And they're off

On your marks, get set, goooooooo........

Here we are at Heathrow Airport and our adventure is about to start. We are flying overnight to Dubai and should get there about 8am tomorrow morning.
My luggage weighs 10kg and it has to last for 16 weeks. Also, the whole outfit that I am travelling is going in the bin once we reach our destination.
I have just got to try and avoid the temptation to buy loads of new stuff on our travels.

Magnificent meal at Marcus Warings

Just blown almost a months food budget in one meal today - but fortunately we don't start budgeting until January so it didn't count!
Put on our best remaining togs and met up with Susan and Paul for a blowout lunch at the Marcus Waring restaurant in the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge.
It was very fancy and we had three courses with little extras thrown in.
We started with a tiny fried fish ball, then what looked like a boiled egg but was actually pumpkin soup with parmesan foam and crispy bits on top, followed by truffle and mushroom risotto, then halibut with polenta, then a surprise plum and gin souffle (see photo), then mascarpone, masala and coffee pudding.
Finally little chocolates arrived to try and take our minds off the bill, which was less than we expected.
Excellent!!!

Warhorse - the play

Just arrived at the Drury Theatre to see Warhorse.
The theatre is packed, the reviews are fantastic, we have tissues for the finale, so we are all set for curtain up
Parked in the carpark and it costs £24 for four hours!
Thank you to Margaret and Roy for such a lovely Christmas present and for the scenic drive here with running commentary.

Uncle Darren and his nieces

Family Boxing Day afternoon and Darren is having a lovely time entertaining the Darvill nieces.

New bike for Christmas

We left our flat yesterday and caught the train to Nic and Ben's in Ipswich.
As is traditional, someone got a new bike for Christmas.
Surprisingly it wasn't Darren, but Jemima found a Peppa Pig bike under the Christmas tree!
I think he's really jealous.

Serif Christmas party

After 25 years and leaving work yesterday, Daz won the lifetime achievement award at Serif.
I was on hand to capture the moment but pressed the button a millisecond too late. (That's him just walking off the stage)
We also spent half of the afternoon making the table decorations. They appeared to defy gravity and three helium balloons were attached with ribbon to a poster which was attached with invisible cotton to a branch covered with pretend snow that was standing in a three foot high vase.
Unfortunately between the two of us, somehow one of the posters and balloons broke away from the branch and spent the rest of the event on the ceiling.
A fantastic night that got quite emotional as Darren said goodbye to all of his workmates.