Christmas Night & Boxing Day

By 19:00 yesterday we were all ready to tackle the Christmas Pudding to be followed by the opening of gifts. As far as I was concerned the piece de resistance came when mine hosts decided to open a 1988 Dom Pérignon Champagne.

With the cork well and truly popped and the figgy duff ablaze (not really see-able in this photo) it was a treat indeed to settle down to such a 'fine wine'.

Dressing gowns each for Liz & Jim,

a whole stocking full of goodies for me,

while Liz struggles to open a magnum of Champagne (from me to you),

Sylvia gets a new necklace,

all helped along with a drop of Dom.

This morning there was no rush to get out of bed and when we did I indulged in a large slice of Christmas Cake by way of breakfast. A sparkling bright day with little or no wind and remaining mild we left Sylv with the washing up and headed for the

You won't need telling who this is.

An excellent Oak and Beech Wood.

The Man of the Forest.

Willow Catkins adorned every hedge row in addition to which there were plenty of birds to see.

On the 'birding' front, before we had walk 500 yards we had a Tree Sparrow and in addition to Marsh Tit, there were Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Peregrine, Fieldfare, Redwing, Blackbird, Song and Mistle Thrush plus a distant Red Kite.

A redundant Stone Quarry was of some interest, as was

the also distant Drax Power Station (we don't see many of these in Dorset) and fleeting

glimpses of the River Humber. Soon after we reached

and took a look around the village, starting with

The Castle Gateway,

The Bear, emblem of the Barnard family,

the village looking from the west

and resisted the Fox & Coney (Jim & I did return there a little later) with further on the Trinity Building (with bell tower) constructed in 1790.

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