Monday, December 28, 2009

Merry Crimbo!

Wahey!

This has been a week of two halves... the first half in Engurlund, and the second half in a positively frozen Dundee, but Crimbo has been survived!

I'm a few pounds heavier, a few hangovers weary and the exchange of Christmas gifts has happened. I managed to brave the elements and get back up to Dundee with relative little hassle despite all the travel chaos and am settling into the Dundee swing.

Monday
I'm Sarah no-mates in the office as;
  • Allison and Karen are in India
  • Matthew is in Cornwall
  • Andrew is up in Scotland
I did forget to mention that I got a text from Allison on Saturday which goes something like this.

"U knw how disasters happen when I'm on hols - Karen has jst been hit by a car - she's a tough old bird, cuts & bad bruisin bt didn't even go down - car lost it's side panel thou and the bastard didn't stop - get in there :-)"

installment no. 2 after I check to see how she is

 "She's stopped shakin so now gonna go 4 margarita 2 calm the nerves"

 Ah... that's my girls.

My Development system is a little sick, so I have to get the IE Consultant in to have a look over my sick system. Unfortunately she isn't able to fix it on site, so she's taken a back-up of the DEV system away for her guys to look at and it's off to the Royal Oak for me to meet up with Morrish for a lunchtime drinkie or two....

The office is so bloody dead when we get back, and on the shortest day of the year it felt like the coldest day of the year I tear through the rest of the paper work that's left to do and look out of the office window into the darkness of Londonium.

What's that I see?

A white flurry?

No, it's more like a fecken blizzard!

And it's lying on the ground.... that's always a bad sign in London when the snow lies on the ground. A sure sign that the Transport network will grind to a halt.



it's just gone 4:30pm.... time to pack up and head home. And it's just as well I did. I didn't get home until 7:30pm....

3 Bloody hours to get home through crawling traffic and buses smashing into one another on unsalted or gritted roads. Well done Transport for London!

My plan for packing for Dundee that evening didn't happen. I got home, grabbed some hot food and thawed out.

Tuesday
Packing.

Packing, Packing, Packing.

That's the first thought on my mind when I woke up. And packing I is exactly what I do. Everthing is all packed, 2 cases, one rucksack and it's off to work.

And work is dead.

Hardly anyone in work at all, the Christmas get-away is under full steam it would seem. Matthew starts shutting down CASSy in preperation for our early kick off for month end, and I pop to the Barley Mow with Morrish, Daniel, Mark and even Stewart makes an apperance. Then it's a wander back to the office, all telling tales of our horrendous journey's home from the previous night and the journey into work before we all head our seperate ways, but not before I switch on my Out of Office reminder and shut the laptop down for the last time in the office for this year.

I meet up with Tim, after a round about trip to Victoria and back then it's into a cab off to 56 for dinner



A few glasses of wine, Tim is on the water... he's got man flu or maybe it's just flu? But dinner is greatly appreciated and eaten up rather quickly

After dinner we head home and exchange gifts before it's off to bed. I did quite well considering Tim's track record in the gift department;

  • A Fleece Jacket


  • A necklace


  • and a DVD of some weird movie that he likes

Result, and the fleece jacket is VERY warm.

 Wednesday
It's travel day today.

Will the weather strike me down? Will the national rail network grind to a halt? Will I have to experience another dead guy?

Luckily for me everything seems to be running relatively smoothly. Cab down to the station, straight onto the train...



and off we go! And yes, it's of course in 1st class. One would certainly not be travelling cattle class
 There's snow ALL the way up on the journey. Not one part of the UK on the East Coast has escaped the winter snow...




Berwick Upon Tweed


and it's a straight smooth Journey past the Border into the Motherland


Edinburgh Castle


Over the Forth Railway Bridge


Through Inverkeithing... and the sun is beginning to set


Heading up from Kirkcaldy.


By the time we get to Leuchars it's getting pitch black and the snows getting deeper. You can't even see the platform!

I arrive only 20mins late into Dundee (because the eejits kept getting off the train and having a smoke on the platform keeping everyone waiting), with my Dad waiting at the station to pick me up and it's swiftly off home.. do the family thing, Gran and John turn up as well and I spend the evening at home with the family trying to aclimatise to the increadibly warm house, popping out into the snow laden garden to cool off now and then before bed.

Thursday - Christmas Eve
Oh yeah... it's only hours to go until the celebrations kick off.

Mum's been in the Kitchen getting things prepared for the big nosh up tomorrow... I'm well, waking up and with Dad in the living room watching a movie on the telly and William is upstairs on the computer, so no change there then.

I receive a belated Birthday present from Mum and Dad

Cyberman Bubble bath and a Dalek Toiletry bag

The back garden is completely snowcovered as well...


Even Rosie and Jim didn't escape the snow



The plans are laid... well, texted and facebooked.

Colin's for 4:30pm.

I take my life into my hands and make the perilous walk down the Hilltown choosing at more than one time to abandon the path and walk on the road, thank god for very little traffic on this Christmas Eve


Only in Dundee... a headless snowman is spotted on my travels down the Hilltown

Quickly arriving down at Colin's with Murray popping in soon after and we are straight on the champers to kick start the evening celebrations! Vici arrives back to the flat laden with carrier bags but a vital item of shopping is missing....

