I don't feel well

Actually, I feel fine, but one of my christmas presents was these cool Giant Microbe - a Stomach Ache! So now I have a stomach ache at hand for whenever I need to skive anything! Fabulous!

Christmas in Scotland

Scotland - The land of mountains, lochs and stupid twisty roads.

Christmas Eve's Eve - We started out journey on the Friday before Christmas. I spent the morning running around cooking vast quantities of Chilli (for our meal), visiting Heather and Andreas (lovely biscuits by the way!) and packing! Carl came home from work and looked at the brakes on his car as they’d been making silly noises. After deciding it was grit we started loading the car, which was a mammoth task in itself, with all the Chrimbo food, pressies and clothes to squeeze in! We left at 4pm and had driven as far as Peterborough when I realised I hadn’t emptied the fridge, so back we went, and emptied the fridge into the car also. So really, we left at 5pm! The drive to Newcastle was fine and from what I recall we arrived at the Travelodge at about 9pm, ate a Burger King and went to bed.

Christmas Eve - We left Newcastle at about 11 o’clock, stopping to see the Angel of the North along the way. I had no idea it was so huge (or that it was in Newcastle actually!) We then set along the road that runs from Newcastle to Carlisle near Hadrian’s Wall.
We saw bits of Hadrien’s Wall and a fort and a town called ‘Wall’ which I thought was highly amusing.
From Carlisle it was up to Glasgow on the motorway then up past Loch Lomond to Crainlarich. The road along Loch Lomond was very windy and twisty and it was beginning to get dark…we longed for the motorway again! From there it was on towards Oban via Tyndrum (which I thought was a good name for a place). More twisty, twisty roads – bah! We were so happy when we got to Oban…only 15 miles to go to Melfort. More twisty roads (though not as bad as the Loch Lomond ones) and we were there! We all unloaded the car, ate shepherds pie that Colin and Sonia had prepared and commenced drinking!

Christmas Day – After a wonderful nights sleep (apart from the intermittent awakenings due to the fan in the bathroom next door) we woke up and Carl and I cooked bacon sarnies for breakfast – yum yum. Once we were all showered and dressed it was pressie time – I took all the ones from school so I felt rather popular!! Ha ha! I had some lovely things including an MP3 player, Bagpuss calendar, books and smellies.
We decided to go for a walk before dinner, which I was glad to do as I hadn’t seen the cottage or surroundings in daylight. We all set off for a walk round part of Loch Melfort, which was partly frozen.

Carl, Bern, Barb, Me, Sonia, Colin, Charlotte and Grandad.

Once we got back it was time for Christmas dinner, which Sonia and Colin had prepared. It was delicious! We had toast and smoked salmon as a starter and a choice of turkey or gammon for the main meal, with roasted potatoes and parsnips, peas, swede and carrot mash, stuffing, chestnuts and gravy. We all ate our fill (and more!) and we let off some party poppers. Sonia did a fabulous popper that was filled with glittery bits, which landed all over the left over food! So sparkly turkey and gammon for boxing day!! We pulled our crackers, which Carl’s mum made, and Carl had a ‘Stewie in your pocket’ (excellent phrases!) in his and I had a ‘stomach ache giant microbe cuddly toy’ in mine! Fantastic!
The rest of the day was filled with a half-hearted attempt at Cranium, nibbles and alcohol!

Boxing Day – Today we decided to do the ‘Wishing tree walk’. The Wishing Tree is an old tree that over the years, people have stuck money into it and made a wish – sound like a lovely image doesn’t it? Carl, Sonia and their mum and dad did this many years ago when they were last at Melfort Village. Colin and I were about to be introduced to the ‘Cook family holiday experience.’ We drove the route we walked yesterday, towards Degnish. We parked up and Carl’s dad asked someone directions and off we went. We were told it was about 2 miles – lies! The scenery was beautiful though. We saw sheep bounding up the mountings, cows in their thick wooly coats and plenty of poo everywhere! Charlotte and Carl’s dad sped off into the distance. The rest of us reached a point when we thought – they have no idea where this tree is, then Charlotte ran back to us and said ‘It’s just around the corner.’ We all trudged on, Carl ran up a mountain, and then we arrived. The image was shattered – the tree was dead! It was lying on it’s side with a fence around it. We all still stuck our pennies in it, wondering if the wish still comes true if the tree is dead.

Carl putting his penny in the (dead) wishing tree and making a wish. Don't be fooled, it isn't covered in snow, just frost. While the rest of the UK enjoyed some festive snow, we had NONE in Scotland AT ALL! B'ah Humbug!

So, a 3 hour-ish round trip to see a dead tree. Fabulous!

