Christmas Update 2019

It's Christmas Card time, and I love getting the news from friends and family included with the cards. But rather than include a printed circular with my cards, I thought I'd post a summary of the year here instead, picking out some highlights.

I continue to work 2 days a week for Cambridge Assessment, and they seem to continue to value my contribution, which is nice. A lovely place to work, but I'm glad I'm commuting to Cambridge only 2 days a week!

I've continued to do lots of walking, even on working days when I walk to the office from the Park&Ride rather than taking the bus. Mostly with Joyce's Weekly Walks, which is a lovely sociable small group, but also with the Bury St. Edmunds Ramblers and, newly this year, the Long Distance Walking Association. Highlights have included...

• The Mallorca Walking Festival
• The LDWA Challenge walks - the Daffodil Dawdle, the Wolsey Waddle and the Flower of Suffolk.
• Several walks in the Suffolk Walking Festival.
• The Norfolk Coastal Path.
• Another trip to the Marbella Walking Festival
• And lots of Joyce's walks - I think this Sheringham one was my favourite.

Next year will (probably) include a return to Mallorca in April and leading some walks in the Suffolk Walking Festival.

Tassel Nanobrewery has remained active with a few new brews this year including Diablo, a Suffolk Witbeer and a Chestnut Brown Ale.

Dawn's gardening prowess has provided us with an unprecedented crop of chillis to process, (not to mention the mini-pumpkins and sweet peppers) which kept me busy for several weeks. I need to update the Tassel Enterprises Catalogue for our new lines [edit: I have now!]. Inspired by my walking friend Barry, who gave me some of his, I've made some chilli jam for the first time this year, as well as some Chilli Chutney and Peri-Peri Sauce. The resulting jars took up most of the dining room table before I put them away. No prizes for guessing what people will be getting as Christmas presents!

In my other main hobby of crosswords, I continue as a blogger and regular commenter for Times for The Times and repeated my visits to the Sloggers & Betters weekend and Times National Crossword Championship from last year. I was pleased to finish all 3 puzzles in the hour in my preliminary round for the first time and make it to the semi-final.

As for music.. well I fear my singing voice is maybe gone for good and I've failed to do the saxophone practice I planned to do, but I've enjoyed going to concerts that Sarah and William have performed in, as well as Jazz concerts at the Hunter Club. The Suffolk Youth Orchestra were as good as ever and it was good to hear Sarah and William playing with them in Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony at the Snape Proms in August.

And what about the rest of the family?

Dawn continues to teach maths at Thurston Community College and enjoys doing the garden. She and William came out to join me for a few days in Marbella at the end of the walking festival and we had some lovely days out before returning home. We also had a few days in Jedburgh while Sarah and William were away with the Suffolk Youth Orchestra, visiting Jane, David and Bethany in their new place near Melrose and doing some walking along sections of the St. Cuthbert Way.

Laura is in the final year of her PhD in Portsmouth and now has her own flat. We're looking forward to catching up with her when she's home for Christmas.

Sarah is now in her second year at York University studying Maths. She continues to play violin in the University orchestra and, following her sister's example has taken up korfball.

William is now in his 'A' Level year and continues to play Dad's cello in various school ensembles. He has also taken up choral singing, which he enjoys too. He was in the band for the school's excellent performances of We Will Rock You recently. He already has some university offers and is hoping to study Economics and Maths.

Well I've probably rambled for more than long enough. It only remains for me to wish my readers a Merry Christmas and all the best for the new decade in January.

Family Get Together Down South-West

We had a lovely trip down to Aunty Sue's in Oakhill in Somerset where Kirsty and David joined us on Friday and then we all went to the pantomime at the Theatre Royal in Bath yesterday.

Here are few photos.

Dinner.

The log fire was lit in the garden room. But the spare logs aren't on top as they were last year...

At the back of the box you can see the results of what happened last year when the logs on top started smouldering and I had to carry the box outside to avoid the house burning down. How I didn't get burnt as the wood burst into flame as I was carrying it I don't know. An event already part of family folklore!

Playing the game I got Laura got for Christmas - First World Problems. It is hilarious!

Bath was busy! We took ages to get parked, but, fortunately, we'd allowed loads of time. We met by the carousel.

Of course we had to have a little walkabout. Here is the famous bridge. The river was pretty full.

We had time for a coffee and it wasn't too cold to sit outside.

And here we are in the Grand Circle.

Let the panto begin!

It was great fun. Thanks, Sue for inviting us, putting us up and feeding us so well.

Merry Christmas Everybody

Felixstowe Walk

This has become a bit of a family tradition. On Christmas Eve Dawn likes to clean the house for Christmas Day and, many years ago. I decided it would be good to get me and the kids out of the way to let her get on with it. And where better to go than to have a walk by the sea? And so, that's what we do. This was our route...

And here are a few of my photos...

Ready to walk.

 There were plenty others out enjoying the sunshine. Now, how many dogs were in there?

