Val & Petes Weblog

This posting’s title sounds like a song title but it is what we did on Monday 17th December. Last year’s Christmas spent in the sunshine in Spain with our lovely friends was fabulous but we hold our hands up and say that we missed being with the family at this special time so this year there was no contest - we just had to go to the UK.

Arriving back at our home in Warboys, the priority job was to get the Christmas trees and decorations out to festoon the house to get us into the Christmas mood. Then it was to have the car MOT’d (it passed thank goodness!), hit the shops to get some food and those last minute pressies, and get them wrapped ready for Santa to collect and deliver! All achieved in record time!

Saturday 22nd December we started our tour of the UK on a string of visits to family and friends.

First stop was Long Stratton in Norfolk and an overnight stay at Peter’s brother Richard’s to enable us to pay a couple of visits to Peter’s 89-year-old mother who is now sadly but necessarily in a care home in the same village. It was good to find Mum medically much better than when we saw her last in September but such a shame that her short term memory is now shot to pieces and to witness the fact that she did not know who we were. Thanks to Richard and Joan for their hospitality and we really enjoyed our evening with you.

Sunday morning after another visit to Mum we set off in thick fog for Colchester in Essex where we were to stay with our son David and family for a couple of days. Thankfully the fog cleared once we hit the A12 and the sun came out. We had a lovelyafternoon and evening with them when we were joined by my niece and her family too.

Monday, Christmas Eve, was very relaxing and by now we were really starting to appreciate being in the bosom of our family for Christmas. The magic of our young grandson’s excitement putting out the mince pie for Santa and the carrot for Rudolph and wondering if he had been too naughty for Santa to leave presents - well that is Christmas isn’t it!

Christmas Day arrived along with the pouring rain but we didn’t mind as Santa had been and left presents for us all and there were lots for young James so perhaps he had not been as naughty as Mummy and Daddy thought he had. The plan was to leave present opening until after lunch but the excitement was too much for the kids, especially David, so after breakfast parcels were handed out, paper ripped off to lots of oohs and aahs and delight expressed at what they contained.

My favourite presents opened that day was a personalised calendar with pictures of David and family, our Spanish villa, family holidays, etc and a DVD of James and Tiff performing their version of the Nativity Play with Alison doing a sterling job of  the narration off screen!

David and Alison’s had a special treat in store for us when they took us out for Christmas Day Lunch to the Yew Tree Pub/Restaurant and what an excellent lunch it was too, the best CDL we have ever had out. We were all on our best behaviour, especially James, as Santa had decided to join us and was keeping a weather eye out for naughty people in case he had to nip out and take their presents back!

Home again for an afternoon snooze, a must after that big lunch and then a lovely lazy relaxing evening with our family. I must confess here that the Angier family did not perform terribly well in the Daily Mail Christmas Quiz though!

Although very sad to have to depart on Boxing Day morning as we always feel so at home with D&A we were looking forward to moving on to spend time with daughter Sally and her family. Thank you so much David and Alison for making us so welcome and for the big part you played in making our Christmas special!

So at 10am, thankfully in dry, sunny weather, we were back on our travels. We were off to  Bedfordshire to Sally’s boyfriend Scott’s home in Dunstable. Having endured an hour sat unmoving on the M25 followed by another half hour hold up on the M1 we eventually arrived just in time for a quick drink before Sally dished up another delicious Christmas Lunch that she had cooked for 9 of us. By now I could feel the inches hitting the hips!

More present opening and my favourite present this day was a beautiful, informal studio photo of Sally, Matt and Rob, all wearing jeans, t-shirts, sporting bare feet and standing in a very relaxed manner. It is wonderful and my eyes keep straying to it even now.

After lunch, we played the board game ‘Deal or No Deal’. Right up our street as we are avid fans of the TV program. Scott’s Mum Ronnie was amazed at how I really got into the spirit of the game, using all the sayings and catchphrases as only a regular fan of the show could do! I won the game overall by being the braveheart and not dealing too soon. Although I did come a cropper on some of the individual rounds I stuck in there on my own on the last round and did not deal until I got an offer of £120K but if I had had a just bit more courage as Noel would say, I did have the £250K on the table!

6.30pm and we were back on our travels. This time with Sally Matt and Rob in tow we were on our way to Sally’s home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire where we would spend the next couple of nights. Scott was to spend the next day with his family. On arrival we were all weary and happy to spend an evening catching up on some TV programs and just chatting.

