In December...

A little early but as my head is now filled with January, I think its time for a round up.

Naturally this month was a festive frenzy, enjoying some quality time with my family. It was also a time for seeing some monumental times with my Friends.

Spent Most Time; Working the 9 to 5, hanging out in the Kent countryside, visiting Brighton and finding presents for all the family (which is a lot harder than I remember).

Mostly Watching; My old school chum Andreia marry her fiancée Aaron.  A beautiful ceremony, with a stunning dress, the best weather you could hope for and a rocking retro London Bus to transport the guests! Congratulations guys. x

Besides that Christmas wouldn't be complete without a Muppet's Christmas carol and a Doctor who special.

Listening;  I mentioned in last month's update that I've been a little obsessed with Lana Del Ray. This has carried on into December, as I'm now in possession of her album 'Born to Die' - Thank you Santa.

Reading; Half way through When we were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro.  So far its been an intriguing tale of memory and loss. We'll see how it turns out.

Activities:  Shopping, boxing day walk, drinking, eating, wrapping and opening presents.

Eating;  Christmas food! Which means all the goodies you can think of. Roast beef, turkey, bacon, veg, creamy potatoes, roast potatoes, cheeses, chocolates, pate, grapes, crisps, sausages and more. I think I might be putting on some 'holiday weight' this Christmas...

Drinking: Baileys. The classic Christmas day drink.

Wearing: Russian styles hats. The Soviets are back!

Santa Claus is Sailing to Town

Yo ho me heartys!!!!
Its that time of year again. I hope everyone is feeling festive and gets whatever they wished for from the big man and his helpers.  Looking through my facebook photos, I came across this gem taken by my oldest friend and travel companion, the tall one.  Taken last year, on a rather unusual charter aboard the Southern Swan.  To promote a Santa fun run in Sydney, ABC chartered the boat and filled it with 50 Santas. In addition, all crew had to suit up, which led to some confusion.

Example;

'Rob* can you throw the Main when we come in?'
'I'm Simon.'
'Sorry sir....Rob can you throw the main over?'
'Still Simon.'
'oh....ROB there you are, can you throw the main over?'
'I'm Sarah."

It took some getting used to.   However, this was one of the funniest charters we ever had and the first (and at the moment last) time I was paid to where a Santa's outfit and climb the rigging.  While they took photographs from another boat, we were asked to take our time over hauling the sails, and so the above photo was born.

Picture from ABC news

* An example name only. I don't think I've ever sailed with a Rob...