Christmas Season

It is very different and a little difficult to be preparing for Christmas in the middle of cold, dark winter days, over 16,00km from family, friends and home. We are very fortunate to have a fantastic crew of ex-pats here, our Aussie Crew. There are about 12 of us employed by the same trust working in various schools, and we've moved here from Queensland, NSW, Victoria, WA and NZ (close enough)! Most of the Crew get together most Friday afternoons to debrief over a few refreshments, and to plan trips and swap tips and suggestions. We are all very thankful to have each other around, so it was only fitting that we had a Crew Christmas Party. Ugly Christmas jumpers were de-rigueur, along with a £10 Stealing Santa. There were some cracker gifts!! Board games such as Star Wars Guess Who and Trouble, Edinburgh Gin, a POSH beanie and local souvenirs, and a couple of gifts not suitable for a family show. The food came from M&S, drinks from everywhere, and there was plenty of laughter. Brooke put together specially chosen Mr Men and Little Miss cards for all of us, which really matched everyone's personalities. We had a decoration for everyone, with their name, the place and year, as we do each year in our family. Hanging these decorations in years to come will be a reminder of the fabulous time we are having with this amazing group of people. 

To top off a great weekend, we woke Sunday morning to heavy skies and then snow. It started snowing about 7:30, and kept it up for about 4 hours, so there was quite a decent fall. Apparently, that much snow hasn't been usual in this area in recent years, so we were very lucky. The rowers are a hardy bunch. Snow doesn't stop them, and they were still out for their Sunday morning training on the river, in amongst the swans. The swans didn't seem too bothered by the weather, although some found a little protection under the bridges.  Our little balcony was not the place for a morning coffee, so we headed out into the snowflakes. It was so pretty walking into the central part of town; everything looked so lovely and clean. Sitting in the coffee shop, we felt as though we were inside our own snow globe, watching the flurries of snow falling amongst the old buildings. The Cathedral was especially beautiful, with the white grounds and the soaring building looking very picturesque. There were plenty of families out walking, throwing snowballs, and making snowmen. We were hoping the snow would continue, and we'd have a 'Snow Day' for school on Monday, but no such luck. However, there were still plenty of snow patches around, but as it melted it became ice and slush, which wasn't the best for throwing, and prompted bans on 'snowball' fights at school.