Aquatic Camels and an Erratic Iguana!

 Chloe stayed until 26th. The weather was pretty good, and she got in some serious sunbathing on the roof; but she was working very hard on Uni assessments and had little interest in trips out. For evening relaxation Ruth taught her to knit, and she started on a muti-coloured scarf for the man of the moment.

To spare our sanity we did not go on a goose hunt, but instead cooked for our Christmas Eve meal one of the Brighton pheasants and a veggie nut Wellington. Then on Christmas Day - when the sun shone beautifully we were at Blue Rock in the afternoon and La Tasca in the evening. Exquisite beef once again and - we suspect- an oversized piece! Afterwards we went in search of live music, but found nothing of quality, so it was up to Rosie O'Grady's where Dave n Pete were in action. This turned out to be "the place to be" as it filled up, and the Blue Rock crowd hoved in after closing their own bar. We returned home in a bad way, with the prospect of the airport next day!

We got a lift down with Chris the Fish and Cakes Eileen, and during the wait there was re-packing, and a rush job on the knitted scarf so the lethal needles could go in the hold luggage.

The new terminal must be one of Europe's transport follies. It was extended at enormous cost and opened last year, but is absurdly large! As the most significant carrier is Ryanair (Grrr!!) with its online check-in and low staffing policy there is no call for all the new desks, and people rattle around like peas. And with the crisis the catering outlets are mostly empty, but always somehow under-staffed. It is, however, currently festive! There is a large aquarium along one wall, and for Christmas we have models of the Three Kings etc neatly placed within them for the fish to negtiate. Bizarre!

And on the subject of unsettling animals:-

On the afternoon of New Year's Eve we came back from a Bratwurst at Curry Peter's (aus Berlin) to find neighbour Pete outside his door in conversation with Argentine Javier from a few doors down. "Have you got an iguana?" he asked us. There then followed a very silly conversation centring on the edibility of, Council responsibilty for, and athletic capabilities of - iguanas! He had found one on his roof terrace and was looking for the owner. It turned out to be a member of the dysfunctional family in the diagonally opposite corner of the complex, so the creature had  walked along the parapet some 80 metres.