers--straight from an overnight flight, I picked them up for a full day of sightseeing.

From looking at the photos, you'd think that all we did is tour the Tower of London...which isn't the case...but if you ONLY had time to do one thing, I'd always recommend seeing the crown jewels. They're just amazing.
Activities of the day included the obligatory trip on the Tube, a ride on the London Eye, a river cruise and a black cab ride. Of course, we also drank a pint in a pub...Mandatory for embracing the culture.

Here's a picture of me and JMo after touring the Tower of London.


Here's a pic of JMo and a Beefeater before we went in to see the Crown Jewels.


And here's a picture of me and Ricky Bobby before going into the Tower.


And here's a shot of Ricky Bobby displaying a coded message! :)


It was a great day out! Can't wait for you to come back and spend some more time.

10 Years of Drama

The 5th of December was a very special day. Drama turned 10 years old!
We spent the weekend in Bristol, near where the girls live. This was in anticipation of attending a birthday party. But that plan was altered a little bit when Drama said she wanted a Slumber Party for her birthday. So, not really a party format that we could attend.
Instead, we got to see her twice that weekend--once on her actual birthday Friday night and again on Sunday.

Paulster and I met the girls, their mom and one of Drama's friends for dinner at Pizza Express.

She got a pink camera for her birthday, so we'll be editing it at every chance...to make sure the least flattering images don't survive! ;)

Here's a picture of the birthday girl and her proud papa at Pizza Express.


Saturday was our own day. So we visited the new shopping centre in Bristol, which is a cool indoor/outdoor thing. The shops, like Next, Harvey Nichols, and Debenhams are smaller versions of the London stores.
Here are some holiday decorations outside the shopping centre...very Christmassy.


Saturday night, we caught up with a friend who lives in town. He's the one we can depend on every time we're there to have dinner and find out how his life's progressed since the last time we saw him. He always gives us plenty of things to discuss over dinner/drinks!

On Sunday, we met the girls and their mom for Sunday lunch. Even though it was cold, the girls enjoyed the swings and slides at the restaurant's playground. The looks on their faces in this shot is pure joy...and it makes me smile.


Happy Birthday, Drama Girl!

The Christmas Spirit

There's nothing like a Christmas Market to get you in the Christmas Spirit. The weekend after Thanksgiving, Paulster, Drama, Blondie and I went to Lille, France to a Christmas Market. It was a trip organised by the Sports & Social Club at work. We all boarded a coach [bus] at 7am and drove to Folkstone, near Kent--which is where the Chunnel starts. The coach went onto a train, that then travelled through the Chunnel until we were in France, where we then carried on driving until we reached Lille.
Here's a picture of Paulster and the girls, having gotten off the coach inside the train car that was carrying us through the Chunnel. It was a bit of a surreal experience literally driving onto a train and then going under the English Channel.


With all the anticipation of Christmas treats and a video of Kung Fu Panda to keep us entertained, we finally made it to Lille and the market.
Here's a shot of Drama and Blondie as we're getting started on the day.


First order of business...find some mulled wine. Check.
Snacks. Check.
Here's a picture of me, Drama and Blondie having a traditional French treat--the pretzel. ;)


Yeah, that's me, bundled in my pink "Seattle" hoody, hat and gloves. A coat would have been a good idea...too bad I rushed out of the house without it. Goofball.

Then we just walked around to see what we could see and went back to the stalls that had the best stuff!

Here's a stall where the girls picked up a few treats.

Like a small version of Willy Wonka's place! Beautifully coloured candies and lollipops!

One of the fun things that we did was ride the big wheel. Twice. Once before the sun went down, and once after. It was COLD--but times, but the view was much more magical at night. The lights of the Christmas Market and city were beautiful. Paulster stayed on the ground--not a fan of the heights and small carriage of the wheel.


Here's a shot of Paulster and the girls after our last ride on the wheel.


It was a long, cold day, but definitely a great way to kick off the holiday season!