UK Letter Home December 2002

Welcome to the December edition of UK Bound

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times..." would probably be the best way to describe December.

December started great. We had all our Christmas shopping completed by the first week of December, and we were busy buying Christmas lights, ornaments and a tree. This was our first Christmas in the house (last year we ran away to sunnier climates) and the spirit of Christmas was in the air. Kim was now settling in to her new role at work, and my job was going OK. The start of December looked great. Then, we heard that Kim's company wasn't doing well. By the second week of December, we knew that Kim's company was now in serious trouble, and was now being managed by an outside accounting firm. As luck would have it, one of Kim's head-hunters called about a possible job and Kim had an interview. We were still trying to get some work done on the house so that is a continuing story.

On the pressie's side, some notable items included: Kim received a gallon of paint, so we can now paint our bedroom, some pictures, and a pair of tickets to Oslo for February. I'm hoping Kim will take me, but she hasn't said yet. I received a macanno motorcycle (which actually took quite a bit of time to build), and some KD (which went in an instant).

The moggies are doing fine. They received some chew toys, and have found the tree and lights also fun to play with. So far, the tree has had only moderate interest. I think their biggest present is the fire place. They spend most of their lives either walking to the fire, sleeping in front of the fire, or rolling away from the fire when their tummies get too warm. Jack has had mishap #2 now, with the end of his tail getting burnt. You'd think he would have learnt from the first time.

On the house front, we are still trying to get quotes for some upgrades and repairs. The contractors work at a snails pace and even getting quotes is proving difficult. We have managed to finish painting and tidying our kitchen - one more room down, three to go.

The weather has actually been quite decent. I have been able to ride to work most of the time and it hasn't seemed to rain as much as last year. Ever since I have had the bike on the road, the weather has been pretty good.

I have finally finished our pictures and descriptions on the website from France. If you have looked at France before, check it out now, as all the descriptions are complete, and I uploaded some more from the gorges. I have also just uploaded our pictures from Switzerland. There's some really good mountain shots. I am starting to upload the Italy trip this week. As always, this letter is uploaded onto the site before it is emailed (if you want to read it before the others).

A couple of people have asked us where they recommend going on holidays. We were watching a program on "The Top 50 Places To See", and this is their list:

50 - Bora Bora
49 - Bali - Indonesia
48 - Abu Simbila - Egypt
47 - Angel Falls - Vensuanalia
46 - Materhorn - Switzerland
45 - Terracotta Army - China
44 - Iceland
43 - Barbados
42 - Bangkok - Thailand
41 - Sri Lanka
40 - La Digue
39 - Singapore
38 - Dubai
37 - Barconella - Spain
36 - San Francisco - USA
35 - Rome - Italy
34 - Luxor - Egypt
33 - Galapagos Islands
32 - Masai Mouri - Kenya
31 - Rio de Janeiro
30 - Mount Everest
29 - Angkor Wat - Cambodia
28 - Alaska - USA
27 - Paris - France
26 - Igualu Falls
25 - North Island - New Zealand
24 - Hawaii - USA
23 - Yosemite National Park - USA
22 - Hong Kong - China
21 - Victoria Falls
20 - Great Wall - China
19 - Maldives
18 - Venice - Italy
17 - Pyramids - Egypt
16 - Petra
15 - Niagra Falls - Canada
14 - Machu Picchu - Peru
13 - Chichen Itza - Mexico
12 - Uluru - Australia
11 - Lake Louise - Canada
10 - Taj Mahal - India
09 - New York - USA
08 - Sydney - Australia
07 - Las Vegas - USA
06 - Golden Temple Amritsar - India
05 - Cape Town - South Africa
04 - South Island - New Zealand
03 - Disneyworld - Florida
02 - Great Barrier Reef - Australia
01 - Grand Canyon - USA
I have been to some of the above, and I am not sure if they have the order correct. The list was generated by Channel 4, so I think most of the votes would have been from London. The obvious choice that they have missed is London. And, I can't believe they have Disneyworld at #3. Sure it's a fun place, but I am going to the Taj Mahal before I am going there. Of course that being said, I have been to Disneyland in LA quite a few times and enjoyed it. If you want to do travelling but don't have the budget, you can always go to Whistler and Pemberton for a good day trip. If you have a couple of weeks, you can drive to Alaska, Toronto, or San Diego. And, to be perfectly honest, you don't really have to plan it either. When we went to Alaska and Toronto we just decided that we were going, and stopped when we got tired. You meet more interesting (???) people that way.

I guess that's it for this year. Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmany.

Brian and Kim.