January 2nd. A national holiday here in Scotland. For Angus it's the first day of 'dry January '. We go out to the large 5 star hotel on the golf course for a pre-dinner 'mocktail'. What I get given tastes like sparkling apple juice mixed with tonic water. A cocktail cherry adds - or tries to add - a touch of glamour. The drink not unpleasant but not worth the £12.95 charged. A few days ago the hotel was packed solid with Hogmanay revelers and excited toddlers. Now the place is deserted. It has that sepulchral gloom found only in hotels with dim lighting and acres of heavily patterned carpet. We are the only customers in the bar which is just as well as the barman seems to be seriously disinterested - this we put down to sleep deprivation.
Christmas wreaths still much in evidence on our neighbours front doors. I'm guessing they'll start to be taken down as the students return from their winter break. The new semester starts on Monday and we'd expect to catch sight of the first of the returning students after the first London trains arrive sometime later today.
Our florists style is much in evidence. Seems we are not the only ones to have insisted on environmentally friendly decorations.
11 comments:
That was a very expensive mocktail. Christmas decorations can look rather forlorn once life starts to return to normal.
I think you could get a case or two of apple juice and sparkling water for that price! Crikey!
Good on your florist for finally catching on to the demand for natural.
Pretty blue sky there this morning. And soon the students will return.
Indeed, we're also having a very strange winter over here in New Hampshire. Our big lake is without ice and most ski slopes are relately barren except through the intervention of mechanical snow making. Thought I knew everything worth knowing about Lobsters, but the link taught me a few more facts. Interesting.
Thank you for the link to the Great Lakes article. I live a five minute walk from the north shore of Lake Ontario. Even the smaller inland lakes are not frozen. Our temperature has been in the -1C to 6C range. Last year we had a huge blizzard with around three feet or more of snow. This year only a few flakes about a week before Christmas. Thank you for continuing to post lovely pictures and links to interesting articles
Ah, Maine lobster. My favorite food, first met on my 4th birthday at now closed historic Old Original Bookbinders in Philadelphia and annual celebrations ever since when possible. I wonder what caused the transformation centuries ago from trash food to delicacy.
Bright blue winter skies bring a warmth to the chilly winter air.
Jake of Florida...my grandparents lived in New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia, and we would go to Bookbinders when we visited. My dad loved going there. It was a sad day when it closed.
Very sad.
Angus, are you using "Dry January" as a chance for you and "The Font" to sample a few bottles of alcohol-free wine, alcohol-free beers, and/or alcohol-free whiskey. There seems to be an increasing worldwide market now for these products in shops, bars, and restaurants (although many people I know hate paying similar prices for drinks made with the extra step of alcohol being removed) but they may be a better experience than the mocktail you were served!
Twelfth Night tomorrow. Decorations come down then
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