Southport & Crosby

Back on our recent UK travels we visited Clare, Raye & Lucy in Ormskirk and decided to do a bit of sightseeing on our journey back to Sheffield. Don't be fooled by the blue skies, it was bitterly cold!

Southport pier is 1 km in length, the second longest in the UK. People who know the town will remember the tide is nearly always out!

The tram does a good business in summer months...

...but we had to manage the blustery walk...

...to be rewarded by old-fashioned slot machines, still using pre-decimal pennies.

Memories of happy times when we were children!

Just north of Liverpool is Crosby with its famous Antony Gormley statues, which we've wanted to see for years.

La Tranche has its own version, of course. Now who was the model, you may ask!

More on Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place

Merry Christmas from La Tranche

I seem to be getting less and less organised and my usual Christmas special is a day late this year. As I type the sun is shining on a beautiful blue-sky day - sadly I can't say the same for yesterday! However the Christmas spirit was certainly not lacking, with Philippe here for the week and Matt & Cynthia joining us for lunch.

Evidence that Father Christmas and Rudolph visited in the night

Thanks to everyone for their cards and messages. If you can't see yours it could be on display elsewhere!

Tine prepared a fabulous lunch, despite being disturbed by a monster rising from his pit

The table's all set and tummies are rumbling...

...until Matt & Cynthia arrive and we can hit the bubbly and 'pigs in blankets'!

The womenfolk enjoyed oysters, whilst the men tucked into foie gras...

...but the cake would wait for another day.

The living room smells beautifully of our Christmas tree...

...with Grandad's robin taking pride of place.

Here we are walking off the meal, and making room for pud. It's not as cold as Philippe is making it look!

Meanwhile back in England there's a very tired elf...

...and Grandad's traditional Christmas Day daffodils at Kate's (who has obviously inherited Grandma's Christmas pudding hat)!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

From London we headed north via Sheffield to Jim & Les's to await news of our imminent grandchild. We arranged with Nadine & Simon to meet them at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on the official birth date, enjoying a spot of lunch there with J&L and old college friend Pauline.

Looking radiant as ever, our beautiful daughter with enormous bump (no, not Simon)!

Les & Pauline - it's hard to believe we all met in 1970!

I'd better show some sculptures...

...with Jim, grand-daughter Lucy and a bit of Clare!

I loved these big mosaics...

...and Mother Nature showing who the real artist is!

Philippe's new apartment

From Cornwall we drove to the Big Smoke to visit Philippe in his new apartment. We were really impressed and very happy to see our youngest settled with his old Bingley friend Jack with girlfriend Ell.

We had a packed couple of days with lots of walking (if you know Phil, you won't be surprised)! The high spot? Possibly the wonderful selection of street food on Brick Lane, where we ate our Sunday lunch.

The three of them are very comfortable in their modern surroundings.

Phil's had to downsize to make the move to London.

There's a very impressive entrance,

art deco windows in the lobby,

and fantastic views over the city from their corner apartment. The flat is top left, second floor down.

Day and night: the view along Bethnal Green Road.

We ate at this Italian restaurant on the first night - it's just opposite their converted biscuit warehouse block.

Thanks to Tom for these fantastic photos, showing their view of the city at different times of the day.

Meanwhile here's where we stayed! Not nearly as bad as it looked, but there's a lesson to be learned - check Trip Advisor first!!

Cornwall: Perranporth cliff walk

Our lovely week's stay in Cornwall was nearly over but we made the most of our last day by venturing along the cliff walk, enjoying amazing views as you can see.

At low tide the beach stretches way past this headland.

We enjoyed several pints of local beer in the aptly named Watering Hole beach bar.

Evidence of old mines...

...some capped to allow access to protected bats

The temperature had dropped later in the week and the swimming pool wasn't as inviting as it looks!

What a lovely way to say goodbye to Cornwall with a beautiful shot of the waves!