I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

It was a bit of a wild night of eating, drinking, singing and being among some seriously lovely people, what a great all round welcome.

Jim & Liz arriving at the Gallery Italian Restaurant in their village of South Cave, East Yorkshire

SERVICE!

Ah there you are - Maître d’ Luigi.

With a little careful photo cropping we could almost have been back in Venice.

We all decided on the Scallops as a starter, with a Pouilly Fume,

while Liz opted for the Lemon Chicken with the 2 Skinny Lads choosing the Pheasant along with a lovely Melbec. The wine brought back a few memories as the last time we 3 saw each other was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, home of the Melbec grape.

Gaynor the Owner, Moi, Luigi and one of the Waitresses who's name we didn't get.

Meanwhile over at the Fox & Coney Pub

Now that's what you call a Hat Trick! and a lovely scarf an impromptu present from Lesley.

I don't remember this dudes name, but he is of Jamaican ancestry but has never been there and comes from Peckham - thanks for the chat.

It's Been A Hard Days Night

Home Sweet Home and quickly into dressing gowns

and down the garden to the Summer House for a nightcap or two.

Wizzard - Go on treat yourself!

Like most I would guess it was a stay at home day today with

Jim, a real dab hand in the galley, making the dinner. You can always tell when he's going to make a pie as the first thing he gets out is his rolling pin.

A quick look through the port hole to see if everything is going alright.

A starter of Gravlax, King Prawns and Sushi was followed by about the best soup I have ever tasted, consisting of roast butternut squash, parsnips, carrots and a touch of curry. All of this complimented with a bottle of '99 Krug. After a longish break and a bottle of MacGuigans Blend, Jim had the audacity to make me carve the turkey, he said he didn't like the thought of chopping up one of his relatives. Jim's mum Sylvia and partner Liz thought it was funny!

At the time of publishing, there are still presents to open and Champers to be quaffed, but half way through the meal I could no longer resist the temptation to open 2 gifts from avid readers of this Blog. First was a long outstanding omission from my DVD collection, Roy Orbison "Live @ Austin City Limits", while the other simply took my breath away the "2011 UK Britannia £2 Silver Bullion Coin". Both from friends I truly love, now I really have to rush and see what Jimmy the Mean has bought me.

A HUGE MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO ALL OUR READERS, HAVE A GREAT TIME!

With My Little Ekulele In My Hand - George Formby

It was always going to be a long run from Weymouth to South Cave, a small village just outside of Hull, but the very fact that it rained continuously for the whole journey made it a little easier to bare. I wouldn't have been able to get out and about anyway so what better way of passing a wet day that going to visit 'very special friends.

Glad to be back at Beverley Road after a long absence

Jim the Medic, was quick to serve the Spanish Chicken accompanied by beer, Charlie Herring Tau Syrah, Rusty Nail and several other alcoholic beverages.

You don't get away without being Ukulelied in this house, but some relief was had when

Liz arrived back from a Girlie Night Out! The music was varied ranging from Rosin Murphy to David MacAlmont, and Pink Floyd to Chas & Dave and at 03:00

there was just time for a 'Quick Step' before Liz called it a day. Jim and I followed some 30 minutes later so needless to say it was

not at all an early start this morning, when my hosts were keen to show me their local Nature Reserve.

A good start with Siskin

and Goldfinch feeding in the Alders, and

a couple of Twitchers in the hide.

Views from the Hide.

Teal Island

and Teal in flight.

Gulls on nearby fields.

Song Thrush

and something we see precious little of in Dorset - Tree Sparrow.

Another hard day at the office and well deserving of a pint,

so off to the village of Goodmanham and more particularly the pub of the same name.

I don't remember having such a warm welcome in any pub from locals,

Landlord Vito, centre, and staff alike.

a great 'sing song' was to follow, George Formby eat your heart out, along with great fun

with every one there.

Liz unwrapped one of her Christmas presents a smashing Tambourine which added to the musical success.

Back home it was time to enjoy my Christmas Eve present to all 3 of us,

Foie Gras d'Oie and Sauternes

a nice little repast before going partying this evening, no knowing what time we'll be back so don't wait up!

A Ghost of Christmas Past

With a full 12 hours on a National Express Coach in prospect today, we'll take another look back through the archive, this time to Christmas/New Year 2007/2008. During this period I was on a sea-going expedition from Ushuaia, Southern Argentina, visiting many of the South Atlantic Islands and landing on mainland Antarctica as well. I am occasionally asked which has been the best of my many travels and this was singularly it!

Icebergs come in various shapes and sizes, this one was just 28 miles long.

Having spent the first year of my sea-going career on a ship mainly deployed inside the Arctic Circle, I became familiar with many of the terms associated with ice formations. This is what would be described as a Bergy Bit, a small iceberg in the latter stages of melting and rising between 1-4 meters / 3-13 feet out of the water.

A Growler on the other hand is a very small chunk of floating ice that rise only about 1 meter / 3 feet out of the water. When trapped air escapes as the iceberg melts it sometimes makes a sound like the growl of an animal, and that's how growlers got their name. Both are extremely dangerous to shipping,

but one mans danger maybe a Penguins sanctuary.

The thankfully redundant Whaling Station at Grytviken on the Island of South Georgia was a grizzly reminder of how thousands of these magnificent beasts met their end.

More Bergs.

Black-browed Albatross Colony.

and more Penguins.

King George Island, Antarctica.

The Ice Man takes a rest on arrival on Mainland Antarctica.

The Stern Trawler Saga Sea fishing mid-water for Krill. My view? Keep ALL industries out of these ares, I think we may have been looking at the thin edge of an extremely large wedge.

A couple more images across the Antarctic Ocean,

and a video