A mixed bag

So how was your Christmas? Full of good cheer and fine food, I hope? A few words to sum up ours;
Peaceful, relaxed, Christmassy music, Christmassy films, delicious food (think the freshest oysters in the world, local foie gras and quail... that kind of thing), truely amazing wines (the highlight being the 2003 Sauternes that Andy bought to accompany the foie gras.... extravagant but Christmas only happens once a year now, doesn't it) and a bit of exercise in the cold, crispy conditions.

Boxing day was another of those beautiful blue-sky and very cold days so I had the fine idea of a mountain bike outing from the house. It was a great mixture of quiet roads, hardpack tracks and tricky, technical paths which were somewhat challenging in the conditions. We covered 33km and re-heated when we got home with a yummy mint hot choc (part of a box-set of hot chocolates, a very welcome present from my mother!). Lovely! Full stats you know where.

However, come Sunday evening, I was feeling decidedly dodgy and by 7pm I was violently ill. A couple of hours later, Andy followed suit. There then followed a most disturbed night's sleep as the sickness continued. The oysters that we had on Christmas day were not to blame, as the delay between consumption and illness was too great. The only other possible trigger was the ham or possibly the gooey brie that we had in our baguette at lunchtime. Either way, it was one of the most unpleasant bouts of illness that either of us has had for some considerable time. Funnily enough, I would not recommend a bout of the D&Vs as a post-Christmas weight-loss programme to anybody!