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Published: January 15th 2008
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I spent Christmas and New Years in Nottingham. I flew from Germany to East Midlands where Kim picked me up and we took the bus into Nottingham. To give a bit of background: Last summer I spent two months living in Nottingham at my uncle’s house where his god-daughter Kim, was living. We became friends nearly instantly and thus, she picked me up from the airport and we bussed into Nottingham, where from last summer’s adventures, I knew my way around. It was like coming home, granted, home had upgraded, with a shiny new City Square complete with million dollar fountain and ice rink, but nonetheless, home. All the girls were dressed to the 9’s for the official “Friday night out before Christmas” wearing heels and sparkling dresses, and the guys ... were not Swedish. :D Why am I so happy? Let’s see, no tiny skinny jeans, no emo-teeshirts, and no cardigans. Thank the fashion gods.
The next couple days were spent getting ready for Christmas, Kim had waited for me to help set up the Christmas Tree so we decorated and I realised that
I was a bit home-sick, if only missing my mother telling us to move ornaments,
or to better yet, let her decorate it. We decorated the somewhat-sickly looking tree that Jimmy had probably been paid to take from the tree lot, and made sure to decorate ourselves with baubles and tinsel, just for good measure. I met with Clare, a friend of Kim’s who I had met last year in Sunderland, and we went shopping for the day through the crazy pre-Christmas crowds and later went out for a night on the town with Clare’s friends and Hana, another of Kim’s friends. We started at an old Inn called the Salutation and then made our way on to a tiny and highly crowded bar called Bar 11.
The whole concept of Christmas celebrations was a bit flipped around from what I’m used to. At home, we have a dinner on Christmas eve, usually with a few friends, and family and then open one gift. Christmas morning is opening all gifts and stockings, and eating a gorgeous eggs Benedict breakfast then preparing for Christmas dinner, and lining up shortly afterwards at the electronics store for boxing day sales. In Nottingham it was a bit different.
We went out on Christmas eve to a
club called Fire and Ice with a few friends and family, and had a good time of talking and drinking my most favourite beverage, Magner’s cider. Its a full pint glass of appley goodness with intoxicating bubbles. Christmas we spent the morning visiting relatives, and then started Christmas dinner at 5pm. There was a brief interlude of tossing about a ball that shocks people and then we had Christmas dinner. There were 15 people at Jimmy’s, including my cousin’s wife, who I had not yet met, so it was wonderful to finally meet her in person. After popping the Christmas crackers with toys inside, we had numerous things to play with, (such as bowling pins, yay) and everyone was wearing the crepe-paper crowns that came in the crackers. Dinner was wonderful, and followed by amazing deserts, the most amazing of which was whipped cream frozen with brandy and champagne, it was awesome. I now have the recipe and will be making batches of it and living a happily drunken life of sugar highs. Thank you Heather. Christmas dinner turned into Christmas post-dinner drinks and led to a certain someone (who shall remain unnamed for purposes of his business clients being
shocked and appalled) running down the street naked in order to encourage someone else to do a shot. The measures we take to make our friends enjoy themselves. :P There are photos of both events. Please contact me for more details. Drinking lasted until about 3am when it was definitely time for food/drink coma. Boxing day was another festival of food including some much anticipated monk-fish curry. There were no shock-balls or nakedness, but there was a drowning of an iPod, and some interesting discussions on dolphins.
The next few days were spent de-toxing in preparation for New Year’s Eve. Kim and I went out a couple nights on the town, and met up with Natalia and Hana. I met another of Kim’s friends, Rachel and the three of us decided that for New Year’s, we’d have a theme, 1920’s! New year’s eve was to take place at Snug, a small, cosy club in Nottingham where for 40 pounds, you could enjoy a free bar. Considering that on nights out when I have drinks bought for me, and I’m ‘saving money’ I still spend about 60 quid, this was a fantastic deal. We dressed up with Kim wearing a
red flapper dress complete with period shoes, feather hair tie, and long velvet gloves, Rachel being a gangster with a waist coat, fedora hat and monocle, and me wearing a Basque with a short blonde wig and red stilettos. We decided Kim was Talulah, the wife, Rachel was Freddy, the husband and I was Lola, the mistress. We had a fantastic night, meeting up at Andy’s house first, who sort-of joined us by wearing a giant afro. It was nice to see everyone who I had met last year again and we had a great night at Snug, dancing, watching a particular twit do the splits despite his injury the last time he did it, and then watching a two-man dance recital. (you can find these videos on facebook). The best dance routine of all, a ballet moment with a bowler hat, can be purchased from me for purposes of black mailing, and yes, it features a certain M Keavney. The night was great, and I didn’t even have a hang over the next day, what a perfect New Years!
Kim and I went to Lincoln the next day, a nearby town with a beautiful cathedral and castle. We hiked
a giant hill to see both cathedral and castle and enjoyed some exotic tea at one of the 10 tea rooms that adorn the street. On our way back, we managed to hit up a few stores and get some boxing day sales! (2 vera moda dresses for 10 pounds? Oh yes). It was a really nice day out and was great to be a little bit touristy as I was no longer playing tourist in Nottingham.
I spent the next week just going out. On Thursday we went to the most special event of Nottingham on Thursdays, pound-a-pint night, where I found 20quid! Yay! It was also the cheapest round I ever bought, 5 pounds for 5 drinks. Saturday I spent teaching my uncle how to video edit, and fighting with a possessed mouse. (Computer mouse, not actual mouse). Had a fantastic lunch and dinner at my aunt and uncles, and went back to Nottingham for a fun night out. Sunday was spent at Wagamama, my most favourite restaurant, its average, but has great fun food and I love the cookbook.
I went for lunch with my aunt on Monday to a pub and had great fish
and chips, which is pretty much a requirement of going to England. We talked fashion (which I love) and then I bored her with Half Machine stuff. (Sorry H) but it was a nice lunch out.
Some notable food moments: Chinese food and sushi for the first time since August, and good Indian food. Oh thank you ethnic people in Nottingham. Come visit Sweden sometime.
It was really really good to be back in Nottingham, I really love the city, I have family there, and there’s so much to see and do from there (like 17 pound flights to Spain for instance). Hmm Denmark or Nottingham as a final destination? Now that I’m writing this back home in Sweden, and have spent 3 days with my Danish friend, Denmark is on the verge of winning again, but Nottingham is great, so we’ll see. Oh, final note: going grocery shopping was amazing. Everything was written in English. Ingredients, directions, salad dressing, you take for granted these things, and then don’t notice how hard it is in the new country, with the new language until you get home and go shopping at Tesco’s and have a party in the
aisle because you can read the curry directions. Its special.
Thanks for a great Christmas and New Years everyone!
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