Scarborough at Christmas

I'd forgotten what Christmas in Scarborough was like, having spent each Christmas from 2006-2008 in Brugge. Unfortunately, the incompetence of the French brought it home to me this year, having to spend Christmas in Scarborough because a bloody useless French-designed train breaks down in snow.

In Brugge I had become used to Christmas markets, with stalls selling hot food and drinks in decorated market squares, ice skating and music and a party atmosphere, with pubs serving the best beers in the world when it was time to get inside out of the cold.

So imagine how drab Christmas in Scarborough is. No markets, no ice skating, pubs which sell beer more akin to water, no shops lit up. Indeed, the shops in this town made little or no effort for Christmas, unlike at Halloween, when all seemed to be in on the act and vying for the darkest displays. All we seemed to get, as a nod to Christmas, was a ghastly display in Boyes which consisted of toadstools, model elves and a grating, horrible racket of a song "we are Santa's elves" repeated over and over again ad nauseum.

If this is the best this boring town can do for Christmas it is time it called it a day.

Just for a change - Belgium by ferry

Sorry for the late arrival of this post, as my computer developed a boot problem and was away for eight days being fixed.

We went to Belgium for Christmas, as usual, but this time we were going by sea. We sailed from Hull overnight to Zeebrugge. It was good fun, but not as good as the plane!

The weather in Belgium was very cold, but we had some great food (including very nice chips and a Chinese Christmas dinner).

To see the pics from the trip click here.

I don't know when I'll see my beloved Belgium again.