AndyBlog: I saw one ship go sailing by...

On Christmas Day (in the morning -ish)

And here it is.

It was Fiona's idea to pop down to the beach this Christmas Day. Either that, or mine. One way or the other, it was decided that we would drive down to the deligthful principality of Seaham and spend a little time on the beach there. The weather was cold, but with plenty of sunshine, and I fancied trying my hand at a little amateur photography.

When we arrived, we heard the sea before we saw it. It sounded good. Good, that is, if you, like me, and Fiona, like to experience big waves and wild seas. (not too sure about the commas there) For extra Yuletide fun, we decided to take our dog with us as a real treat. She thanked us, before we'd even arrived, by throwing up all over the back seat of my car. We tried to explain to her that we were not taking her to the vets or the kennels, but it simply wouldn't wash and she delivered her trademark protest with style and panache. A few McDonald's tissues later, we parked up and soon Holly was enjoying the beach - a pleasure she rarely gets to experience - mainly because of her travelling issue.

As if to prove it, here she is, on the beach, shortly before being wettened by a surprisingly large wave. I think I'll put one of the other pictures below this posting, so you can see how great the waves were. We had a wonderful time there, being blown along by an icy wind and enjoying a touch or two of winter sun. I'll not claim it to be magical, but it was a really nice moment - and it set us up for the day to follow. We've already had a wonderful Christmas Day. Better than any spent at home together in my entire memory. Quite unprecedented. Fiona cooked a truly epic meal - with roast potatoes which will go down in history as the best ever ever.

Beyond that, we've done little other than watch TV, write a few thank you emails (how times have changed!) and chomp on various sweet meats. I suppose I should mention presents. I am wary, because so much emphasis is put on them and Christmas is much more about people than it is about things. Having said that, we received so many wonderful things from the people around us who took sufficient pity. Let me tell you, each crust of bread, sugar/salt solution and pack of equipment with which to drill a well was warmly and gratefully received. Fiona will be glad not to have to walk 12 miles for fresh water each day, to say the very least.

I'm sorry, I temporarily thought we were a starving Ethiopian family. I'm over it now.

Here's hoping you had a splendid time, wherever you were, and whatever you did.

One last time for 2004: Yo, Ho - Ho.