GrandchildrenAbove: Scampi the snake kisses Isaac, with Lubin looking on.

Above and below: Rosie

More pictures from WalesAbove: Criccieth Castle

Below: Bettwsycoed, at a confluence of two rivers

Above: Pen-y-Chain, near where we were staying, with the Snowdon mountain range in the distant background

WALESA highlight of our visit to Wales was a trip on the very first public train to Beddgelert on the rebuilt Welsh Highland Railway for 70 years
Above: crowds at Beddgelert Station.

Below: The train approaches 'Snowdon Ranger' station on the way back to Caernarfon.

Above: Pullman coach hauled by one of the WHR's Beyer-Garratt locomotives which has driving wheels and tenders at both ends. (This helps it to negotiate sharp corners). Below: Llyn Clywedog dam in central Wales.

Stowe and Burghley

You can fill your screen with any picture by clicking on it. Above: the Temple of Ancient Virtues in Stowe Landscape Garden. Below: The Palladian Bridge, one of only three in existence. The other two are at Prior Park (Bath) and Wilton.
Below: Burghley House, near Stamford - one of the finest stately homes in Britain, and used as the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. Click on the picture to see the house in all its glory.

Eastleach Martin and Eastleach TurvilleThese tiny communities with their parish churches only a few hundred yards apart are in the Cotswolds, and are particularly beautiful in the Spring during the daffodil season. Above: Eastleach Martin Church; below: Wendy standing on Keble's Bridge which links Eastleach Turville to Eastleach Martin.

LYME REGISWe paid a short visit to our friends Mike and Kate Whittome and their family at Uplyme recently. That's them in the picture above, with Florence and Tabitha. The picture below is of Lyme Regis, and the third picture is of an old watermill in the Lim Valley. Click on any picture to enlarge it.

TRAPPED!

For two or three weeks we shall not be able to use our drive, as Wessex Water workmen are digging a large hole and building a new manhole for the main sewer which runs across the road here. Since the sewer has been there for at least 40 years we do not know why a manhole is suddenly needed.

Some Snow PicturesPingu and Cedric (courtesy of Leila)
Two pictures taken near Neston

Littlecote

We had a short break at Littlecote House, near Hungerford, in February

Honest, I didn't keep Wendy in this contraption for the whole holiday!

Wendy's mother and sisters

Above: Jenny, mum (Joan), Wendy, Joy, Jean, Joanne. Below: Wendy with Jenny's dog, Libby. There are more photos of Wendy's mother and sisters on my flickr acount: click on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/ and find the pictures uploaded on 2 February 2009.

Uplyme weekend, January 2009

We had a weekend at the Whittomes' cottage at Uplyme in January. More pictures of this are on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/

Isle of Wight

We had a short break on the Isle of Wight after Christmas. The weather was sunny but bitterly cold. Wendy is trying to keep warm here, outside the Bembridge Coast Hotel.

Godshill Church. They say that Godshill is the most visited village in Britain. Hmm - with Lacock and Castle Combe close to where we live, I'm not so sure. Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the church (which must have been reproduced on many biscuit-tin lids and chocolate-fudge packets). This was difficult. First a teenage girl and a dog stopped for ages whilst she used her mobile. So I took the picture, visited the church and came back to try again, by which time a large red car had been parked on the drive by the railings. I took another picture, and by the miracle of cloning and airbrushing I manged to construct a picture without the girl, the dog, the mobile or the car!

Christmas with our grand-children


More Christmas pictures were uploaded to flickr on 30 Dec 2008 at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/

Christmas Morning at churchMore pictures of this event at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/

(see pictures uploaded on 26 December 2008)

Nepal First Christmas

News from The Bible Society: For the first time Christmas 2008 will be a public holiday in Nepal. And the churches there are seizing the moment.
The Church has grown from around 30,000 people 15 years ago to 700,000 believers today. This means over 95 per cent of Christians in Nepal are recent converts – and the Bible is essential to them.
Fifteen years ago, Christians in Nepal risked imprisonment. Today the Church in Nepal has official freedom, and the government has even given official recognition to the Nepal Bible Society.
The Nepalese government has announced that this year Christmas Day will be celebrated as a national holiday for the first time.

We shared in celebrating this event, at Priory Street Baptist Church, on 21 December. For more pictures, click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/sets/72157611527693468/

and then click on 'slideshow'

Pumpkins

Our friend Rachel Hall said how much she liked this picture of pumpkins, so I thought I would put it on the blog again for my readers' delectation. It was taken at Tyntesfield in the kitchen garden in 2006. I didn't arrange the layout, I merely photographed it!

Corsham Carols 2008

The annual outdoor Carol Service in Corsham attracts large crowds. It starts in the High Street; and the congregation, accompanied by a brass band, progresses to the Square outside St Bart's Church.

Santa's little helper

Santa's little helper (on left) distributed presents to the Corsham Disabled Club on 15th December.

Rosie

Our youngest grandchild Rosie Prior was dedicated at St Paul' Church, Stonehouse, Plymouth, on 14th December 2008. More photos of this are on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/ dated 15 December 2008

Christmas Lunch

Here are the cooks, about to serve up the Christmas lunch for the TLC lunch (Tuesday Lunch Club) for our seniors at church. More pictures of this are on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/80674038@N00/ uploaded on December 11 2008