Thursday 27th again dawned bright and sunny. Sally and Peter popped out to buy more food and then we prepared a sumptuous buffet for later that day when David and Family and Sue and Family would be joining us for another family get together and we had a great time together. It was particularly lovely to see our eldest grandson Tom but sadly David’s 2 other boys were unable to make it. It was also lovely to meet Matt’s young girlfriend, Emene (probably spelt it wrong again!), but she’s such a sweet girl I’m sure she won’t mind. Thank you Sally and Scott for the part you played in making our Christmas special too. Thank you Sally for the lovely meal you cooked and for hosting such a nice family gathering. And thank you Sue and family for joining us and sharing our festivities.

Friday 28th December and off we go again. This time we were actually wending our way back to Cambridgshire to our home in Warboys but with a couple of diversions on route.

First we stopped at the hamlet of Radwell where we lived before we moved to Spain and partook of coffee with our friends Denis and Muriel. Both now in their 80’s they haven’t changed a bit and were as welcoming as ever. A lovely couple, never complaining, facing their health problems full on and not being beaten by anything.

We then travelled backwards a bit to visit our friend June and her 2 mad Springer Spaniels in Letchworth where we had lunch and spent a pleasant afternoon looking at photo’s of her holiday in South Africa where she went to visit her daughter Heather who is living out there for a while, taking in a Safari etc, while there.

Then  late afternoon we were finally homeward bound only to find ourselves in yet another traffic hold up on tha A1M!

4 days followed, where we slept in our own bed, in our own home, caught up with the washing etc and generally crashed out. Well until New year’s Eve that is!

December 31st, last day of the year we met up with close friends Pam and Bob and 12 other members of their family at an Indian restaurant in Sawtry. This restaurant was self service and you could fill your plates as often as you wished and believe me the men and growing lads did just that numerous times! The food was great, the company was great and the bill was even better at just £100 for 16 of us! This included the soft drinks but being unlicenced we took the wine and beer with us but it was still excellent value for money.

Back home for a siesta before rejoining Pam and Bob’s extensive family at Bob’s niece’s to celebrate seeing the old year out and the new one in. It was lovely seeing everyone again and it’s wonderful the way they welcome us and include us as part of their family whenever we are in situ in the UK. A great night was had by all and I think we finally made our way to our beds, some a bit worse for wear than others (no names mentioned!), at about 3am. Kindly, Pam’s daughter and husband, Lorraine and Geoff gave us a bed for the night as they live next door to where the party was hosted so we had no problems about driving home even though we live only 5 minutes away. Thank you to Pam and Bob and your family for making us feel we ‘belonged’, thanks also to Lyn and Graham for your hospitality and to Lorraine and Geoff for the bed for the night! See you next year!

Wednesday 2nd January. Another year and another journey! This time we were off to Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire to visit Peter’s Aunt Betty and Uncle Chas. Another 2 wonderful people in their 80’s who take each day as it comes positively and without complaint and we love them to bits.

We actually had a bad weather and traffic problem free journey for the first time and made Farnham Common in record time just in time for lunch followed by an afternoon catching up on all the gossip. In the evening Bett and Chas took us out for a meal at a local pub where were joined by their son Clive and his lovely wife Catherine. Unfortunately Clive had left his sick bed to join us so after the meal they went home but we enjoyed the rest of the night playing our favourite card game UNO which I am happy to report that I won! Highlight of the visit was a ride on their Stenna Chairlift when I went up to bed. Well, I had to try it didn’t I! Thanks once again for your kind hospitality Aunt Bett and Uncle Chas.

Next day after lunch we wended our way back home again, delighting again in a travel free journey, especially as the predicted snow did not happen, and bliss, as that was the end of our travelling around the UK. We were now ‘at home’ until Monday 7th January and our return to Spain.

The gatherings were not over though as on Saturday 5th January. David, Sally, Scott and their families all joined us for another lovely day at our house. I cooked lunch for 12 of us and we just had a great family time together. Thank you all for coming as it wound our family Christmas up nicely.

Sunday 6th January saw us taking down the Christmas decor, cleaning the house and packing for our trip back to Spain. When all that was done our good friends Pam and Bob took us out for a very nice late lunch. Thank you once again Pam and Bob for lunch and for everything you do for us.

So, 6 different counties, 9 different venues and 6 different beds later we flew back to Spain, having been taken to the airport by friend Bob once again. We were met at Alicante airport and chauffeured home by our kind neighbour Tom and were back at our other home by just after 10pm.

Surfice to say, we had a great time!

There is a ‘BUT’ though! The weather was manageable but all those travel problems we experienced in the UK - YUK! That is something we never experience here in Spain!