White Christmas in Church Lench

Cathryn was due to be working, as were Lorna & Scott, so we decided to have an early Christmas Lunch on Sunday 19 Dec.  In some respects, we were even luckier that we had planned because of the weather.  Jean, Lorna & Scott arrived on Friday night, which was just as well because 15in of snow fell in a matter of hours the following morning, essentially cutting off Church Lench to all but tractors and 4x4s with the right tyres.

Temperatures had been well below freezing for some days and on two nights it went down to -19C in the area, so the snow wasn't going anywhere, plus some further falls came later.  Cathryn declined to try and get to us on Saturday as road conditions were very uncertain, even though she has a 4x4, but did make it with Simon and the girls on Sunday.  We enjoyed a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings on Sunday and were pretty house-bound for a few days, but Cathryn & Co got home ok later that night even though it was pretty treacherous.
Anticipating further snow, already having delayed by a day, we decided to dig out the two cars on the drive and get mine out of the garage, so the visitors could return home and I could get to London to see Michael & Dan, plus Jean's other daughter Hannah, which all happened ok.
More snow did fall while I was away so I offered to pick up village friend  Sarah's son Andrew from Heathrow, joining her for Christmas from Singapore, on my way back home.  Conditions in CL had deteriorated again as the snow compacted and froze, so conditions were slippy to say the least.
On Christmas Day I did manage to get across the snow and ice to see Cathryn & Co before she went to work and enjoy a hearty cooked breakfast with them all, and also spent most of the 27th with them and Simon's parents and children as well.  Otherwise, it was an unusually quiet holiday period for me.  The snow has started to melt as the temperature has now risen, but there are still clumps of it about and dangerous patches on the road.  I should be able to clay shoot this coming Sunday and the golf course should be able to open next week as well, hopefully.
Enough of a White Christmas for a few years!

Dubai - The Sevens

We passed on the first of the 3 days of rugby, which was more about the local competitions than the main event, but did attend the 2 that covered the IRB Series rugby.

We saw some thrilling rugby, but had to contend with the temporary stadium, same as last time, with uncomfortable steps to sit on, plus it was crowded at times.  For such a prestigious event and with all the other building that is going on in Dubai, it is amazing that the stadium has not been completed and this is a deterrent for future visits to the event.

We did see some thrilling rugby and there was also a spectacular parachute entry by several jumpers, coming in very low through a corner and between stands, to land in the middle of the pitch in the dark.

Ireland weren't competing, so I was able to support England without a conscience.  Despite some lacklustre performance in the Pool matches, they went from strength to strength to knock out New Zealand in the Cup Semi Final, then beat Samoa in seconds beyond full time with a further converted try and win 29-21,  much  more satisfying and convincing than the 22-21 lead they had a full time!  (I note they were narrowly beaten by New Zealand 22-19 in South Africa a week later, so they are maintaining their form, which bodes well for the season).

Dubai

Cousin Mike & wife Karen, son Ben & wife Sharyn, Jean and I went to Dubai for the IRB Sevens, the first of the season.  This time, last having been for the World Cup in March '09, we stayed near Dubai Marina, at the stem of Palm Jumeirah, on the beach.  The hotel location was among the high rise is part of an outcrop extending down the beach, which is a mixture of office blocks and accommodation, part of the ever-expanding building work of Dubai.  Whether enough people come to occupy it all in time remains a mystery, but committed they are!  Jean had a paddle in the sea while we watched parachutists landing on an airstrip right in front of the hotel.

We took a bus tour and a trip down the Creek, enjoying a very pleasant temperatures and blue skies.  We didn't have a great amount of free time, but we did managed to catch up with Peter Moulson, who is in and out of Dubai on consultancy work for the government, to enjoy a few drinks and a Japanese meal in our hotel.  We viewed the ski slope of a large shopping mall nearby, and I was again convinced that I couldn't possibly shop in such a place with so much choice and no idea where I might find something I actually wanted because it's so vast.  But, some do!