Home again

It's good to be back. You can read all about our trip, especially our feelings about Les Miserables in the Fox's blog.

Apart from the show, we had a quick pop into in the National Portrait Gallery & the National Gallery on different days, & a pleasant stroll along the Embankment to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Horseguards Parade, St. James Park, Clarence House & St James Palace. We saw Fortnum & Mason's but didn't venture in. The weather was variable, though on the whole the showers were light. The assistance for the train journey & at the theatre was impeccable.

I haven't come back feeling really wowed by anything in the way I did when we went to Liverpool earlier in the year, but I have come back feeling relaxed & refreshed which is maybe more important. On the whole London doesn't seem much changed, or at least not that part of it. Yes, the London Eye is new, the shop & eateries revamped, but the most notable changes were the sheer increase in volume of crowds & traffic, & the generally cleaner air.

Above all I've come home, once more excited by being home. As the taxi brought us back from Lancaster I couldn't help noticing the appearance of blossom on some trees. Here, at home, looking at the garden, I'm aware of the buds of the blossom on the pear tree just starting to open, a green haze on some of the deciduous trees as new leaf appears. Up the far end I can just catch sight of the flowering currant starting to come into flower. The crocuses & snowdrops have gone, being replaced with daffs & emerging tulips. It's been too wet to venture for a full explore of the garden yet, but spring has definitely burgeoned in our absence.

Today I'm really looking forward to eating at home. After all the eating out we've been doing - French in the hotel on Friday, Italian on Saturday, fish & chips at our local village pub on Sunday & finally our last-Monday-of-the-month meal at the Canal Turn in Carnforth last night - the idea of home cooking appeals immensely.

It is with a very willing heart I peeled the potatoes & sprouts this morning. The Fox is going to do the actual cooking. We're having what was for many years our Christmas Day special meal, Quick Turkey Gratin with Mustard & Cheese Cream. It should be a real treat to celebrate being home once again.

It's good to be back!