Holidays Part 2

As many of you probably know, the day after Christmas in the UK is Boxing Day - and is almost as big a deal as Christmas so families do things together. Also on Boxing Day, as in many places on the same day or New Year's or somesuch - a bunch of nutty people decide to take a dip in the ocean. This, in Pembrey -the next town over from Kidwelly - is called the Walrus Run.

Unfortunately, we didn't move quite fast enough on the day to arrive before these hoards of people jump in the water, but we did get there as many were leaving (as did literally hundreds or thousands of people who come to celebrate the event) - and the weather was perfect for the day.

I took LOADS of pictures as I was experimenting with my new camera (and deleted hundreds - literally).

The shot of 'beach boy' here is silly, I know, but if one is going to take pictures of 'nutters' - they may as well be young, buff and attractive :) Some might call me a Cougar for that! He actually posed once he spotted me but we were moving in opposite directions so I didn't get another decent shot. I think you can see how big the crowds were in the pics.

It was good fun. No, I'm not tempted to take the dip myself - ever!

As Alex had to be at the office before the New Year arrived (the pitfalls of a financial job with fiscal years that coincide with the calendar year...) we drove back a couple of days later (with me already coming down with the flu that has affected the UK awfully hard this year). I was 'down for the count' for a few days. On New Year's Eve we decided that we should take a wander around town close to Midnight.

The fireworks in Holland begin at 9 a.m. (the law allows for 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on the 1st - and it is crazy - and in my opinion, pretty dangerous) and go all day. And at Midnight, as we expected, it all kicked off. These weren't sparklers - they were professional grade fireworks - the type that I've only seen managed by a fire department, usually over water and away from spectators. These were being set off in the middle of narrow streets, very close to cars, people and homes (although there is some kind of rule about proximity to thatched-roof buildings - but I have a friend who lives in one and she says it is VERY nerve-wracking).

BOOM, whistle, boom, BOOM, sssssssssssssssssssssss, BOOM BOOM BOOM! You get the idea :)

Rockets flew in every direction and I was a bit timid as there didn't seem to be any one place to just be still - made us a bit jumpy. I'm sure that it was much more eventful in The Hague or Amsterdam, but it suited us just fine and was a great way to bring in the new year.

Anyway, it was amazing to be in the midst of it. Because I'd been sick and not feeling terribly stable, I didn't take my camera so I've no shots of the pyrotechnics - but you'd have to be here to appreciate it anyway.

Here's another film for those of you who are interested ... Enjoy!

Christmas in Wales - Part 1 - Eat, drink and be merry!

As many of you know, my in-laws "retired" to their brand new home in Kidwelly this past fall. I say "retired" but I mean moved to their intended place of retirement and continue to work too hard. They are gradually moving in the right direction, but we'd like to see them spend a lot more time doing just nothing!

In any event, we drove to Wales by way of Holland, Brussels and France, to the Ferry at Dunkerque to Dover. And a very long ride to Kidwelly, although this time we stopped in Reading for the night of sleep and forged ahead in the morning after a full English breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, beans and hash browns). No, I don't do black pudding (I've tried it.)

A note to my Uncle Denis here - yes, the boat does rock a tad (although we've never been on it when the weather was bad) but not noticeably and I don't find it induces any seasick feeling.

In any event, we arrived in Kidwelly and were overwhelmed with how big and beautiful the new house is - and us with our own en-suite! Oh yeah - and two Christmas trees :) We did follow the "eat, drink and be merry" rule of Christmas time for the whole trip!

We always like to visit the shopping center at Parc Trostre in Llanelli (I can't write the pronunciation here - you'll just have to brush up on your Welsh!) where there is a giant TESCO (like a Walmart) and now loads of other of our favorite retail establishments (Boots, Next, BHS, River Island, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and more). We saved some of our cash and time to do some Christmas shopping there and although the news seemed to indicate that retailers were having trouble attracting customers with the economy as it is - there was no evidence of this at Trostre.

We were soon joined by my sister-in-law Sarah (in fact, I have three sisters-in-law - Sarah, Sarah and Sara!) and husband Dave (yes, Dave and Sarah in the US and Sarah and Dave in the UK...) and our niece and nephew, Catrin (12 going on 30) and Steffan (8). And right away we began the tradition of eat/drink/eat/drink with a delicious buffet lunch at a nearby pub/restu. Oh, yum! One of my favorite treats (which Alex detests) is brussel sprouts - and we had loads of 'em.

During our visit we also took a ride to visit Alex's great Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ray (they are in their 80's and going strong), and their daughters, Carol and Angie. I'd met Carol before but it was a pleasure to meet the others and we had a delightful afternoon having coffee, tea, Christmas cake and minced pie.

Included in our visit was an evening out with Alex's cousin Sharon, born on the same day! We had too much booze and too little sleep - which is pretty much the norm for this type of visit. We spent time visiting with Uncle Peter as well (Sharon's Dad) who showed us a great DVD he'd made from old home movies from the time Alex was a tot until the 80's - we now have a copy. And I should mention Izzy, the head of house here, she is a beatiful West Highland Terrier - adorable and perhaps a *little* spoiled :)

Christmas Day was a long day filled with presents, giggling children, laughter, and yet more food and drink. We opened gifts for HOURS - from just after 9 a.m. until 8 or 9 at night (with breaks for - well - food and drink :) And Santa brought me a new camera! He brought Steffie an entire drum set (electronic, but don't think it isn't LOUD!) and guitar amps for both hubby and father-in-law ... all of them, of course, finding the need to try out their new toys. This is not to say that I wasn't a bit annoying with the new camera....click, click, click, click.

On Boxing Day evening (more on Boxing Day in a separate entry as we went to the beach for the Walrus Run...) we had more visitors - Alex's cousin Jo and her husband Mark, and their two beautiful girls, Lucy and Kate as well as Uncle Peter and Sharon. Unfortunately, early in the evening I began the slow submission to flu and had to put myself to bed early.

After Christmas the kids and their parents headed to Dave's in-laws and I filled up on cold medicine and wrapped myself in a blanket. We did take a drive to nearby Narberth for a mooch-around. A quaint little town in seemingly the middle of nowhere. A quick entry and pics will be posted in a separate entry.

A couple of days later we had to head back home as Alex had to be at work. The trip was long with me sniffling and sneezing and coughing ... and the ferry, for the first time we've taken it, was just packed, all seats taken - and many, many small children running around just screaming. Our seated neighbors included a large family with two little ones, one that screamed bloody murder for the entire trip. It was not relaxing. The last bit of the drive was fine, although once we get to Holland the speed limits are slow and it is frustrating to be on a four- and five- lane freeway with speed cameras everywhere and no place faster than 50 or 60 mph.

We arrived home exhausted, with a car full of new 'stuff', and a little fatter than when we'd left 10 days earlier :) It was a lovely trip, and wonderful to see so much family - but we were glad to be home in Holland.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very happy 2009!

Blog entries covering our Christmas in Wales and the amazing way that the locals here in Holland celebrate the New Year (quite something) will follow soon. But today we rest!!!