More Festive Fun and Games

Archie and Meriel have gone home to West Yorkshire now. We had fun throwing the inflated rings onto the inflated antlers. Also the guess the drawing game was highly amusing - all those years at art school were not wasted!

Happy Nude Ears!

Nice to have Archie and Meriel here for New years this year. Tey made a lovely Saag Paneer for dinner yesterday and we watched Johnny Depp in the excellent film but very bad dirctor who made Plan Nine From Outer Space. Went into the garden to join Hazel later in the summer house for a chat and marvel at all the junk she has around the place and candles in every nook and cranny! It was like Diwali all over again! Watched a bit of Jools on the box and at 11.55 outside again to light sparklers and wish each other a Happy New year as all hell broke loose and the battle of the Somme commenced. Bang! Whoosh Crack! Bam! etc.

29th December - Limboland

These few days between Xmas and the New year are rather odd - you never know where you are or what the day is? I think its Tuesday but it feels like a Saturday. Archie and Meriel are still here and yesterday we enjoyed a game of Suspend that our friends in Wales sent us. Its a weird game where you take turns throwing a dice with colours on which allows you to pick a wire dooddad that you have to place carefully on the previously chosen wire doodads hanging precariously from a tripod thingy. Its a bit like that wood blocks game where you have to remove blocks without knocking down the tower. Sadly you soon run out of wire bits an you have to wobble the table to make the whole thing come crashing down!

Boxing Day

Blimey! Xmas is over and we need to do some serious walking to loose some of those calories gained over the festive period. Eating too much - as we do every year. Like most people do sadly. Nice to get out in the sunshine and walk along the Trent and Mersey canal path. Its a bit nippy and the ducks look thin and bedraggled. Sorry - no stake bread for you! Ended up at the park and then the Co-op to get a few bits we are running out of. Hoping there would be a sale on chestnuts like there was last year.20p a bag! No such luck. Home for lunch and playing with our Christmas toys. Collaging of course and the occasional cracked walnut and stollen slab!

Holmes Chapel

We dropped the kids off at Holmes Chapel railway station so they could get the train to Manchester Airport - on their journey to Dublin. They will be back for New Year which will be nice. We popped in to the nearby charity shop on the way home. A kind man lent me his reading glasses as I had stupidly left mine at home. I looked at the CD's and found a couple I lliked the look of. A Nina Simone and Blind Boys Of Alabama. Hazel got a couple of wooly jumpers. Then a quick walk round the Shakeley Mere. Lots of sausage dogs - they seem very poplular at the moment depiste their short legs! I hid behind some trees - part of a Fluxus performance for our friend Allen in the USA.

Archie and Meriel Visit

I'm sure I put these photos on yesterday but they seem to have vanished? Anyway - here they are again with some that Meriel Clarke took. Lovely to have both Meriel and Archie Leigh-Jones at home for a couple of days. Went for a walk down to the community orchard and the fishy ponds yesterday. A bit muddy and no swans and few ducks - they must have flown off for the festive season! I made a lasagne last night and then we watched Muppets Christmas Carol - one of Michael Caine's best performances.

Oh yes, showed Archie and Meriel the willow horse thats taking shape down by the Community Orchard. Took a few photos and Meriel took some too. It wasa bit nippy out so glad to get back in the warm.

Manchester

A nice day in Manchester despite the crowds and noise etc. Had a lovely lunch at Bundabust with Tone and Pene. They went off to look round the Chinese Quarter but we went to look at boots and records in the other parts of town - marvelling at the old buildings that haven't been bulldozed. Popped into FOPP which was disappointing. Quite expensive vinyl and DVD's. Then onto the Portico Library and nice exhibition of books and prints etc. by Stephen Emerson. Then a sit down in the Manchester Art Gallery which has some comfy sofas and videos to watch. Exhibitions rather dull sadly and not changed since last year! Later off to the print show at MMU where Hazel collected her box of prints she participated in.