All good things...

All good things must come to an end and today it was time to say more sad goodbyes and leave for Heathrow.

The grey and dreary weather matched our mood.

One thing that did make us smile was this Lanson champagne 'Christmas tree' in the lounge at Heathrow.  Not sure if they were real bottles, full or empty or just dummies!

Lauren and James tackled the job of getting their Christmas decorations down and we will have to do this tomorrow in Reston as we are travelling tomorrow afternoon and will be away over Twelfth Night.

It appears that whilst staying with Lauren and James we didn't make much of an impression on the Christmas tree chocolates..

Bourton on the Water

On our way back from Bath to Leamington today we decided to stop for lunch at Bourton on the Water.  It was sunny and fine and this may have been the reason that it was very busy indeed! Even the ducks were outnumbered by small gulls in the stream.

After a quick walk around, we gave up and went on to Stow on the Wold to buy a sandwich at Tesco.

In Tesco we saw this cake in the post-Christmas offers.  We occasionally used to have this at Christmas as children.  Then for many years it did not seem to be around - now it is back, and it looks good..

(No, I didn't buy any, I don't think it would travel well!)

Not a good start ...

We are coming to the end of our trip home and unfortunately the last few days for David can be represented by the array of cold medicines, above.  

No partying at New Year for him, just lots of sleep in the hope that he will be better before we fly back to the US on Saturday.

Welcome 2015!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

We spent a lovely New Year's Eve with Andrea and Steve and Pucklechurch friends - a great meal and lots of fun!

We even exercised our brains with a few quizzes and games..

Lunch in Montacute

After a picturesque drive through frosty and in places foggy countryside to Glastonbury and Street we made a quick visit to Clarks Outlet Village this morning.

We then headed on in the sunshine to Montacute, where we met Jenny and Colin for lunch and a 'catch up' at the King's Arms Inn.

After an excellent and leisurely lunch it was all too soon time to set off again, in opposite directions..

Frosty Flowers

After a very frosty night the sun was shining this morning in a blue sky.

I made a quick tour of the garden at Stonefield to capture the frost on the leaves and flowers, before it all melted..

A single rose growing tall in the middle of the flower bed was particularly beautiful..

Frozen Again... Sunday 28 December

Today was Lauren's birthday and the Frozen theme continued with her birthday wrapping paper..

.. and her cake!..

We celebrated at Maggie's both for Lauren's birthday, Kate's forthcoming trip to New Zealand (Bon Voyage, Kate) and a Dando family Christmas.

It was a lovely day and a great treat for us to see all the family together.  We have had such lovely family times over this holiday and now look forward to New Years Eve with friends.