UK Letter Home December 2003

Welcome to the December Edition of UKBound.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hogmany or Seasons Greetings.

A couple of months ago, we went to John O' Groates which is on the tippy tip of Scotland, and our Christmas present to ourselves was a holiday to Lands End in England. We have now been fully across the longest part of the UK. In UK terms, that is an amazing feat. Everyone here is amazed that we travelled so far. In actual fact, it is only 565 miles from Glasgow, or from end to end is 874 miles. On our way down, we stopped at Bath (the place the Romans built natural spring baths), Bournmouth (beechfront property), Penzance (home of the pirates), and Lands End (the end of the country). It was a nice relaxing holiday, filled with beaches and munkies. Check out the website in a month for pictures and more descriptions. On Christmas, we were on the beach at Bournmouth. It was 12degC and quite windy. All the restaurants were booked (and very expensive), so we had a nice meal by ourselves. It worked out well in the end. I hate to say it, but no matter where you go on holidays, it is always nice to go home.

For Christmas, Seth received some toys, blocks, and teddies. His favorite toy is anything that he can chew on. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but as soon as he does, all his toys are toast. On Dec 30, Seth received his passport. This was a major hurdle. So, now Seth was born in the UK but can't get a UK passport. Has a Canadian passport, but isn't a Canadian citizen. Poor kid. With his passport, we can now travel abroad, so if anyone sends us the money, we can visit you if you like. Or, just send us the money, and we won't visit you. Either way, we're happy to oblige. Seth is now about 6 inches high. Hey, he can't walk or stand up yet, what do you expect? He is about 28 inches long now though. I am not sure if that's big or not for someone his age - I guess that's about right for him.

I have completed uploading our Scotland pictures from September on the website. We went a little nuts and took a lot of pictures, so in order to make the page a little faster to load, I have broken the pictures into two separate pages. Let us know what you think.

Have you made any new years resolutions? On the radio, they were asking the public to call in their best ones. Some of the best ones I liked were: eat more chocolate, rub my cat's belly more, and call in sick more often. Did you make any that you are going to stick to this year?

Even though I had half of December off (have to like the UK holiday scheme) we didn't do any major DIY. Sure, you always say that you will paint this and fix that, but when you have a pound of chocolate and turkey in your tum, peeling wallpaper just isn't in your top 10, where as watching The Grinch is. I'm hoping that we will have some more DIY victories for the next letter.

As for my job, it's review time. Wah. Since I have had two jobs this year, I know what they will be saying - great effort, but you will have to learn more about your new position, dig deep and all that stuff. And, the only thing that stays the same is change. I'm betting that by this time next year, part of my current position will be moved East, but so far nobody is saying anything. This time last year, I was assured that my position was safe. Oh well, as long as the company is saving money. I have a plan (which is a secret incase you know who is listening) and for now, I will listen to my own drummer. There is a silver lining, but it will just take a bit of work.

I guess that's about it for this issue. All the best in 2004.

Brian, Kim and wee Seth.