 

Except when it was closed for a while, we always stop for a drink at the Spa Pavilion Theatre cafe.

Here's William photographing his hot chocolate. A bit late. He'd already eaten the cream and marshmallows.

We carried on to the end of the path before climbing the steps and returning. Here is the view towards North Felixstowe and the martello tower with Bawdsey Manor across the River Deben in the distance.

Back at the front, we returned via the seafront gardens,

The wicker family had been given a Christmas makeover.

We were lucky this year with having mild sunny weather. And the sea was calm too.

Looking for fish in the pond.

Shortly before we were back at the car we stopped, as always, for fish and chips here.

There were some cheeky starlings about looking for scraps.

So that was a lovely walk and bit of fresh air. Oh. And how many dogs were there? 86. You can see more of my photos here on Flick and more details of out walk here on MapMyWalk. So now we  are all ready for Christmas... I think.

Tassel Enterprises Catalogue Updated

See here.

Twins

I thought I'd try out sending a post via email with this story from our Cambridge Assessment Yammer network.

Extraordinary that these two ladies, working in the same building, had never met, until someone who knew them both got them together...

Nutcracker

Out final pre-Christmas musical treat was courtesy of Nina, who invited the rest of us to come along with William to The Maltings, Snape for a Christmas Concert by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

But first we went ot the Upper Deck in Aldeburgh for some Fish&Chips and, after a lottle walk through the town....

 and along the dark sea front, we had a drink at The Cross Keys.

We arrived at the concert hall in good time.

I don't remember going there in the dark before.

No more photos as they are not allowed in the concert hall, but we successfully met up with Nina, Rory and Rachel and had a great view from row XD of the concert.

The programme included...

"...the ever-popular Overture to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel & Gretel; a gentle dash through the snow on a Sleigh Ride by Frederick Delius; Gustav Holst’s setting of words by Walt Whitman – The Mystic Trumpeter, with soprano Susan Gritton as soloist; and Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols – The Holly & The Ivy. The main event, though, is music from Act II of Tchaikovsky’s gloriously yule-packed ballet – The Nutcracker. "

Lovely playing. My favourite was the encore which was a combination of the Musics from the Nutcracker with Profofiev's Lieutenant Kije. I particularly enjoyed the ending where the celesta played  Lieutenant Kije, while the trumpets played the Dance of the Sugar-plum Fairy. Very witty.

Thanks Nina for inviting us!

The concert will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Eve, as described here.... And listen to it here.

Rebop at the Hunter Club

It was Friday night at the Hunter Club and the place was packed. I had an end of the row seat so could see all but George on the drums.

Another great evening's entertainment. I particularly enjoyed the trio of sax and trumpet playing together, but they were all individually brilliant too A fascinating insight into Miles Davis's music too. Thanks to all..

QC Blogging Day

Times Quick Cryptic No 1509 by Mara

A nice QC from Mara, with plenty to delight us, but... Well I usually print out the crosswords and do them on paper before entering the answers online to create the outline of the blog (clues and answers) using Mohn2's wizzy javascript, but today I solved directly on-screen... and came a cropper, taking over 10 minutes. It was the North-west corner that caused me trouble, firstly because I was convinced that the answer to 7A was... well see below, and then by typing 17A with the N and T in the middle the wrong way round. That took me ages to spot as I struggled to find an answer to 3D ending in a T. Doh! As for the rest of the crossword, there did seem to be rather a preponderance of double definitions, of which my favourite was 23A. One or two clues (e.g. 1D) are on the tricky side for a QC, perhaps. I'll be interested to see how everyone else got on. Thanks Mara! Did you all have fun too? Oh, by the way, this is my last crossword blog of the decade, so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

( Read all about it... )

Christmas Dinner

My last day at work this year, and our team's work Christmas Lunch!

Thanks, Paul for the photo. See y'all next year!

A Swinging Christmas 2019

This was a little pre-Christmas treat for me, Dawn, William and Nina...

Jazz at the Movies return to The Apex for their sixth consecutive Swinging Christmas.

"Refreshed and revitalised for 2019, this joyous show gets jazzy with a stocking-full of 20th century holiday classics and curiosities.

With a reputation for vivid music, deep repertoire and droll presentation, Jazz at the Movies and A Swinging Christmas is the perfect way to begin the festivities.

Featuring Joanna Eden (acclaimed vocalist, star judge of BBC TV’s 'All Together Now' and longtime teacher/mentor to pop superstar Sam Smith) and the Chris Ingham Quartet, featuring woodwind star of the world-renowned John Wilson Orchestra, Mark Crooks."

Here they are in action...

The APEX was almost full and we had great seats on the balcony. Lots of variety with songs both familiar and unfamiliar. We particularly enjoyed the 5/4 version of "The Snowman", singing along with "White Christmas", "'Zat you Santa Claus" and, featuring the drummer George Double on vocals (and Joanna on drums), the novelty "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas".

