Up and down

Life's a yo-yo, driven by the weather. Daytime maximum temperatures over the last week: -2 on Friday, 12 on Monday, 18 on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday. I missed the warmest 8th December on record in Lyon with a bit of up and down of my own. After watching a yo-yo match at Gerland on a balmy Tuesday evening (1-0 up, 2-1 down, one man down, 2-2 the final score, second place in the group), up in a plane from St Exupéry the next morning, down at Gatwick where it was about 15 degrees colder. London was suitably chilly for a stroll through the 'Winter Wonderland' in Hyde Park, followed by a wander through Kensington Gardens looking at strange reflective stainless steel sculptures.

Thence up to Finsbury Park to deliver shock news to the McBhoy and meet le grand chef in the Marquess. Three pints and a burger later we were in the holy ground watching a lacklustre passage to the knockout phases of the champions league. A Spanish or German giant awaits. We can only get better... Can't we?

After a morning chez J&C locked in financial negotiations, I headed home to more freezing temperatures. The football trip had been rather poorly conceived in that I missed the 8th décembre Fêtes des Lumières celebrations for the first time in 9 years, leaving la bienheureuse to view the bougies and fireworks on her own. So I got home, wolfed down soup and Christmas cake and then I left her in bed while I went out for a quick late night viewing of my own. First impressions this year are that the lights are somewhat lower key than usual. Perhaps partly a concession to la crise, perhaps partly an attempt to avoid the crowd crushes and bottlenecks that have been a feature of the big set piece displays in recent years. Photos to follow…