Seasons greetings

I was in Trafalgar Square a few days ago - early evening and pouring with rain but the Christmas tree looked so good I had to take a snap. This is the best seasonal picture I have and thought it might bring a bit of Christmas cheer to this rather boring blog.

The view is from the steps of the National Gallery looking across Trafalgar Square down Whitehall  towards the Houses of Parliament.

The Christmas tree is an annual gift from Norway and is decorated in Norwegian style with rows of  lights running vertically.

My own Christmas plans have gone a little bit astray this year. Normally, Christmas day is like any other day in my house - dead miserable. However, this year I decided to make an effort and invited my daughter, her husband and all the grandchildren to lunch on Christmas  day. I had this planned really well, I even ordered a large free-range turkey from a local farm shop well in advance, along with a very large ham.

Then the snow came. My daughter and her husband went on holiday to New York, they should have been back on Sunday (19th) but because the snow has closed Heathrow Airport they are still living it up in Manhattan.

The grandchildren came to stay with me along with their two pet rats. Unfortunately on the first day one of the rats died, which upset all the kids.

Now I'm waiting for a call from my daughter asking to be picked up from the airport as soon as she can arrange a flight home. This has put my well laid plans in jeopardy, as the day I had free to collect the turkey (24th) looks like it might be the day I have to rush to the Airport. In that case, no turkey as there is not enough time to make both trips, especially as the farm shop closes at noon.

So, it looks like the main course at this year's Christmas lunch will be the one remaining rat. Well, at least we'll get a leg each.

Update 24th  December
It all turned out well in the end. My daughter landed back in the UK just after midnight on the 23rd. I collected her and her husband from the airport and took them to their house near Oxford. I was able to get the turkey on the 24th as planned -  the rat was more than pleased I can tell you.

It looks like a Merry Christmas all round.

Strange country ways

Before I moved to Berkshire I used to do a lot of walking in the countryside, mainly in the west country. Berkshire is covered in tarmac,  so it's not safe to walk anywhere. About a year ago nostalgia got the better of me and  I went on a short drive/walk/drive trip around interesting parts of Exmoor.

The English countryside is nothing like the twee world of Beatrix Potter or as portrayed by Evelyn Waugh's character William  Boot in "Scoop".  Boot wrote a newspaper column on country matters entitled "Lush Places" - "Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole".

There are lush places to be found but beware, the countryside really is "red in tooth and claw" and if the wild animals don't get you, the misleading information on the signposts and the strange antics of other visitors certainly will.

Signposts in the country show "country miles" not normal miles.  In my experience the numbers on the signposts do not specify distance but are actually a multiplier that indicates how much longer it takes you to walk a mile over the country terrain compared to one in town.

The great thing about walking in the country is that you can usually find a really nice pub where you  can recover from the strain of trekking  a country mile of two. A good country pub, such as the Exmoor Forest Inn at Simonsbath, caters for part-time country folk who wander off the paths and get covered in all sorts of muck.

A warm welcome and excellent food usually awaits you provided you obey the rules and remove your muddy boots and give the dog a wipe over.

Having recovered, you head off for more country miles. However, beware of the animals. National Parks such as Exmoor are home to wild ponies and sheep, both of which kick,  bite or butt and have been known to leave a lasting impression on walkers.

The great thing about wandering the countryside is that you can still find some delightful English rural architecture. This is the iconic packhorse bridge at Allerford in Porlock Vale. This is the real England that I love.

Tarr Steps is a medieval clapper bridge spanning the river Barle. Officially it's a Grade I listed building.

What is it about the English and rivers? Given the choice of a bridge or a ford, they always walk through the water not over it, even to the point of pushing the baby in a buggy - totally mad. Apart from the prospect of drowning, you could be run over by a 4x4.

It's a good idea to finish the day at a place where the countryside ends, then you know you can't go any further. I ended my trek at Blue Anchor on the Somerset Coast. Here the country miles dissolve into nautical ones, a much more precise measure of distance.

Pachyderm parade

Winter has arrived early with a vengeance. Wild West Berkshire, normally sub-tropical until January,  has been turned into a white featureless desert (turn the map over you fool). I decided that I needed cheering up and fired up iPhoto on my trusty MacBookPro to look at some warmer memories.

I've not had a break this year, so my selection of recent feel good photos was limited to the few that I took walking to work in the summer. I thought my pictures of  the Elephant Parade in London, an event held in May/June this year, looked cheerful enough.

The purpose of the Elephant Parade was to raise money to improve the lot of real endangered elephants. The Parade comprised over 250 decorated elephants at various locations around London, mostly on the streets. After the public display the elephants were auctioned and over £4 million raised for elephant relief.

Above: The group of elephants around City Hall on the South Bank of the Thames. This is very early in the morning with few people around and the sun low in the eastern sky.

Each elephant was decorated by a different artist and all of them were for sale. 

The lone tourist, meticulously photographing and recording each elephant, asked me where we were. My childish sense of humour nearly got the better of me and I was very tempted to point out that the Tower of London was just across the river so this part of London was known as the Elephant and Castle. 

However, I told the truth - Queens Walk in the Borough of Southwark. I probably didn't do him any favours, he will never be able to pronounce Southwark correctly and would have probably been much happier with Elephant and Castle.

The decorative art work on the elephants varied from just a flat single colour to the most intricate and imaginative designs. The one below is my favourite with its really stunning opalescent finish.

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