Weather for Keeping Wrapped-up

Welcome to a new 'follower' - Wheelie. His blog, http://applestrokes.blogspot.com/, is entitled 'Stroke Survivor' and it's good to read with appropriate dry humour befitting someone from God's Own Country - Yorkshire, albeit the south, but I don't hold that against him! You are very welcome sir!

The youngest is home for the festive break from Liverpool University - welcome home son and my wife says a particular welcome to his mountain of washing.

Diane Parkin in her blog talks about the snow and has a great method of detecting the seriousness/heaviness/snowiness of the fall they have had - she says she can see the grass [poking through] - spot on Diane - just a dusting then? The point is she quite rightly the country still comes to a grinding halt. I've debated this before and it's a jaded theme every time we get a hint of the white stuff so I'll leave it there.

I went on a works 'do' last night; a pleasant couple of hours in a bar, a lovely two hours in a very good Chinese Restaurant followed by another couple of hours in the bar. There was some excellent company including a surprise visit from fellow blogger Middle Aged Gapper; there was Caroline, Kirsty, Diana, Julie, Sheila, Lucy, then Alan, Alan S, John, Phill, Ian, Trevor, Bryan and brief but very welcome guest appearances from Nichola and Tracy.

Oh My Goodness - the diet - I was very restrained during the meal I have to say but there was a feast of delicate starters: some pork minced with vegetables curled in a Cos lettuce leaf which was lovely. I think there was duck in some delicate little pancakes and loads of seeded breads, spring rolls, skewered bits of chicken and seaweed. I'm sure there were other starters too. The main course was sweet and sour all sorts of meats , beef with black beans, lemon chicken, egg fried rice, noodles and probably some other stuff I never even got round to. All you could eat for £15 and it was good value. This is the first but won't be the last time I've been to a Chinese restaurant and had this type of help yourself menu with the food brought to your table and kept warm on candle fired heaters.

I have come to realise however that my hearing is definitely faulty in some way. The bar was absolutely full and the noise of talking and background disco music meant that I had real problems hearing what people were saying to me - even when sat close to me. My lip reading is improving but far from perfect; I just hope to God I was nodding and shaking my head in the right places.

I was only waiting outside for a few minutes waiting to be picked up by my other half and I was frozen stiff and that was with a woolly thermal hat, thermal gloves, quilted jacket and scarf. My nose was NUMB.

I intended to do all sorts today but once out of the Rise, whilst the major roads were okay today, traffic was backed up all over the place so I couldn't get to the garage of my choice to blow a tyre up. The second garage air pump was out of order so my third garage cost me a quid to use the airline because I had no change and there was a huge queue at the till. I didn't feel like queuing then saying to the suspicious assistant, "I haven't bought petrol, can I have change for the air pump?" I'm never quite sure if they believe you about the petrol when they begrudgingly give you change despite the inevitable comment, "We haven't a lot of change." Well it's their bloody pump and they are charging me for using my fresh air.

I gave up all thoughts of shopping and came home to the warmth.

Keep wrapped up.

Chat soon

Ta-ra