I'm Just back from a work conference in Vienna - what a beautiful city! We managed to grab a few hours after the conference to go exploring. I particularly liked the window puppet which looked like Jake and the slutty bride wedding cake. Make of that what you will.
My Mum gave Carolyn a book on American history in England for Christmas. We immediately read the chapter on William Penn as he founded Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Reading the article reminded us that William Penn is buried close to my office on the outskirts of London. I did a bit of research and found a great walk on the Internet which covers the Mayflower barn and the final resting place of William Penn. The walk took in some beautiful English countryside but seeing the original timbers from the Mayflower was something else. Next to the Mayflower Barn is the old Jordans guest house where William Penn and George Fox (founder of the Quaker religion) regularly worshipped. A little further down the road we came across the current Quaker meeting house (1688) set next to a small graveyard where Carolyn used her Philly sixth sense to walk straight to William Penn's grave.
For the third year, Carolyn and I headed into central London for the New Year's Day Parade complete with customary cheer leaders, Morris Men, classic cars and American marching bands. It was bloody freezing but great fun despite the distinct possibility of frost bite. I can't imagine what it was like for the poor high school kids from Hawaii and Florida ;-) There were over 10,000 performers from 20 countries including the UK effort - Morris Minors which broke down every 10 feet.
We went down to the South Bank for New Year's Eve to checkout the fireworks. Carolyn brought along her new camera to checkout the night shots. Both the fireworks and the camera were very impressive!
We drove to Barnes so that my mum could catch up with an old friend. As Carolyn has just passed her UK driving test we left them to it and took the MINI out for a spin. Carolyn drove around Richmond for a while before taking the leap and venturing out onto the M4. There isn't a much better test than driving around central London and then out to Heathrow - I guess I trust Carolyn with the MINI now ;-)
My mum came to stay with us for Christmas. Carolyn loved her new camera, mum couldn't stop playing Brain Training on her Nintendo DS Lite and I couldn't stop hoovering up everything in sight with the Dyson D16 Handheld. Carolyn also gave me an Archos 5 media player which will be great when I'm working away from home. We spent most of the day battling it out playing Monopoly, needless to say the capitalist American won.
Carolyn's cousin Joey and his wife Erica came to stay with us on the first leg of their European tour. We made sure Joey and Erica enjoyed a wide variety of pubs on their visit including: Blackfriars Pub, Most Cafe Bar, Waxy O’Connor’s, George Inn, The Coal Hole, Market Porter, Browns at Butlers Wharf, Ten Bells and the 99 club.
For the last couple of years our filing system has involved some shoe boxes, a broken security box and some old plastic pockets. I couldn't take it anymore and 'persuaded' Carolyn that we needed a proper filing cabinet and here it is in all its glory. 
I also ordered a shredder which was so much fun there wasn't much left to file once I had finished playing with it. The comfy theme comes from our latest purchases - a Union Jack pillow from Karen Hilton and an RAF themed bean bag from CoolBeanBags.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, Oxford Street and Regent Street are pedestrianised to help solve the problem of a million people trying to walk along a narrow foot path. It's a good day for shopping as there are lots of street entertainers and Christmas bargains. Carolyn and I usually go and knockout as much Christmas shopping as we can in one hit.
We had past a signpost for the Aira Force Waterfall the previous day but it was too dark to see anything. We got up bright and early today to check it out before our 6.5 hour drive back down to London. Needless to say, the weather was absolutely dreadful but the extra water made the waterfall even more spectacular. William Wordsworth mentions the Aira Force Waterfall in three of his poems. Pretty cool.
The morning after Paul's Birthday we drove up to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District where we checked in to another very nice B&B - Storrs Gate House complete with four poster bed. After settling in we walked along Lake Winderemere into town for a quick look around and a bite to eat at the local pub before heading back to the B&B and Strictly Come Dancing/Bed.
Carolyn and I drove up to Little Bytham for Paul Livingston's 40th Birthday Party. We arrived a bit early, so went for a pub lunch at the Michelin Pub of the Year - The Olive Branch. We ordered beef stew and it was even better than we had hoped.
After lunch we went to see the Tower Mill Windmill, mainly because it was the only local tourist attraction on the GPS rather than its claim to be the last Dutch Windmill in the UK. Still, it killed some time before the big event.
Apparently Little Bytham is famous for its fancy dress parties and Paul's 80s themed party didn't disappoint. Carolyn and I were hopelessly under prepared for the onslaught from Hugh Hefner/Playboy Bunny, Adam Ant, Mr. T, Elton John, Princess Leia, John McEnroe, Maggie Thatcher/Miner and Freddie Mercury. One of the highlights for me was Adam Ant and Mr. T on the Karaoke machine. All were impressive, but the winner was Freddy Mercury complete with Borat thong.
We spent the night at the Park Farm B&B. This was my first B&B experience and I have to say it was amazing. Great room and the best breakfast I've ever had. The information pack in the room mentioned that the local railway track was the site where the Mallard reached its 124mph record. So of course I had to drag Carolyn to see the site of this momentous event ;-)
We set off for the National Gallery this weekend to try and soak up some much needed culture. There are some truly beautiful paintings on display, second only to the Louvre in my biased opinion. We saw paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, John Constable, Michelangelo, Joseph Turner and Thomas Gainsborough to name but a few. My (predictable) favourites were the Sun Flowers, Water Lilies and the Thames below Westminster.