You see, Vici is to make a Banoffee pie for Christmas and she's bought all the ingrediants but somehow on the journey from the supermarket to home one of the ingrediants has gone missing.

What's in a Banoffee pie? What's the one thing you must have?
Yes... she's managed to lose the bananas.

The biscuits are placed into a bag, then smashed up with an empty Gin bottle (who needs a rolling pin?) but with no bananas it can hardly be called a Banoffee pie..... more like an offee pie. It's Banana Gate. But we don't let that stop us, Colin and Vici are left to get tarted up and sort out the pie whilst Murray and I head to the Playwright for pre-dinner cocktails


and we have the surpise of Rob and Dean showing up as well

and yes...


it's straight onto the Champagne cocktails..


Although I opt for the Playwright Blazer.. Whisky based cocktail

Which are slowly sipped down until we realise there's only 5mins left to get to the Chinese for our annual Christmas Eve meal and then we gulp them down! It's a slipping and a sliding all the way up to the Mandarin Garden

For the feasting to begin.

When we arrive you are greated by this sign...



And yes, the command of the English language isn't really the restaraunt's strong point, but it's great food and a fantastic atmosphere which is why we always go back, and more importantly it's one of the few places open on Christmas Eve. It's the same food as we ALWAYS do. Who needs to look at the menu? Murray, Colin, Rob and I don't need to look at the menu as we already know what we are having.... it's a tradition.

Starters
Me - Deep Fried Crab Claws
Colin - Wontons
Murray - Prawn Cocktail
Rob - Spicey Mongolian Beef

Mains
Colin, Murray, Craig and I - Crispy Aromatic Duck with extra pancakes and plum sauce
Rob - Lemon Chicken with rice

Desert
Me & Colin - Liquer icecream soaked in Tia Maria
Murray - Banana Split
Rob - Icecream

Drinks?
Wine, wine, wine and more wine..

Colin is getting ready for the scran



Craig is just topping up the Red Wine


Murray and Rob are waiting paitently for Sadako to bring the food


Vici and Niki can't contain their excitment waiting for the food....

It's hilarious trying to order food in there..... as Rob said, "Have they just come off of the boat?" We asked for a bottle of Red Wine (they only have 2 kinds of Wine, White or Red)..... and Sadako returns back with 3 glasses of wine...  We ask again for a BOTTLE of RED WINE..... she asks if we are wanting a bottle of WHITE WINE.... on the 3rd try we get a bottle of RED.

When it comes to the food...we ask for a WHOLE CRISPY AROMATIC DUCK to be shared between 4 of us..... Sadako thinks we are ordering 4 seperate ducks each.... *rolling of the eyes*


But eventually we get it right.....

And it's time to move onto desserts - only we decided to be a wee bit cheeky. They sell Banana Fritters here don't they? Remember Banana Gate and the missing Banana's? Could the give us a couple of banana's in their skins?


They happily obliged.... and Vici is over the moon!


Seriously happy...her Banoffee Pie is saved! Banana Gate is offically over.

and then the rest of the desserts came to the table... and Rob's dessert?.. Well

It just had to come out lookin like that....


Murray is horrified as its pointed towards him......


Rob on the otherhand can't wait to dig in.....

We finish up.... pay the bill, grab our Mandarin Garden 2010-11 Calender and head down to the DCA for drinks and end up sitting outside in the freezing cold at -5 degrees..



Obviously we don't spend too long in the cold and move onto the Basement Bar


for a swift one to warm up before we head onwards to Brooks Bar down on the Seagate where we see Midnight and Christmas in to a very loud version of Slade's Christmas song with an obscene amount of Vodka.


I think we were singing Slade "So here it is Merry Christmas "at this point..... tis all a wee bit blurry.

The rest of the crew head to 'Out' for further clubbing... Murray and I head homewards, we have the big family thing in the morning and are not wanting to be too wrecked.

Got home around 1:30am

Friday - Christmas Day
I get woken up around 8:30am...  Ouchies... head's hurting... fuzzy... what would I have been like if I'd stayed out with the rest of the crew? I'm so glad I left when I did.

We do the whole Christmas thing.. unwrapping of respective presents. William having difficulty in pronouncing his Aftershaves... Mum, dreading the opening of the Alison present and Dad stocking up on Wine, Port, Chocolate, liquers etc.

Christmas is unwrapped, a small breakfast is eaten and we await the arrival of Farrah, Graham and wee Cameron who promptly arrive at 11am for yet more unwrapping of presents. Wee Cameron (turns 2 in February) was kind of overwhelmed with all the people in the room, presents and toys everywhere and let us know how unhappy he was with ear piercing wailing at the top of his lungs.... my head hurt


But I manage a wee pose with mum and Farrah... and I'm wearing the necklace that Tim bought me.


Cameron's toys take over the house even when he's not here....

