Still Here . . .

Yes, we're still here in snowy Aberdeen and it's freezing. 

We were looking forward to getting home to the (slightly) warmer weather and preparing for Christmas.  In fact, we had actually set off on our journey back to Hull to catch the ferry, but luckily had only got as far as Edinburgh.  That evening we received a phone call to say Eric's Mum had fallen in her flat and she was being taken to hospital.

The next morning we drove back up to Aberdeen in ridiculous conditions (at one point we couldn't see the road and nearly had to abandon the car) but managed to arrive eventually.  It turns out she has had a stroke which has affected her left hand side, not badly, but she doesn't have full use of her arm and leg.  The doctor is fairly confident they can regain some, if not all, of that by therapy, so we're just keeping our fingers crossed.

Obviously we had to cancel the ferry back to France, but hope we can get back by new year if all is well.  Once she leaves the main hospital to go for convalescence and ongoing therapy, we may be able to think about it.

In the meantime, hope everyone has a good Christmas and New Year.

Frozen North

Well, here we are in the frozen north-east of Scotland for our annual visit, and the weather's certainly excelled itself this time.  No photos I'm afraid, because the computer we brought with us doesn't have the software to transfer them from the camera.

We stayed the first 4 nights in Cumbria visiting family and friends and, although it was pretty white there too, the roads were fairly clear.  We then drove north to Edinburgh to stay with Eric's son Nic and his girlfriend Vika for a night, but got stuck there for an extra night - the snow was absolutely atrocious.  It snowed and snowed and snowed on the day we were supposed to leave, and the Forth Road Bridge was closed for some time too.  We watched the webcam of the bridge for a while and all we saw were stationary cars, and then people walking off the bridge abandoning them.

Finally, on the 10th day of our visit to the UK (we're staying with Eric's Mum in sunny Fettercairn, about 30 miles south of Aberdeen), the snow is starting to melt, so tomorrow we hit the shops!!