Xmas excess and a beautiful beach

Once again any attempts to avoid the festive excesses have failed spectacularly. I am playing squash tomorrow night and expect to struggle to complete the game, though competitive spirit may see me through. The path back to relative fitness seems a long one.


Christmas Day included a trip to the beautiful Lannacombe beach (above), a childhood favourite. Set at the end of its own valley and with rugged crags rising on either side, it's probably the most beautiful beach in South Devon. I was trying to think of better beaches that I have been to, and it struck me that I have been to relatively few beaches, and the only one which comes close to Lannacombe is Whitehaven in the Whitsunday Islands off Queensland, Australia. I am told that there are some good ones on the Northumberland coast, where I have never been but intend to visit in 2009.

Hitting the Xmas party jackpot

I have decided that it is time to inflict some of my thoughts, musings and inanities on an unsuspecting world. The idea of doing this seems a little self indulgent to me, so I am planning to use this as a sort of personal diary/aide memoir, and if anyone reads it and thinks it is any good, fantastic.

This weekend has been a time of relative relaxation following a somewhat hectic Christmas party schedule during the week. Last year my job change meant that I did not get to go to any parties; this year I have had four. These have included a couple of fine meals, notably Bibis in Leeds and the Abbey Inn in Bramley/Horsforth, a splendid pub which I had not been to before. There was also some pretty impressive ceilidh dancing at the BTCV party. My previous attitude to ceilidh was scepticism, but I am now a devout convert and am looking forward to more formation dance in 2009.

This is possibly my only post before Christmas, so can I wish all my readers (no doubt lapping this up in their thousands) a happy and peaceful Christmas.