The Mackenzie's depart around 2pm to head to Graham's mothers for Christmas Dinner and we settle down to our Christmas dinner spaced out over the afternoon so we can digest properly in time for Doctor Who, which I demand absolute and utter silence when it's on the TV. No phone calls, no clattering Catharin in the Kitchen, no interruptions what so ever



 and it was watched in utter silence.... and left with the teaser for the final episode with David Tennant



Wow

Just bloody wow.

I can't believe that I have to wait until New Years day to see the final episode!! I'm sitting on the edge of the seat on tenderhooks until then. After Doctor Who is watched, and Doctor Who Confidential a movie is put on then the parents head to bed after it leaving me downstairs to watch some TV but not for long. I'm tired, slightly tipsy and head to bed for a much needed sleep

Saturday - Boxing Day
There's no sore head today.

Yay! A result!

It's up early, dressed and off out to the Old Folks home to visit Grandad to give him his Christmas presents

and chew the fat for a bit with the rest of the family


Dad


William

But we can't stay too late, as we have to pop into Tesco's and pick up some supplies before Farrah and Graham decend on us with wee Cameron. So it's off to Tesco's, wine, milk, rolls and even managing to pick up some Aberdeen Buttaries!



Which are quickly demolished before the Mackenzie crew arrive. Farrah and Graham drop off wee Cameron whilst they go get a bit of Christmas Sales shopping in without the wee boy hindering them, leaving my parents to spend the afternoon playing with Cameron who it seems is in a much better mood today then he was yesterday


and was quite happy to play away


 happily babbling away to himself until his parents return home


and it's back into the noisey madness that is the Cameron Jack Road show


But there is an oppertunity to have a pose with my Dad


and the Baskerville-Mackenzie clan


and just the Mackenzie clan....


then Mum, Dad and William decided have a wee pose as well :-)

Once the posing is completed we settle down to our Boxing Day meal of Steak Pie and I make a complete mash up of the Trifle when dishing it up to everyone. But at least wee Cameron let us eat out tea in quiet as he was feeling a bit tired.



But he didn't stay like that for long.

We retire back to the living room, me with my glass of wine in my hand which Cameron spots and makes an instant b-line for it... thinking it was coke perhaps? Perhaps he's a Baskerville afterall heading straight to the booze ;-)

I let him have a wee sip which I don't think he likes... but give him time!

Next he spots Dad with the Port and immediately dips his straw into Dad's port glass and takes a HUGE sip.

Oh he's Baskerville alright!

The Mackenzie's depart, I settle down to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with the parents and for another quiet night in.

Sunday
It's a semi long lie for me. Cause there is no such thing as a long lie in the Baskerville household.... Mum, Dad, William are all up and making various clattering noises around the house and I can't sleep with the din. So it' up, breakfast then sorting through the Christmas clothes for Mum to see which ones needed taken up cause I'm such a short arse.

After that's sorted out, then it's into the shower.... a nice long hot shower with soft Scottish water, dried, dressed and off out down to the Globe Bar to meet up with Murray for drinkies. It snowed again last night in Dundee so there's an extra 3-4 inches of snow on the ground over solid ice. I'm not walking down the Hilltown again into town, it's a cab journey to the Globe so I don't fall over on my arse.



We meet up.. have a nice cold lager

to start off the afternoon in the way we have become accustomed swiftly followed by a Vodka & Southern Comfort & Coke killing time until the Jahangir opens at 5pm. Murray's starving and I'm kinda hungry as well but we have to bide our time until it's open..... drink... toilet... drink... toilet.... Yay, it's 5pm!



 We slide across the snow and ice over the road to the Indian and low and behold.... we are the 1st people in.


The place is empty.... and I mean really empty


Really, really empty.....

But at least it has an interesting 'Water Feature'

and eventually more people did start coming into the restaraunt.

Once we've eaten, and bloody hell, I was kind of impressed as the food was actually really quite nice, it's a slipping and a sliding up to the Somerfield to pick up additional supplies.. i.e.


and


Essential supplies you know....

And we continue our slipping and sliding up the road to Murray's house for further drinkies until the wee small hours in the morning and it's a Taxi back to the parents house around 2am which is also having difficulty with the icey roads... it's a slow journey with wheels spinning on the ice but I do eventully get home.

Today
It's a long lie at last!

The parent have gone into town early and I manage to get some decent kip till around 11:30am. ZZzzzzzzzzz

Much needed.

It's a day of relaxation, recover from the night before, sort the blog out and re-watch Doctor Who in the relative quietness of an empty house with William and Dad up at Uncle Neils to fix his computer, Mum sorting out the sewing and me texting and trying to organise where I'm going to end up tonight.

I was planning on heading out with Cari, Euan and Susan tonight, but Cari's had to cancel last minute  as she's got to head into work and cover a shift for a sick colleague, and Euan's kind of stuck somewhere up in the Highlands in worsening weather conditions and it's doubtful that he'll be able to drive back to Dundee tonight.

So that just leaves Susan.... who hasn't responded to the text messages yet.....

And Farrah and Cameron have just arrived so my quiet afternoon in?.... it's quickly dissappeared into the Cameron Jack Road Show where he has a wee temper tantrum skiting his tea across the floor and drops into an ear piercing scream. My head hurts now.

Till next time

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