The final countdown...

Exciting times are on the cards today.  

Miss R and I are taking the husband away for a mini break later on, and there is an element of surprise attached, so I can't divulge too much information.

All I can say is that for the third year running, the three of us will be dumped somewhere cold and snowy, and will remain in a mild state of intoxication for all the time we're there.  I like to blame the thin air, but when the day is dark for all but two hours each day (Norway 2015) there's not much left to do once you've exhausted the funny hat shop, taken selfies and marvelled at the way they can keep everything open even though there's a whole 2" of snow on the ground.

The Norway holiday was a particular favourite, as we booked various excursions, which included a night time husky and sled ride, whale watching, and searching for the Northern Lights.  

The sled ride was a night which I will never forget.  The husband offered to do the hard work, pushing the sled along from behind, while I tucked myself in the sled with blankets.  I think he expected to swap places with me half way round.  Silly man...  Mind you, I don't know what they feed those huskies, but on the steeper parts of the track I found that they liked to provide their passenger with their own particular type of central heating. The husband, who was standing up and therefore avoiding the emissions which were being shot out around 10" from my face found this highly amusing.  

Miss R was paired with a chap of German persuasion, and being the kind soul that she is, she offered to drive first.  All was going well until she managed to guide the sledge up a tree.  Sitting in the sled, gazing into the night sky, the German passenger offered to take over once they'd been rescued.  Full marks to Miss R for planning this and achieving rapid passenger status.

At the end of the husky ride, we all piled into a large tent and ate a delicious bowl of Fish Stew.  It was accompanied with something which to this day I still can't place.  Needless to say, it was pushed to one side and eyed up suspiciously, like all British people do when faced with something which isn't a roast potato.

The whale watching was a success. This is based on a two second piece of film footage which I managed to get after three hours on deck.  It almost made the frostbite worthwhile, but not to worry, there was Fish Stew to warm us all up.  Again...

Unfortunately, the search for the illusive Northern Lights wasn't such a success.  Four hours at sea on a strange little boat sitting in what looked like someone's lounge, we saw nothing but other boats full of disappointed people and towards the end, another bowl of Fish Stew.   

I'm not saying that we were getting a little fed up of Fish Stew by then, but we were all dreaming  of Quarter Pounders with a six-nugget chaser.

More news will follow tomorrow.  

Be prepared for photos of Miss R in strange woolen hats and the husband chewing on a Bratwurst...