Surprise Xmas Gift of the Year

Our niece on Denise's side played a blinder this year by giving me a wonderful book entitled "1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die". The games are listed in order of the date they were released, and each one that is included represents a developmental step forward. The result is a fascinating history of the development of the art of video gaming, and a brilliant and absorbing nostalgia trip. Nice one Katherine! Thanks!

Where are all the Aussies?

Half an hour ago England's cricket team retained the Ashes Down-Under, bringing them back from Oz for the first time in about 28 years, if I remember correctly. And for the first time in about 12 years I'm not working with any Aussies, so I can't get my own back for all the gloating that I've had to endure over many of those years! I know we've won them at home, but winning in Australia is something special. It would be really nice to win the last test in Sydney, & win the series outright, so that we don't merely retain the Ashes by drawing the series (and so keeping them as the current holders), but bring them home as series winners. I am already looking forward to the home series, in England, in 2012!

Organic Veg Bag

Got back from shopping this afternoon to find that our organic veg bag had been delivered. I thought ruefully about the 3 kilo bag of potatoes weighing down the rucksack on my back, that had helped to make my icy walk back from the shops so treacherous.
The bag was full of vegetables made almost unidentifiable by a thick layer of wet mud. There was no way that this stuff was going to sit in the pantry without making a tremendous mess, so I set about washing down some of it so it could be put away. There is a fennel, a huge swede, a massive savoy cabbage (the only kind I like), onions, potatoes, some jerusalem artichokes and some really nice carrots. We'd had to buy some carrots from the supermarket and in back to back eating I have to say that growing them organically really does make difference to the flavour. The shop-bought ones were tasteless by comparison, and I'm not normally one who is all that convinced that organically grown food tastes much better.

Deliveries chaos

Put postcode IV8 8NZ into Google Maps to find the the location of the Black Isle Brewery. Pretty remote, eh? Zoom right in and switch on the satellite view and you'll see that they're not exactly on a main road: it's just a farm track. These people, as you might imagine, were snowed in big style recently. Yet these guys managed to get my christmas order for some of their lovely beer to me in eight days. It arrived on the second day after our local roads were cleared of snow. Instead of just throwing up their hands and moaning that their systems could not cope with the conditions, which has been the reaction of the major online retailers, they'd found a way of getting their orders out somehow. If a little company like the Black Isle Brewery can honour their customers' orders, why can't Amazon, Game, M&S, Play.com etc., etc., theoretically the experts in online retailing and logistics, find ways of doing so?

Our roads have been clear of snow for a week now, but we have not had any post for about a fortnight. Instead of taking advantage of the clear roads last week to make some deliveries, they are now saying that it is unlikely that any deliveries will be made before christmas! Going to be a good holiday ...

Getting pretty deep :-(

Denise's keep-fit regime is put to good use!

... And today

That's a garden bench by the way ...

Two days ago