MERRY CHRISTMAS!

and it is also a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

to Diana's mum, 

a couple of photographs of her,

and a video of the day,

I will keep this post very short as everyone has so many other things to do, for myself Diana was at work, so I played with a couple of photographs, one of two orchids,

the other a waterlily being visited by a bee, in the evening Diana arrived home, no more work for 2 days! we watched,

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the first time we watched it we were both amazed at the colors and special effects and especially the performance of Deep Roy who play the Oomph Loompas, and who at 68 years old is still going strong, after which Diana was off to bed, it had been a busy day for her, I decided on a blast from the past, 

 The Day the Earth Caught Fire, panic has engulfed the world after the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously detonate nuclear devices and have caused the orbit of the Earth to alter, sending it hurtling towards the sun, made in 1961 it is a black and white movie, all the more frightening for it, especially with hardly any special effects, so it has to make the actors all the more believable, as an aside at the end of the movie an unaccredited Michael Caine makes an appearance as a police man, then I too was off to bed.

When I Woke This Morning,

I knew I was going to pay for all of the walking yesterday, 

my back was giving me sharp twinges, by the time I had finished brushing my teeth, my let leg was so painful, even when I stood on my right leg!, after returning from dropping Diana off at 04.00AM I knew there was no point in going back to bed, so I read the newspapers and started watching some television before posting the blog, I felt awful, I just hate it when things like this happen with no end in sight, well I guess we all do, the day drifted past, I played with a couple of photographs from our last trip to Thailand,

a waterlily, 

and a orchid, in the late afternoon Diana retuned home from work, so feet up for a Poirot, two as it happens, one channel is showing the Christmas episodes on the lead up to Christmas eve, then a film for the evening, a old favorite of mine, 

 the The Rocky Horror Picture Show, originally it was a campy stage play first shown in the UK in 1973, two years later and the film was shot in the United Kingdom at Bray Studios and on location at an old country estate named Oakley Court, best known for its earlier use by Hammer Film Productions, to say the movie has a cult following is an understatement, the film has achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the longest running film in continuous release in history, in other words, there’s never been a moment when The Rocky Horror Show hasn’t been playing in a cinema somewhere in the world in the last 40 years, the The Time Warp being the lead musical number, and here it is,

 after the film Diana said she really enjoyed watching and joining me in some of the songs, the die was cast! a quick look at where the show was performing, and there it was in Bromley, I could not belive how many seats had already been sold, and it was not showing until February! we bought two as near to the center and front of the stage as we could, all I have to do now is hire my Riff-Raff costume and hire a Columbine one for Diana! I was thinking of going as Rocky Horror, but I was lacking in certain features, after which Diana was off to bed, for myself a Have I Got A Bit More News For You before I too was off to bed.

My Left Leg And Back Were Still Very Sore,

the pain was so bad I had to stop and sit at the bus stop on the way to the station,

but it was worth it, as Diana had bought me a Christmas champagne afternoon tea at the Ritz,

we made our way inside,

we were given a choice of teas, after which sandwiches and cakes arrived, 

and of course some champagne, 

we both started with the smoked salmon,

we both enjoyed the sandwiches so much we ordered another tray of them, it was the small things that make all the difference, the tea service, cutlery and presentation,

as we continued on the cakes the scones arrived, 

it was all as I imagined,

 

 Diana poured her tea, 

the dining room was ornately decorated,

'Cheers!', from both of us, 

the cakes were just so nice, 

all hand made on the premises, the chef called round to various tables if you asked to meet him,

another 'Cheers!',

ching-ching!

then 2 things happened,

we started on the cream scones, 

fresh cream and strawberry jam, for myself the only way to eat them open topped!

and as we were eating them a selection of other cakes appeared on a trolly, 

expertly sliced,

black forest gateau, we were full to bursting, after saying hello and goodbye to Lord Farquaad and Lady Penelope of Duloc, it is amazing who you can bump into in the Ritz, we made our way through the hotel,

firstly leaving the dining room,

stopping every now and then, 

to admire the surroundings,

and take a photograph or two,

we did have a plan to go shopping in the big stores in the area, alas it was not to be, my right leg became more painful with every step, I staggered into the nearest bus shelter and took advantage of the seats there, Diana hailed black cab and we went back to the station, 

on the bright side, a small video that Diana made of our afternoon tea, the sad news was that I took an age to walk home from the station, stopping all of the time to try to get over the pain, arriving home it was feet up in no uncertain terms! we spent the evening watching a selection of Lewis and Poirot, after which Diana was off to bed, tomorrow a 04.00AM start, I watched a Have I Got A Bit More News For You, all of the time wondering if I would ever be free of this Sciatica, and with that thought, I too was off to bed.

I Have Finally Caught Up With Our Holiday Posts,

so back to normal, 

the crows, magpies and one of the foxes sharing the peanuts this morning, 

Diana was at work even though it was a Sunday, the pre Christmas rush, for myself the latest edition of Private Eye, 

so a sherry and a read it was, 

one of the many things I like about the Eye is Number crunching, like the one above, 

'Cheers!', as I tuck into a shepards pie, a few words about what has been happening in the background, over the past year I have been selling the shop, the paperwork demanded by Bromley council for next years Pet Trade Licence just became overwhelming, I could no longer cope with it, so for the past year I have been in discussions with a project manager, architects, and all of the relevant companies to check for the gas, electricity, water suppliers for the buyer plus the usual certificates, EIRC, EPB and of course asbestos, so easy to write, so time consuming to comply! anyway all nearly done now, and now the physical side, we filled 3 of the biggest pavement skips we could hire and one slightly small with all of the contents of the shop, in doing so I twisted my back and have been in pain ever since, I had a trapped nerve, the complaint is called sciatica, if you have never had it, the pain is so bad that for a number of nights I could not go for more than 20 or 30 minutes sleeping before the pain woke me up again, the good news is that the doctor prescribed me some very strong medication, Neurontin which is Gabapentin as well as Naproxen and Omeprazole, 2 pain killers and something for the side effects of one of them, the pain is now starting to subside, I can sleep for 3 or 4 hours without the pain waking me up, hopefully I am on the mend, note to self, do not over do lifting heavy aquariums! 

I should have said I also played with one of the photographs I took whilst we were at the floating market, as Diana worked on Sunday she has Monday off, and a bit of a special day for us, way back in April for one of my birthday present Diana bought me a afternoon Christmas tea at the Ritz, and when I finished typing this we will be getting ready to go to London, back to Sunday, I watched a Columbo or two in the afternoon, in the evening after a snack a film, 

 Infinite, well it certainly is all action, but as it is new out I will not comment on the story, just to say the special effects are so well done, after that as a Lewis started Diana arrived home from work so feet up as we watched that before we were off to bed.

Our Last Night In Bangkok,

we spent the day near our hotel, 

the Landmark Hotel, but as it was our last night Diana had arranged a special treat, a all you could eat International buffet at the JW Marriott, 

Diana started with a cocktail, 

I went straight in with the bubbly, 

well it was our last night,

on to the seafood, 

just a few,

of the foods to tempt us plus of course a full selection of beef, pork, turkey and ham, with dishes from all over the world, 

Diana having a look,

the agony of choice!

and the same for myself, 

'Cheers!',

and from Diana, 

I looked at the selection of wines as we continued back and forth to the buffet, diet starts next week, I promise!

we were stuffed, but as it was still before midnight we went to the hotels street side bar, 

and had a huge larger, 

a pose for Diana, 

and a drink for myself, and then who should walk past? none other than Vic and Bob who joined us in a farewell beer before we were off to bed.