Away from the treadmill for a few days, Carol and I have this week more or less gone back to being the people we always thought we were. . . . quite nice human beings really.
At the start of the week, she was Up North with her mum, snowed-in at Kingsley Drive, nattering, laughing, crying, drinking lots of tea, watching telly.
Meanwhile, I'd enjoyed a rather special evening out with my old Staffordian chums at the Spittal Brook pub in the county town of Staffordshire. Ah yes. Not an office party where you have to put on a mask, but a gathering of genuine friends, easy in each other's company. As always on these occasions, our dear old friends, Steve and Louise, put me up for the night. The next morning, I pulled back the curtains to see the first of the snow. Just beautiful.
Then it was back home to Shrewsbury for a week with highlights such as:
Alex and I treating ourselves to a Portuguese-style spicy meal at Nandos
Alex and I treating ourselves to a traditional English fry-up
Carol returning to Shrewsbury and cooking us a proper meal
Our impressive collection of Christmas DVDs coming out of hibernation
Christmas shopping up town with Carol (and lunch at Rococo in Butcher Row)
Buying myself a new scarf. Carol says you're allowed to have more than one scarf.
Carol and Karen being pampered at a spa near Oswestry
Getting some writing done
Watching 'Elf' (without doubt a modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but in a good way)
Watching 'The Family Stone' (without doubt another modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and again one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but again in a good way)
Watching 'Love Actually' (without doubt yet another modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and yet again one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but again in a good way. Am I repeating myself at all?)
Carol and I attending Attingham Park's lovely Frost Fair on a beautiful snow-covered day
Going round to see my old mate Steve on Saturday night and watching three episodes of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads followed by one episode of The West Wing
Alex and I treating ourselves to a traditional English fry-up
Carol returning to Shrewsbury and cooking us a proper meal
Our impressive collection of Christmas DVDs coming out of hibernation
Christmas shopping up town with Carol (and lunch at Rococo in Butcher Row)
Buying myself a new scarf. Carol says you're allowed to have more than one scarf.
Carol and Karen being pampered at a spa near Oswestry
Getting some writing done
Watching 'Elf' (without doubt a modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but in a good way)
Watching 'The Family Stone' (without doubt another modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and again one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but again in a good way)
Watching 'Love Actually' (without doubt yet another modern Christmas classic, I reckon, and yet again one which always makes me shed a tear . . . but again in a good way. Am I repeating myself at all?)
Carol and I attending Attingham Park's lovely Frost Fair on a beautiful snow-covered day
Going round to see my old mate Steve on Saturday night and watching three episodes of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads followed by one episode of The West Wing
Yep. A pretty great week, actually.
