#981 Pay Homage to the hilariously camp Christmas Tree at the V&A

Worst Christmas tree ever...
Stupid recession!

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#906 Cycle Around an empty London on Christmas Day

The 2512 Cycle Ride saw a motely crew of cyclists assemble at London Bridge on Christmas day. Everyone was in jovial spirits sharing a sherry and shortbread before setting out for the Queens Head pub in Putney. A quick stop for a mulled wine with a cycle repairing homeless man in a railway arch and then we weaved through the back streets of Southwark. The roads were relatively quiet with only a few cars honking the eighty odd bikes as they sped past. As we got near Vauxhall a few angry motorists were upset that we were taking up the greater part of Nine Elms lane. Beautiful day for a ride!

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#36 Watch - but don't join in - the competition for the Peter Pan cup

Every Christmas morning since 1864 some foolhardy souls have been taking the plunge into the Serpentine Lake in the middle of Hyde Park. I have had a couple of swims in the Serpentine in the middle of summer in a full westsuit so can apprecaite taking the plunge in late December is a challenge.

The race for the Peter Pan cup began sharply at 9am with approximately 60 competitor led out to the pontoon by a sole bag piper to take part in the handicap race. In order to be eligible for the swim you must have endured all of the races in the winter series. A sizeable crowd was gathered on the banks of the roughly 50 metres course to join in the fun.

Swimmers were treated to a whiskey and coke upon exciting the chilly waters as well as a long walk back to the change rooms in their swimmers with lots of rugged up onlookers...

Still trying to decide if I am silly enough to try and take part next year??
Although offically it is ticked off the list.

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I heart Tesco Man

It was catastrophic news that almost meant the cancellation of Christmas. Last night Tesco man was unable to battle his way through the ice and snow to deliver our mince pies and Christmas ham. Due to the number of orders in the lead up to xmas day, Tesco man advised he was unable to reschedule our order...

The world of online grocery ordering was opened to me by a close friend a couple of years ago. At first I was reluctant. I liked wandering around the store picking out goodies. Ordering online was foreign and strange!

But then Tesco man arrived right on time as requested carrying my grocery order right into kitchen. No queues, no check out, no heavy bags & no long walk home from the store. My life changed. Simple. Easy. Tesco Man coming to visit was the highlight of the week!

In store Christmas food shopping this evening was chaos. Long queues, grumpy check out chicks and a long walk home in the cold pouring rain with heavy bags.

Please come back to me Tesco Man!

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#? Let it snow Let it snow Let it snow

A sprinkle of snow starting falling from the sky this morning in central London. As people realised, excitement and child like glee swept through the office like a mexican wave. Adults stood glued to the windows watching the flakes tumble down over Regent Street. Unfortunately the light dusting was not enough to settle on the roads and only a few parked cars managed to collect about 1cm before the snow turned into light rain.

Unfortunately it is not on the list but experiencing snow in the capital must.
Earlier this year I managed navigate my way through the 15 odd centimetres that brought most of London grinding to a halt into Piccadilly Circus. It was amazing to be standing in one of the most hectic parts of town with nobody around watching the snow fall.

Weather forecasters are predicting more snow is on the way. I for one am dreaming of a White Christmas!

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#217 & #224 Ice Skate Outdoors...

Celebrating its tenth year in the grand 18th century courtyard at Somerset House is the outdoor ice skating rink. It is the original and probably still the best and where the outdoor skating craze in London started.

For the last decade it has been a sure-fire Christmas hit - erect an ice rink in front of an iconic building and wait for masses of people to form excited queues to be rammed onto a small square slab of ice. Admittedly we did book our session in mid September. http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ice_rink/default.asp

There are a plethora of options around London including the Natural History Museum which I visited last year. Unfortunately Kew Gardens will not stage ice skating this Christmas because of declining ticket sales and the new proposed rink at Wembley Stadium has been put on ice.

On Thursday night a group from work wandered down to the Strand for some ice filled fun. As the Swiss Miss commented it would make a great first date!

I think I have come to the conculsion that 45 minutes a year is about my tolerance level for ice skating as a sport! Nevertheless the atmosphere, setting and mulled wine definitely puts you in the christmas spirit.

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