December in England!!!

This is my 3rd go, so I hope it works this time! December is crazy over here too! I didn't have the decorating to do or loads of shopping, but it was still insane. To add to it all, I was battling with a cold all month that progressed into 3 things: a cold, bronchitis, and tracheitis (got honey and ice cream for that one...). I was all better by 27th December. Yeah! OK! Here goes...

Nov. 23-24 - Christmas actually started on Nov. 23rd and 24th with the Christmas lantern festivals in Devizes and Calne. I walked in the parade with Lynne Davies' family and then had dinner at her house. Then on the 24th, after watching the parade, I walked through town and ended in a church singing carols while drinking mulled wine. Yum! What a lovely idea on a cold night. Both parades ended with Father Christmas lighting the town Christmas tree in the town centres. What fun nights!

1st - synchro swimming competition in Gloucester for Alice, my friend's daughter. I went to ASDA (Walmart) for the first time and bought too much, including a fake fiber optic tree that never did work quite right.

6th - I went to the Christmas Market with Emma and Eleanor. It was raining and there was an intense windy, but we persevered and had a brilliant time. It was fun shopping at the outdoor stalls decorated for Christmas. If you saw my Christmas card, then you know what it looked like. The Abbey was beautiful at night.

7th - "Staff do" at the Chippenham Golf Club. It was a very posh night with a fab dinner and dancing! Julie, the head, even bought everyone a drink! Yum!

9th - David and Cherry took me out to dinner and to see Handel's Messiah at the Bath Theater Royal. It is one of the oldest working theatres in the UK. It sure was beautiful and an amazing treat. What a brilliant night!!

11th - School Christmas dinner - The school dinner ladies made a lovely Christmas dinner. (Thanksgiving dinner for you Americans out there...) Each plate had a Christmas cracker (a tube that pops when you pull the ends with a paper crown, a cheesy joke, and a toy inside). The music was ear-splittingly loud, and we even got a ice cream for dessert.

15th - I went back to Westonbirt Arboretum for their Enchanted Christmas with Sharon, the deputy head. They had a jazz band playing carols and roasted chestnuts, then you got to walk through the woods that were all lit up...cold, but fun!

17th - Finally went to the doctor's and was diagnosed...We also spent the next 3 days performing a Christmas play about Simeon...an old prophet waiting for the baby to come. Each class across the nation is expected to participate in a show. It's a pretty cool tradition, but a little extra stress at Christmas.

19th - class party...ask me for the scoop...

20th - The Junior kids (2nd -5th grades) went to the panto Cinderella. It's a loud interactive and often irreverent play with man who dresses like a girl somewhere in it. This one had 2...wait for it...the ugly step-sisters! The closest we come to this in the States that I've seen in the Magic Circle theater in Roseville for the school shows. It was a lot of fun, but a really late night, so Emma spent the night at my house. Oh, I almost forgot...the fairy Godmother was played by Britt Eckland (SP?) an ex-James Bond girl...still pretty! Ask me sometime about the
places we had to walk by...

24rd - 27th - The next set of day was a whirlwind of friends. Everyone over here was worried that I didn't have family over here, so they all jumped in. I think they were more worried than I was about it. Christmas Eve was at Jan's house with several other school friends and kids. Christmas day...I woke up late, made American stuffing for dinner, went to Miri's for dinner and games, oh and found out that I wasn't quite over being ill yet. I stayed home on Boxing Day and opened my presents and cards, even though Kay invited me over. I needed a day at home to
rest. The 27th, I went to Lynne's house, chatted, and watched her twin boys play with their new toys. I had a fabulous time with everyone and loved meeting all their families! It was an amazing Christmas whirlwind!

30th - I went to London to stay with Rachelle. Susan came too...We spent today touring Henry VIII's palace...Hampton Court...huge and beautiful! That night we ordered in a curry...life will never be the same. LOL!!! I am in love with chicken korma! YUM!!!!
31st - We went to the Tate and Tate Modern museums today. The Tate Modern has a giant spider sculpture that you can walk under and a huge crack in the floor...yes, a real one. They actually have signs that say that the crack is real and to take care not to fall in. =) After dinner, we walked down to Big Ben and sat across the River Thames from the London Eye. We got there at 7ish. At 9:30, they made us stand up for health and safety. It was all worth it in the end. We
had the best seats in the house as the fireworks shoot off and around the London Eye with Big Ben bonging in the background. It was literally a once in a lifetime experience. I wouldn't go again even if I lived here, but I am SUPER glad that I went this time. They advertised that all public transport would be free from 11-2 am. Unfortunately, they didn't have any buses near the Eye running, and there was only 1 tube station open. We walked through the streets of London for 2 1/2 hours with 50,000 other people after standing for several hours before we finally got a
bus to a tube station, only to find out that that tube station was closed as well and we had to hire a cab. UGH!! Like I said...a once in a lifetime event!