Hello everyone, at last I been able to get photos to upload and share, hope y'all think it was worthwhile!! I have no idea why I cant upload for days or weeks on end, any clues will be gratefully received
First up from 1 December, is this picture I snatched through the kitchen window having grabbed the camera in a panic 'cos there was a fine male Bullfinch in the hedge. It promptly disappeared, and while waiting to see if it might re-appear, these two Goldfinches were practising the old music hall routine - you know, the one where the comic and his stooge are each side of a window opening trying to mimic each other and give the impression the opening is a mirror - they were brilliant!
Next day (Sunday) we set off in super fine weather to Germany for a short break to see the Xmas market in Trier, which is about 25 miles just round the corner from Luxembourg. On the way down over the high Ardennes (South of Namur) it started to snow, and lay. Down in the Moselle valley it turned back to sleet
Next morning we got up to snow, and went exploring in the snow - first to the Porta Negra - superb relic from the Roman heyday of the town here seen in the snow
Yellow car!
Looking through the Porta Negra in the snow
Looking back at the Porta Negra in the snow
Walking down to the river bank in the snow
The wider bases to these bridge piers are the original Roman ones, in the snow
Here's Nancy having a wonderful time in the snow - I know how to show a girl a good time!
In desperation we went into a large shopping arcade for a hot chocolate and a warm-up out of the snow
By early afternoon it had warmed up tremendously to 1 degree and started to sleet for our poke round the xmas market - in the sleet which made for lousy picture taking, but I suppose the snow on the roofs added to the atmosphere
Tuesday morning we woke up to snow, and decided to visit the Romanisches Museum which was superb, and not in the snow. Photos not allowed so I cant show you the breathtaking reconstructed mosaic floors and other exhibits. Suffice to say we stayed in there in the warm for several hours, not in the snow
When we came out it had stopped snowing, and we found ourselves beside this edifice - supposedly some sort of Schule - it was more like a prison!
We turned away and went looking for hot chocolate and a bun down this inviting-looking Strasse, note the traffic sign on the right
To my amusement it directs you to the Meercats (I think) Presumably they would have been hibernating, in the snow
Next up we looked in at the Cathedral which was superb, the lighting was very much understated, and it was warm(ish) and out of the snow
Outside again, not in the snow 'cos it had stopped, was this modern equivalent of an old decorated building - according to the plaque above the lower left doorway it replaced a much older decorated house (I think)
The second half of the market was outside the Cathedral, so here it is, not snowing, not ever so busy either, and therefore good for a bit of concentrated shopping, and a couple mugs of Gluwein, yum yum (or perhaps more accurately, glug glug)
On Wednesday we set off home, a bit anxious about driving conditions. Although the autobahns were clear, there was plenty snow alongside until we got back up to Namur, where there wasn't any
When we got up this side of Lille it warmed up to 3 whole degrees and poured down with rain, only clearing just before dark during the ferry crossing. This rain had fallen as snow here, so on arrival in Dover we were able to drive home in the snow
The short break was good, would have been better with kinder weather, and the market didn't quite live up to the promotion on t'internet. The museum and the bar/restaurant where we dined each evening made it all worthwhile, though
On the subjest of snow, last weekend it became dry enough for the contractors to get on the ground at Winklands to combine the last of the Maize to produce corns to feed the cattle rather than sileageing the whole crop - so here's a surreal sight, a combine harvester working in mid-December in the snow
Woke up this morning ( Monday) needing it to be a fine day, doubts arose when this lot came by soon after dawn (the cloud not the gull which was circling waiting for a neighbour to put food out
However it turned into a superb day for me and a good friend and former colleague to spend a few hours walking from Sutton to Eastry and back, gossiping away like old men. Through Northbourne Park on the way back, miles from anywhere, we came across this superb visual joke, well worth a couple of photos
