We went to Wilmington, North Carolina for Thanksgiving as Malcolm had a few days off (the first since he started in June).  The “old” part of the town was lovely and we enjoyed several good meals in small local restaurants.  Just down the road is Wrightsville beach which has miles of golden sand and some fab properties all fronting the ocean.  On the Friday, it was thick coats, scarves, gloves and hats, and a warming bowl of fish gumbo soup for lunch.  By Sunday, the temperature was 27 degrees and after our walk we sat on the beach watching the dolphins leaping and the pelicans diving in great numbers for fish.










We spent a quiet Christmas in Virginia, with a lovely walk in the sunshine on Christmas Day (no coats) and roast beef for dinner.

New year's day saw us driving the 71/2 hour drive from Richmond to Charleston.  We treated ourselves to a 3 night stay in an old coaching inn with original furniture and 4 poster beds.  I can thoroughly recommend this town.  There have to be more original buildings here than almost anywhere else.  There are streets and streets of beautifully conserved houses and lots of restaurants and smart shops.  The typical food fayre you might see here is shrimp and grits.  Quite nice once you get used to eating porridge with prawns and brown gravy!  The weather was warm, the ambiance really great and everyone was really friendly.

Early in the New Year, we flew home for our Son, Alex's graduation.  A very special day and one where both we, Jessica and Alex were all very proud

Whilst back in England I hosted 3 Sticky Fingers parties and have some cookery tuition for when I return home in May.