The Day After Boxing Day – An early morning was in order for our trip to Loch Ness. The aim of the day was to go to the closest part of Loch Ness and have a walk and see the views. On the map it looked like Fort Augustus was on the tip of Loch Ness, so off we went. Approximately 2 hours later we arrived at the town. It was a nice enough town, pretty well closed due to Christmas, but we had a nice cup of tea and some snacks in a café. AT this point it was decided we needed to drive a little further, to the next town, as we were not ‘loch side.’ So off we went again. We drove on, and on, and on…and on. We were following Carl’s parents and after about an hour we decided enough was enough and pulled into a parking bay near Urqhart castle (which was very pretty with Loch Ness in the background.) As we were taking a few photos Sonia’s mobile rang. Charlotte told us that they’d found the ‘Loch Ness Information Centre’ and it was just up the road. So, off we go…again. Luckily, it was just up the road, but the information centre was in fact a gift shop! After the long journey, we decided to purchase some trinkets before heading off on the return journey, as we wanted to get back before it got too dark.

So, a 7 hour round trip…to a GIFT SHOP! The ‘Cook family holiday experience’ strikes again!

The Next Day – After the previous attempts at family outings, Barb, Charlotte, Colin, Sonia and Grandad all decided to give today a miss. Carl, Bern and myself decided we wanted to go to Ben Nevis, and having passed it on the way to ‘The Gift Shop’, we knew it wasn’t as far. I think it took us about 1½ hours to get to Fort William and find the Nevis centre. We donned our walking boots and got the cable car part way up the mountain. The views were spectacular, but as the windows were grimy, no photos could be taken :o( When we left the cable car, Bern started off while Carl and I looked around and took a few photos. About 2 minutes later we started to follow Bern, only to see him hurrying back towards us saying it was too cold and he was going for a coffee. ‘Ha!’ we thought and we set off towards the mountain. About 2 minutes later we could no longer feel our fingers. We attempted to take a few photos, but I suspect we were blurry as we were shivering so much! So we headed to the café and the shop to warm up! When we headed out again, we went round the other side, which was a bit warmer – less wind chill! Carl and I had a go on the swings, found so cool ice structures and took some more photos. Then we decided to head back down to Fort William and get some food before heading home.

1. Me in my great new hat. 2. Carl on a swing. 3. Me - freezing!

A successful day! Hurrah!

The Day After That – We left Melfort Village and endured hours of stupid, twisty roads before getting on a motorway near Edinburgh. It was plain driving from then on. Only a 12-hour journey from Melfort to Splisby (including a curry in Lincoln!) to drop off Grandad. We stayed the night and awoke to SNOW! Hurrah!!

Chrimbo party in Ringwood

Thanks to Jeannie and Mark for a good weekend.

We had a lovely walk in the New Forest on Saturday, even though it was pretty muddy in places. In the evening Mark and the guys attempted to make Mulled wine...without the things you need to make it! It was warm wine basically!! We then went for a curry in Ringwood then to a couple of pubs before heading home and playing a few games (which the girls won hurrah!)

(When Jeannie asked me if it was in, I didn't know she was taking about the Christmas tree which she managed to conceal entirely! Ooops!)

Baby Wilson is here!

Baby Wilson arrived today at 8.25pm. Hurrah I am an auntie!! Congratulations to Paul and Sarah on the birth of Joshua James…he is gorgeous!

Christmas Shopping - apparently.

The Plugs were at Newbury this weekend - racing along various motorways to get there in time for Po's work quiz. There are 2 words I'd use to describe this quiz - 'bloody hard!' Joey was a star on the anagrams - although in her delight shouting out 'ark' and 'raiders' may have given the game away! In all we didn't do too badly. 4th place. Well done to us, I reckon.
Saturday - we were supposed to be Christmas shopping. The guys all went off and Lou and I had the day to ourselves for some girlie quality time. We decided we needed food before we set to the task of choosing presents and spent the following 2 hours eating pasta and drinking red wine. We then went round a few shops feeling a bit 'tipsy.' We didn't manage to do any Chrimbo shopping, but I did buy myself a couple of new tops, which is always nice! It was then shower, change and meet the lads, Nicky and Kim in the pub. By the time we got there we'd missed a 'toffee incident' between the two Ross's, which led to an empty wrapper being left in various places. After a few drinks we headed to an Indian and had a good curry and headed back to the Po's. A good weekend was had by all.

Quiz, HP and poorlyness

So I am ill. Great. I hate being ill. I can tell that I am ill as I have gone off food - yep that's right...don't fancy anything...which is very rare, so I must be ill.
Was feeling a bit ropey on Friday, but soldiered on anyway, as that is what I am like.
Glad I did really! Carl and I went to the Stephenson Quiz and teamed up with Darren and Jen. We were nothing if not consistant (scoring 7 or 9 in almost all rounds apart from the last 2, where we scored 8 and 10!) but not winners, or so we thought, until we realised we got 10 in the last round and knew we had won. Ha! Too bad the Bad Monkeys weren't there...we might have actually beaten them!
After that, Carl and I were on a high (due to winning and having drunk copious amounts of Lucozade during the quiz) so we decided to go and see the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter film in Stevenage. So off we went. We were amazed at the (lack of) speed of the consessions staff and ushers. We were never that slow...surely! (Hmmm...actually we probably were at 11.30 at night, but the customer is always right...so they were painstakingly slow!! OK?!)
The film was great. Good special effects and it kept pretty well to the book (as far as I can recall - I mean they did miss stuff out and change a few bits but nothing blindingly obvious.)
So got home at about 3am...tumbled into bed and slept like a log till 8ish...when Carl got up for work complaining that he was "too old for these late nights!" I fell back to sleep for a couple more hours, but really didn't feel well...and the poorlyness is still with me now. D'Oh!

