Christmas 2008

Our First Christmas in London England, we stayed home and vegged from our whirl wind tour in Germany and eat light ie. the salad. The Christmas holiday lasted over 2 weeks. The boys were so confused that daddy (James) was home so long, what a long week-end. We took long walks and played lots of ball. When James did sit down at the computer the boys immediately jumped into his lap.



We were able to get a small Christmas tree and wreath for our place. We picked up some German Christmas decorations to decorate the tree and have some memories of our trip to Germany Christmas markets tour.



A few days before Christmas we got tickets to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a called Carols by Candlelight. The music was by the Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Mozart festival chorus. The Orchestra was dressed in period dress. Our seats were amazing 3rd row from the stage. The hall was absolutely amazing to experience a concert in. The only sad part is that they did not allow photos to be taken during the concert so we only had time to get a few before the start.

I got a new hair do for the concert and we both got dressed up for the night out in London.



We made reservations at a local pub/restaurant (The Duke) for a proper English Christmas lunch/dinner. Most places were closed Christmas day and the next which is called Boxing Day. Boxing Day was a day for charity putting things or money in a box. Not the fist fights that happens in the USA when we return unwanted gifts.

James and I chose different options from the menu so we can taste different things.
The meal was great, we liked most things. The staff and owner of the Duke spoiled us (Americans) and we had not tried some of the things on the menu before especially the desserts and the chutney’s. James had the consommé and the roast turkey I got the tart and the beef Wellington. We tasted the Christmas pudding, bread and butter pudding and the crumble and the mince pies.

The boys exchanged gifts with Vicky and Cosmo their wonderful pet sitter. She is a
great friend. The boys get very excited when we mention her or Cosmos’ name and they seem to look for them when we’re out on walks.



New Years Eve we went to our local pub called The Crown. We’re now regulars there. The owners Jo and Paul are wonderful people and have made us very welcome. I can even go there by myself with the boys and not feel uncomfortable. They had a DJ who played 70-80’s disco music. I danced a lot. The only thing at was unusual was that they did not have champagne or noise makers or funny hats.

Cassidy was able to come over for a few days in the New Year. This winter has been very cold like freezing as a high and 2-6 below at night. She figured out fast to wear layers and wearing hat gloves and scarf. We exchanged Christmas gifts. And pretty much had low key days and we planned some evening entertainment. We took her to the Hyde Park winter wonderland and had German bratwurst and beer. Then we went to a theatre in Greenwich via a ferry to a panto (Pantomime) (not to be confused with a mime artist referring to a theatrical performer of mime) is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in Great British , and is usually performed during the Christmas and New Year season. The show was from the Jack and the Beanstalk tale, but was for both kids and adults. A must do if you all have a chance to see a show. We also went to a walking Jack the Ripper tour, we had many layers on and still we were cold we even saw some snow flakes fall. It was great to have Cassidy here for a few days and catch up. James and I have missed seeing and talking to her.