Merrymaking in Meltham

I've just returned from a very nice Christmas in Meltham if I may say so myself. The extreme flooding my house suffered almost a week ago has left no damage or mouldy stink, to my surprise, so Christmas wasn't ruined after all. Also, I'm amazed how much wine I consumed, and how little it affected me, during these last few days; perhaps I'm not as underprepared for New Year's Eve in Belfast as I originally thought.

But, New Year's Eve is still yet to come.

The village was treated with a modest snowfall (much of which I shovelled off the roads so Sarah and Tim and the dogs could get through when they arrived), which made for some very pleasing photography and some light trudging through Meltham's countryside.

Countdown to Crimbo

Yesterday was the first snowfall of winter here in Leeds, and it really set off the Christmas vibe for the next three weeks. I'm finished school until January 4th, with a full time teaching position at Airedale High School & Arts College. Set in the olde English mining town of Castleford, Airedale High boasts a pleasing backdrop of rolling Yorkshire hills, quaint brick houses and cobblestoned roads, and a gigantic power station that spews billowing clouds of steam across the modest landscape.

I've got plenty to do this break. Tomorrow is my friends' sixth annual Christmas party in Vancouver (I will be attending via webcam like I did in South Korea, although unfortunately this year I'll have to start drinking at 8am), and I've got Christmas in Meltham and New Year's Eve in Belfast to look forward to.

Additional: Angie from Calgary was lovely enough to send me a hand-knitted festive scarf and Vancouver 2010 mittens! Look at me in all my Christmas splendour. It's the clothing equivalent of mince pies.

You may have noticed I'm holding a giant icicle in my hands. The untouched natural beauty of it is pictured below, before I snapped it off that drainpipe.