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Published: January 2nd 2006
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the house
The middle section was ours, a family was staying in the part next door. The owner lived in the other section with his family. Merry Christmas to all!
I hope you all enjoyed fabulous occasions with beloved family and friends .
Well, I have to admit that I had a fantastic time despite being so many miles away from all of you I love most, and know you want to hear all about it!
As I mentioned in the last entry, I headed to North Wales with a group of Australians. What a time we had! There were 8 of us from South Australia, and one (SA-wannabe) from QLD. I was there from Friday night until Tuesday morning and loved every minute of it. I caught the train from Guildford to Oxford, then drove the remaining three hours with the two girls I had met before. I was only aware that I knew one of the crew originally, but Adelaide being as small as it is, we soon realised I had also met one of the others several years ago.
We stayed in a gorgeous farm house in the countryside, near a place called Wrexham. We were so excited to find the owner of the place had decorated a massive Christmas
Oh Christmas Tree!
We regressed to 5 year olds when we walked in to see this in the living room! tree (my first live one)! Our gifts were instantly added beneath it. He had also left all sorts of edible treats that really got us into the Christmas spirit. The place had a massive kitchen, and living room, including fireplace. Outside was a trampoline, complete with surrounding netting (for additional safety during drunken playtimes), and a games room with table tennis, pool, and foosball tables! Oh, were we in heaven!
Nights were filled with chats over more alcohol than I have seen one group consume in one week, including the english traditional mulled wine (can take or leave this to be honest - give me some good ol SA vintage). We all got along really well, even when we were challenging each other to different sports and drinking games! A couple of the mornings were started off with nice walks enjoying the country views, but less pleasant farmyard smells.
On Christmas Eve, 3 of us gave up drinking to go to midnight mass. An experience I had not had before, and one that I truly enjoyed in a cathedral that held over 1600 people. It really brought on the realisation that Christmas was upon us!
Christmas morning
Chester Cathedral
The cathedral in which we enjoyed midnight mass began with a 930am glass of champagne, thanks to the much-appreciated member that came with Moet! Now thats a great way to start a day me thinks! We exchanged 'Secret Santa' gifts, and our 'wearable crazy lucky dip gift'. We were all instructed to wrap something that could be worn by another member of the crew for the entire day. This was unfortunate for the guy that scored my choice, as I was under the impression that all attendees were going to be female. Poor guy had to wear a red satin and fluffy G-string and chocker all day!
It was great to share in the interesting gifts that had been sent to people from home. One of the group had been home recently and returned with gifts from family for some of the others and many SA treats that aren't common here (tim tams, clinkers, fruchocs). We even had Coopers Pale and Sparkling courtesy of one of the guys! An Australian Christmas in England indeed.
Lunch included smoked salmon and salad, followed by turkey and what seems like a million different veggies. Christmas dinner included 'Betty' and 'Lulu', the chooks that gave up their lives for our
North Wales fog
The conditions of our Christmas morning walk - its not raining but there is a lot of moisture in the air! enjoyment. Trust me, naming them was not my idea! As is always tradition, we just kept on eating all day, despite the fact that we really were not hungry at all. Needless to say, we were very slow at eating for the day or two that followed!
Boxing day was spent driving around visiting a few other towns. Conwy was a highlight - a town surrounded by the old walls of a fortress built before 1289. The circuit of wals around it are over three quarters of a mile long and include 22 towers - impressive!
The morning of the 27th marked the departure of several of us back from where we came. But, not before one of the girls got up to bake me a chocolate cake and I got a chorus of "Happy Birthday" from all those who had awoken before I left. A piece quickly cut off for me to enjoy on the train ride back to Guildford was great for travel hunger prevention! But, an amazing gift for my birthday was the first sighting of UK SNOW! The entire train ride saw my nose and my camera lenses pushed up against the train window,
The Aussie Xmas Crew
Complete with wearable crazy lucky dip gifts! soaking up the amazing white-covered countryside of Wales and England. I was such a child! Imagine what I'm going to be like if I get enough to have snowball fights!!!
Upon arrival back in Guildford, the final hours of my birthday were spent enjoying a quiet night at the pub with one of my housemates and two great people I met at a party in one of my first weeks here. And what fantastic gift did one of them give me? - a boomerang with dolphins painted on it! See, people here know me already!
Thats enough of my festive adventures. But some of the Aussie crew from xmas are already organising easter in Prague. I've already added myself to the list for that one!
Wishing you all a fabulous start to the new year and I will be back with more horrendously long entries in 2006!
T xx
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Sal
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That cathedral looks AMAZING! Loving the updates - have a great New Years xx