James' 30th Birthday

What started off as a problematic start (missing our train and getting lost round the corner from Simon's place) turned out to be a great night!
We arrived at 'dusk' at about 6.30. It's the kinda place you could easily drive past...in fact we nearly did. We entered and went into the VIP room, which is really just a small taped off area really. The place was very dark but before we even looked at a price list, we knew it would be pricey!! And it was!! Carl and I had a bottle of red wine and a couple of cocktails during the evening. Carl wanted JD and coke, but at £8.50 for a single, we'd have had to remortgage the house before he was tipsy! (A bottle of JD was a staggering £110!! I kid you not!)

James and the Damn Pinyata

We had a good evening. It was good to see James again (after about 5 or 6 years!) and to see Martin again too...who hasn't changed a bit. Carl and I did try oysters (which were the cheapest thing on the menu!!) and I can honestly say...aphrodisiac HOW?!? They are distgusting! Yuck! Never again!!

Carl, Martin and Simon

I'd say that the highlight of my evening was Carl asleep on one shoulder then James coming over to see and saying he thought I was 'quite fit' before promptly falling asleep on the other shoulder! If anyone has a photo of this...I'd like to see it!!
We all left at about 1.30 and piled into taxis back to Simons. After this is gets a bit hazy (I was very tired and not drunk enough) and the mood took a downturn. So after a while I went to bed (by bed I mean floor in Si's room) wondering if I'd ever get to sleep with all the noise, only to wake up about 5 hours later to all the noise. James and the damn pinyata that refused to open!
Anyway, thanks James for inviting us...it was fun, and thanks Simon for the use of the floor...it was surprisingly comfortable!

See Saw II

Carl and I went to the cinema last night to see 'Saw 2'. We went to Bedford cinema (as Carl had not been there...) and just as I remembered...it was crap! Having worked in the industry we know this. I don't like the way the lights aren't dimmed properly and there was a bit of light reflecting from somewhere onto the edge of the screen which was annoying! Also they wouldn't let Carl have cheese and chillis on his Nachos!! Moan moan...

Anyhow, the film was excellent. There was a bit with eyes that I couldn't watch (I am very eye squeamish! Getting contact lenses in was a huge leap for me!!) but it was a really good film...kept me on the edge of my seat (not literally tho as that would not be comfy). I won't say too much as I don't want to give anything away but if you liked the first one, you'll like this too.

Strange Dreams...

We had a more relaxing weekend, after the all the decorating we had done during the week. Our weekend started on Friday when we went all the the way to Luton for my prize lunch only to find the place was closed. We got there at 12 noon, checked again at 12.30 and 1pm...still closed! What time do people have lunch in Luton?! So now I'll have to wait until the Christmas holidays to claim my prize.

Saturday was spent vegging infront on the TV watching films. We rented out 'The Bourne Identity', 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'Saw' from our local DVD rental store (we got fed up of waiting for our online DVD rental to send these particular DVDs...actually any DVDs! They aren't exactly fast at sending them out! Rant moan whinge etc etc.) Anyway...I digress...we watched the films, all of which I enjoyed a lot. We saw 'Saw' (ha ha) just before we went to bed...which could possibly had something to do with the strange dreams I had that night. I dreamed that I was trapped in a room with a stool (the one we'd used to stand on for decorating purposes all week!), a saw, some Brie and clingfilm. All very stange...and most annoyingly reoccuring! I was worn out by morning trying to solve the puzzle in my sleep (Yes, I sawed the stool in half and wrapped the Brie in the clingfilm...but did I get out?!?)

Yesterday evening I went to a salsa hallowe'en party. It was very good, just a shame it was a pretty long drive to get there! Some of the usual suspects from Thursday were there and I had some good dances. The advanced lesson was speedier than I'm used too, but once I got to grips with the teaching style and the partners in the circle is went quite well. Now looking forward to the Christmas salsa party!

The prize goes to...

Well, I recieved a letter from Chiltern Radion (97.6!!!). My prize (see previous blog) is a lunch for 2 at Zi Cafe Bar in Luton. So tomorrow we are having a day off decorating and will be making a trip to Luton.
Not only that, but I got a signed photo of the Ben Dudley (the DJ), which is better than the prize don't you think?!!? At least he is nice to look at...

Apart from that, the decorating is going well. We've painted the ceilings in the kitchen and hall/landing/stairs and papered the walls there too...I never want to see wallpaper and paste again...