My Christmas was really good fun.

Christmas Eve I knocked off at 1.00pm.
and went straight home, grabbed Lesley (my Kiwi friend) and we went to Tescos to buy grog - a carton of beer, a litre bottle of Baileys and some vodka cruisers for about £30.00 - NICE!!

Anyway, I had paid my £15 for lunch and was keen to help get it organised so on Christmas Eve I chopped up bacon and cheese and we started getting things ready.
There were people cooking big pots of chilli and fried rice and making potato salad and pasta salad and the hams were in the oven.
We did all we could and left the green salads and stuff like that for the next day.

Then we all headed to The Prince of Tek we where we proceeded to get ourselves fairly sloshed!

I woke up on Christmas Day without a trace of a hangover (very nice and unexpected!)
and had a shower and got ready and then opened my presents from the folks.
Got a tin of Milo (yum - hot milo, cold milo, milo on ice-cream and milo sandwiches!), some Keen's Curry Powder (much wanted as I can't find anything remotely like it here and I need some tuna mornay!) and a great scarf that mum knitted that matched what I was wearing that day.

I then attemped to ring home without much luck to say thanks etc and had to try it about 8 times before I got through.
Had a nice chat to mum - yes, I like the scarf - and then went downstairs for some breakfast.

No-one else had surfaced from the night before yet so I waited in the TV room for Lesley to come down so we could go for the walk we planned to Hyde Park.
We grabbed some hot chips with garlic mayo (that stuff rocks) from the curry shop on the corner and headed off.
It was lovely down there and everyone was really cheery and saying Merry Christmas.
We probably walked for about three hours all up going there and back but it was a nice morning.

We got back and started to get organised - putting tables up and food out and making salads and taking photos and having a few drinks.
It was really fun and everyone was in a great mood and I got heaps of photos.
Then we started eating....there was sooo much food that it was just unbelieveable.
We were also able to get 10 bottles of wine and a carton of beer with the kitty so we were very well looked after.

I looked after cleaning the kitchen and made everyone who hadn't helped cook clean and I did a good job too!
The kitchen was spotless and every one did their bit without too much trouble - I guess we were all pretty grateful about the amazing spread put on primarily by Michelle, Karen, Glen and Adam - I will point them out in photos...there are heaps.

We then got comfy in the dining room and sat around having a few drinks.

Kim and Glen who used to live at the hostel came by and told us all to come to a party that they were going to so about 25 of us headed off down the road and round the corner and over a bridge and around a few more corners to the house where the party was.
That was pretty good fun too!

I left to go home at about 11.00pm with Gordo (Aussie) and Roy (mad mad Irishman!) and got home just in time for the cricket - the Boxing Day Test Match stated at midnight our time.

Dad gave me a call because I missed talking to him that morning and he was getting ready for the cricket too.

I watched the first session and then Lennon (the hostel nightwatchman) wanted to watch a movie and I figued as he was not Australian and hadn't complained through the whole time that I would go to bed.
I was pretty stuffed anyway.

Didn't do much Boxing Day either.
Sat up and watched the cricket again on Friday night and got to sleep at about 6.00am on Saturday morning - went to bed after Matty Hayden got his ton!

Slept til about midday and then sat around because it was pretty cold and miserable.
I went out with some girls at work to a pub and then went into Picadilly Circus to a club there.
I left about 1.30am and caught a night bus home (yes, a red double decker!).
Then I stayed up and watched the cricket again on Saturday night with Nathan (Australian guy) and we went to bed at about 9.00am on Sunday morning.

I got up at two and basically just sat around again cause I was so stuffed.
Went to bed about 8.30pm but didn't get to sleep until late and slept through my alarm.

Woke up at 8.00am which is when I am supposed to be on the train!
Rang work and said I would be late and got in 30 mintues late...my boss is really cool and doesn't mind and I just take a short lunch hour and it is all sorted - I finish tomorrow anyway.

It snowed yesterday.
I was so excited and so was everyone else at the office.
When I got home last night everyone was talking about it too.

Last night I was going to stay home but decided to go out with Karen (Aussie girl frojm hostel) and Jason (Aussie guy who used to live in hostel who I met through Karen) for pizza.
There is a great pub in Fullham that does 2-4-1 pizza on Monday nights.
So we got two large ones and scoffed the lot.
One was a chicken fajita with sour cream and guacamole and one was crispy duck with hoisin sauce - both were really really yummy.

We caught the Tube home and got icecream on the way and sat downstairs and talked to Ben who just got back from Christmas in Germany (a white Christmas - how nice!) and Ella and Nathan were down there too so it was a good chat so I didn't get to bed until after 1.00am.

I am still really tired and it all starts again tomorrow with New Years Eve!

Decided not to go to Chemical Bros as being inside for one venue isn't exactly what I want, so a group of us are probably going to have a few drinks at home and then head into London.

The Tubes are running free all night.

There is fireworks on the River and stuff happening at Trafalgar Square and if we just then head into Picadilly Circus-Leicester Square-Covent Garden we will be sure to find something to do.

Anyway...that is it...best get back to work now...oh hang on...its lunch time....mmmm....food!

Talk later ... bye.
Tanya.