Merry White Xmas! - 2009

We remember all too clearly what this time of year is like in Australia but for all our friends and family stuck back there suffering the heat and droughts, our Beautiful Yorkshire photos this month will give a small insight in to how we are enjoying a snow-covered Christmas. The snaps below give a bit of an idea of what we have been up to in December so have a quick scroll and enjoy our Wetherby winter wonderland wanders.

Gail''s company's Purple themed christmas party was held in Manchester early in the month and while I chose not to attend, Gail and her workmates had a great night with good food and a disco.... I would post some pics of Gail at the party, of which I have an embarrassing selection, but have been instructed not to do so on pain of getting no xmas dinner.

The shots that follow here are of Gail and me the following week at Lotherton Hall, just north east of Leeds, it is an Edwardian mansion full of art and fashion and quite a nice day out, on a nice day. There is an amazing bird sanctuary and aviary there which is worth a day just on its own.

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/lothertonHall/Lotherton_Hall/Welcome_to_Lotherton.aspx will explain everything including the Japanese monk on the ox.

SNOW ANGELS......

Not too surprisingly for this time of year, as soon as snow falls to any depth it is easy to see where the christmas angles come in to land. This one arrived one afternoon right on our front lawn......

With some Gail help.

Out and about again, we sought out Kirkham priory which is a ruin just out of York on the river Derwent where there is, as you might guess, a little pub with a friendly crowd, an open fire and good food. http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/priories/kirkham%20priory.htm

These shots were taken on a perfect winter's day the likes of which makes Yorkshire so attractive to the christmas angels. The Stone Trough Pub

The necessities of living the good life in Wetherby do require some re-thinking and this shot sees Greg pondering his lot in Hazelwood's bar after attending what he thinks was quite a good interview for a job up north. It is a management role about an hours drive away but if he's successful as an applicant it would be a real great opportunity.

The afternoon of the interview we went to Hazelwood Castle, about five miles from home. It is a nice old place, some 1000+ years old and well haunted by all accounts. We had ourselves a late lunch and a good stroll through the wonderful old rooms and over some of the snow cleared grounds. There is also a chapel with two male skulls displayed in a niche, the ex-heads reportedly belong to the last two blokes to be drawn and quartered in Yorkshire. http://www.hazlewood-castle.co.uk is the castle's web site, do have a look at it for the history and nice pictures of the castle and grounds as the day was too bleak for snaps when we were there.

We are back in Wetherby for christmas day;

This is the view through our back doors from our christmas table, you can see it was a big snow shower today. Our first Snowy Christmas, not just here but our first ever!

Gail is beside herself and has ensured the tree is sparkling, the spruce tree wreath is hung on the front door and the mistletoe is prominent.

Quite the "typical Christmas" mood eminates around here. It is lovely.

AND FINALLY; This shot is taken looking out our guest's bedroom window, sort of makes you want to come and stay for a while, huh?

2010 is looking like another great year for us, starting in January with friends staying over at our home following our planned Australia Day PARTY extravaganza, then in April our wonderful friends Matt and Ret from Western Australia are visiting for just a couple of nights and we have had tentative enquiries from some local and not so local friends as to the availability of our 2010 hospitality.... It is so lovely to be able to share our time here with good friends and we are so looking forward to seeing them.

This year was such a huge time for the two of us, lots of travel, lots of experiences and the result being a huge list of blog stories captured in these pages.

It is always a delight to hear from folk who look at these entries and join us by reading of our adventures. I am chuffed to bits so many folk take the time and enjoy the experiences.

We are having a really great time here and we hope, especially at this time of year, that you are enjoying your time too.

Sending you all our very best wishes for xmas day and right through 2010!

wet water 12/09

The morning after I finished November's blog entry, We went out for a morning stroll to find the results of recent heavy rains. Flooding of the Wetherby Ings and the town's car park is not uncommon, we get it about once or twice a year. Global wetting I guess, but it is always spectacular to see it. Spectacular because we are high up and out of any risk. Houses on the Wharfe River banks see their yards and sometimes their ground floors flooded.. These two fish usually sit proudly about 3 meters above the water . . . . . . . .The bandstand downstream from the bridge is about 20 meters back up from the river bank usually. There are picnic benches and tables, all here under about a meter of fast flowing water. All the resident ducks have moved on. The Wetherby weir on normal days has a drop of about two meters, here it is just creating a small disturbance as the water is dammed trying to flow under the bridge just down stream. In the foreground is all the flotsam from the banks of the river, stopped by a huge tree trunk now resting against the bridge. You can see the tree in the magazine pages at the end of the November blog. It had been slowly moving down the river for a few months, first stuck on top of the weir, then it fell over the weir and got stuck again, now it is jambed under the bridge. A journey of about six months. All very interesting, don't you wish the rivers of NSW flowed like this!