Christmas

Christmas was a strange affair this year. Christmas morning started at 7 o'clock with the discovery that Father Christmas had visited during the night. Ellie and Caitlin opened their presents at the end of our bed as normal but Adrienne was missing. She'd stayed the night at the boyfriends. She came home in time for Christmas dinner though.

After dinner we opened tree presents, then Beth, Andrew and Francis arrived and more presents were exchanged. We had tea and then everyone gathered round the telly to watch 'Doctor Who', as normal. But Mum and Dad were missing, Dad having broken his sternum two weeks earlier.

We went down to visit Mum and Dad on Boxing Day, had Carl's mum round for tea the day after and then Julie, Ken and Christopher yesterday. I feel I have over-feasted and now need a normal day, but there are just so many tempting left-overs!

Floods

 This was the scene outside my house on Saturday night. Carl got his digger out in the day and made a huge mound of mud at the end of the drive. We parked all the cars on on the hill. But the hill turned into a river and pretty soon the road was impassable. Our cellar flooded and the end of the garden but no major damage.

 We were supposed to go out to my works do but got turned around by the police because all the roads to Combe Martin were flooded. Then the environment agency floodline phoned to say we were in imminent danger of flood and should we have to be evacuated please co-operated with the emergency services. We decided it might be easier to stay at home. Carl, Caitlin and Adrienne decided to go out exploring at just past midnight. Apparently there was a party going on down by Co-op bridge, everyone had gone out to see the river at high tide.

This was the scene on Sunday morning. That red car had been abandoned and stayed there until this morning when its owner finally decided to come and get it back. South West highways have been out pumping the drains. The hills is now a small stream. And the waters are slowly receding.

Czech Republic

 Last weekend I returned from a week spent in the Czech Republic. Working - of course! I met with the teachers on our 2 year European schools project. This is us on the Charles Bridge in Prague, minus the teachers from Northern Ireland who met us a day later once we'd arrived in Karvina.

 We spent a lot of time in school and having meetings, but on the Wednesday we went with some children on a school trip into the mountains. It had only just snowed so there was no ski-ing, but the children did lots of sledging, in between practising their English conversation skills on us.

 We also did a fair bit of drinking! Champagne and beer at the staff Christmas party evening. Nice!

The best bit of the week was ice skating in the snow. Dodging the children dashing at 90 miles an hour from one side of the rink straight across to the other was a challenge. I did fall down once. But it was good fun!