Great fun and we went home afterwards feeling the Christmas season had begun.

You can read more about the group and details of their other gigs here.

Chestnut Brown Ale... The Proof of the Pudding ...

...is in the drinking. Today I tried the first bottle of my Chestnut Brown Ale...

The verdict? Delicious. Classic Brown Ale flavour with a hint of sweetness and a lovely lingering nutty aftertaste... to be savoured rather than guzzled. I gave Dawn a taste. "Is it good enough to give people for Christmas?", I asked. "More than good enough", she said. Hmm. Maybe I should keep the remaining bottles for myself. But I know a few people who might enjoy it.

Joyce's Weekly Walks Christmas Lunch

This was the invite from Joyce....

"Christmas Celebrations at The Ice Café on Monday Dec 16th only. Pls join us for a lunch at The Ice Café at midday.

If you would like to walk an approx. 8 mile walk beforehand then do meet us at the Skyliner Sports Centre at 9am and we will walk, briskly, to Great Barton via Green Lane and back to The Ice Café for lunch. If you would like a shorter walk (3 miles) then let me know and we will scoop you up, at Great Barton Church, and I'll drop you back at your car after lunch."

I decided to give the walk a miss and just join everybody at the ICE cafe. Well I did get a bit of a walk... about a mile and a half from home to the cafe and then the same back afterwards.

There were fourteen of us there and we had a lovely meal. The food was excellent and the conversation flowed.

Here are a couple of photos.

Well that's the last time I'll be meeting my walking friends this year. Thanks Joyce for organising, and it was great to catch up with people. Looking forward to more walks in 2020 already!

Jumbo Blogging Day

Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1412 - 30th November

I thought this a nice middle-of-the-road Jumbo with plenty of straightforward clues to get you going and then a few that needed more effort. Only one unknown for me, the word "mahlstick" in the clue for 18A, so no obscurities to hold me up. Indeed, when I got to the Down clues, numbers 1-11 all went in at the first reading. I was all but finished in 35 minutes, but then held up at the end by having SLIDE instead of SIDLE as the (perfectly plausible, I contend) answer to 54A, making CABOODLE my LOI after nearly 10 minutes of headscratching. Some neat wordplay (e.g 30A, 6D, 31D and, my COD, 49D) raised a few wry smiles. Thank-you setter. How did everyone else get on? What were your favourites?

( Read all about it... )

Lackford and King's Forest Walk

This was the invite from Joyce...

"Friday Dec 13th we will meet at Lackford Lakes free car park IP28 6HX ready to start walking at 11am. Do arrive earlier if you wish for a coffee/cake. We will then walk into The Kings Forest for an explore. Expect a 9-11 mile walk. Refreshments only at the start and end so please bring lunch with you to eat on a tree stump!"

Luckily, the earlier rain had stopped, but we still got plenty of puddles to avoid as we walked and on that road to the Visitor Centre... the pot-holes don't get any better!

This was our route.

Well I say it was our route, but, unaccountably, my tracker paused just over 6 miles into the walk so I had to recreate it from what I had logged and add the rest of the walk on the Ramblers' walk planner.

Here are a few of my photos. I had a little surprise when I uploaded them from my camera.... I found I had a couple of bonus pictures taken on my camera when I left it at the picnic table to nip into the West Stow visitor centre! Thank-you!

At the start. Joyce said, "I predict we will see a bonfire today".

And here it was, at Lackford Church.

She was able to make the prediction as she hadn't parked at the Visitor Centre like the rest of us, but avoided the pot-holey road by parking next to the Old School House in the village and had walked past it already. Ha ha!

We were trying a path we hadn't been on before. When we got to the reservoir we climbed the bank to have a look. It seemed remarkably empty given the amount of rain we had had.

Looking down the bank, we could see the path we should have taken. although we didn't know so at the time (more anon).

Crossing the River Lark. It was pretty full!

We entered West Stow Country Park at the West end of the lake....

...and crossed the heath...

...to get to the Visitor Centre where we had our lunch stop at the picnic tables rather than a tree stump.

Now my memory may not be as good as it was, but I know I didn't take this photograph!

Or this one!

But no. We weren't going that way. Instead we crossed the road by the entrance to the Country Park and headed into the King's Forest.

Eventually we were rewarded with some sunshine.

Some distinctive Breckland skyline of Scots pine trees.

And another line of them we passed close to.

We were on the Icknield Way here and it was getting a bit muddy...

...so we took a little diversion to go round part of the West Stow lake. It looked lovely in the sun.

Then it was back through the otter-proof gate...

...and back towards Lackford.

We decided to do the path we had missed earlier.

And this is why we missed it. No sign on the post that there is also a public footpath to the right from here!

Then it was back across Lackford heath...

...to finish at the Visitor Centre.

Thanks Joyce for the lovely walk and the others for the company.

You can see more of our route here on MapMyWalk and a few more of my (and the mystery photographer's) photos here on Flick.