Snow, really

I might not have blogged it, but life in the desert seems to have been getting a bit samey. Not that we haven't had some interesting times since early this year - some overdue posts are in the pipe. Oh; you hadn't noticed the lack of. Tell me you had...

But first, time to escape the balmy Gulf winter (17deg at night, just right for comfortable barbies up on the roof; 25 daytime, ideal for even me to put in some time on the mountain bike I have finally bought) and head for the honest refreshing chill of a UK Christmas. No kidding, it all looked like this,

so here we are (2 days so far), waiting out the near-total closure of Britain. Where better than the Crowne Plaza in historic Wiesbaden (Frankfurt 32km), courtesy of Gulf Air, a snowball's throw from the Christmas Festival in the Marktplatz.

Ornate carousels, many more exquisite seasonal nicknack stalls than you've ever shaken a stick at,

which we may have to go back and raid,

and state-of-art gluhwein.

So, before this laptop runs out of power, and in case we don't make it to Wales in time, here's a Jolly Merry Xmas from her

and from me.

Much more to come, in the new year or, inshallah, even sooner.

Hope you all have good one wherever you are.