So That Was Christmas

Hello all! I hope you have had a very merry Christmas, wherever you are. As for myself, I've had a good, but jetlagged one, hence no blog updates since I landed on British soil. But I can condense the experience into a few salient highlights from the last few days:

• When I came out of arrivals at the airport, my mother literally didn't recognize me. It was strange seeing her in the flesh for the first time in three years, and doubtless the experience was reciprocated!
• Going shopping on the British high-street on the 23rd, I re-discovered a few things I had conveniently forgotten; number one how terrible the coffee is. number two how dire the food served in cafes and restaraunts; number three how unfriendly and paranoid the average Brit has become; and four just how damn many people there are here. I swear I've lost all my street-navigation skills.
• My sister says it's nice to see me, but it's hard getting used to the new 'muscle mania' Charles.
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• Christmas day, I cooked the full Christmas dinner for the family in my mother's tiny kitchen; that was the turkey, potato served three ways (roast, mashed and boiled since people all wanted it different), stuffing, roast parsnip, roast sweet potato, sprouts, cabbage, carrots, asparagus, gravy, miniture sausages... getting the spread on the table, I was actually quite proud. I fell asleep sitting in the living-room chair however afterwards, leaving me quite unable to enjoy the Christmas special Doctor Who - or the Christmas pudding.
• Boxing day - going to the river Nene and feeding ducks; too much food and too much leftovers. Just like I remember british Christmases to be!
• The only thing I got for Christmas was more t-shirts. Fancy that...

Tomorrow, we leave Northampton and go to Lincolnshire!