Amateur Ramblings

Ox Fam

Ox is for Oxford, Fam is for family. Ox Fam. Geddit?

Anyway, so we went recently to Oxford to surprise Gemma's cousin Laura who recently turned 18. Gemma's mum and sister also went, travelling down after us and almost managing to arrive after midnight.

We stopped, as usual, at her parents spacious home, and with the sun out we were able to enjoy the garden.

We got to stay an extra day, and on the Bank Holiday Monday we went for a walk, via South Park...

...to Magdalen College, where Bernard currently works. We got to walk through the private grounds, before having a look round some of the buildings, including his room, and the chapel.

By the way, the surprise was well executed, with me and Olive detaining Laura in a children's park on Cowley Road just long enough for her family and friends to muster themselves in the kitchen.

Deutsch Heute

For five weeks, from mid-November until just before Christmas, the Christkindlmarkt comes to Leeds. The convoy of German and Polish lorries end their long westward journey in Millennium Square, and in no time at all a fully functioning Christmas market, including fairground, food stalls, and cavernous beer tent has been erected and is ready for business.

Me and my friends at work have made it a recent tradition to finish work mid-afternoon on the first or second Friday and spend the evening there, enjoying the German food, drink and music.

Way back when...

Way back at the beginning of November, we went with Andrew and Michelle to Thornes Park bonfire and fireworks display.

The fire was small compared to other times we have been, but the fireworks we pretty good. Olive wasn't too keen on the volume of the bangs.

After the rockets ceased we walked across the park to see the funfair (pictures below), and the children and wenches tested a couple of the rides. Then, becoming chilly, we sniffed out a food stand and ate chips and hot-dogs and drank fizzy pops.

Cakes and fine foods

My mum and dad visited a few days before Christmas. We went with them, plus Gemma's mum, sister and new boyfriend for a lovely meal at The Olive Tree in Chapel Allerton. The food was uniformly excellent, as was Olive's mood (she was up well past her usual bedtime).

The next day my parents looked after Olive while we were at work. They took her to Tropical World, which she absolutely loves. She came away from the gift shop with a meerkat, a new toy that she has loved for almost two weeks before losing.

My mum left us a suitably themed Christmas cake, which as a bonus was nice and tasty and was enjoyed by all three of us (even me, and I'm not a massive cake person).

Third and Bird

In October, we ordered a three-bird roast from Wilsons of Crossgates.

Gemma's mum picked it up on the Thursday before Christmas. It looked well ace.

The solid meat required defrosting for two days (the were prepared in advance), and cooking for 3 1/2 hours.

I'm sorry to report that we were disappointed. We could actually only detect two birds, mostly the chicken with a duck minority, and the meat was rather dry. The centre was packed with a gamey stuffing, which presumably was the pheasant. Expectations of a juicy tricolour were not to be.

Wilsons is normally very good, and we'll definitely give them another try, but on this occasion we felt pretty let down.

Holiday Album - The Cast

Holiday Album - Home from Home

And what of Port de Pollença, our base for the duration of our stay.

It was a lovely little spot on a south-facing coast on the north of the island. The waters were warm and still, the restaurants plentiful, and the views we stunning. 

I think the best thing to do now is to let this bumper picture post do the talking...

 





















 

Holiday Album - A Quantum of Sóller

Oranges and Lemons.

Without these two fruits, Sóller would likely be an out-of-the way hidden-in-the-hills village on the northern coast of the island. But its climate and location are ideal for growing citrus fruit. So rich did the town become that 100 years ago it was able to finance and build a railway across the mountains of the Sierra de Taruntana to Palma, to get its crops to market.

The railway is for tourists today, but we decided a 45 minute drive to Palma, then a 90 minute trundle in a hot railway carriage, might not be fun for Olive. Instead, we drove the narrow hairpins of the mountain road from Pollença. It took a litle more concentration in a wide hire car.

The town was lovely. Our ears freshly popped, we immediately paused for a drink in the busy main square, where there were scores of school children filing into the church to attend a service. Next door was a branch of Santander, which Gemma said looked like it was a product of Gaudi. In fact, subsequent research tells me that it was designed by his pupil, Joan Rubió i Bellver.

We caught the tram the few kilometers down to Port de Sóller. This place was a little too touristy for my liking. We chose a restaurant on the front, which turned out to be staffed by the slowest, rudest, inattendantest waiters. We had a potter in the shops but they predominantly sold tat, so we headed back to Sóller where we went to an ice cream shop that my mum and dad highly recommended. It was as good as its toilets were bad.

 

Holiday Album - Compare the Market

Sunday is market day in the medieval town of Pollença. So we went.

The town is just how I imagine a small, provincial market town should look. The buildings (at least in the centre of town) mainly date from the 17th and 18th centuries, and crowd together to make narrow streets. There were a generous amount of open squares, but these too were crowded today, with market stalls selling their massive southern-European vegetables and coffee shops spilling tables and chairs in the margins. The town is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de Tramuntana.

The side streets also had a lining of stalls, and the small shops, all of them seemingly independent, were open for business. We stocked up on fruit and veg, and Gemma haggled herself a bargain on a leather bag. Olive treated herself to a Barney Rubble drum.

Holiday Album - Who Loves The Sun?

The weather on the first day of our holiday was more North British than Mediterranean. It had rained overnight, and despite a promising start, by the time we had completed a trip to the supermarket a light but persistent rain setting in.

By lunchtime the heaviest of clouds were charging in from the South, and within a few minutes of their appearance the surrounding mountains had vanished and a lengthy thunder storm was upon us. It lasted over an hour, and although it eventually left it bequeathed us an afternoon of rain.

Still, we were on our holidays and felt that we should get out of the apartment. So we drove the short distance to the coastal village of Cala Sant Vicenç. I'm sure it's lovely, but today, in the rain and distinctly chilly air, we only stayed for a coffee before heading home.