MMVII

I'm only expected back in office on Wednesday which suits me fine because I still need to recover from a hell of a New Year's Eve party, not to mention that I haven't unpacked my suitcase yet. What am I saying here... not mine actually, my sister's. After a shopping spree in the UK, I needed a bigger one and my arms and shoulders are still aching as all in all, I had to drag about six or seven heavy pieces of luggage back to Brussels.

From clothes, shoes and boots to various typical English goodies, you name it, I have carried it home. PG tips too, of course, although I never get the chance to use a tea pot in the morning, a pyramid bag makes such a tasteful cup of tea I have to brew and drink alone, unfortunately. One of the two boxes I brought back is a gift. Yes, quite an original one and I just hope the special person who is to receive it will also grasp its meaning, which is "tea for two and two for tea". I know this is going to be very hard because, obviously, we don't speak the same language and furthermore, that particular Man I long for is not able to read tea leaves. Delivering my gift will definitely be "another pair of sleeves" as we say in French, which means yet another achievement. Luckily for me, I do not lack in patience and determination, especially when the goal is worth struggling for. The tea's "best before" date being April 2008, I believe I might have a chance after all, time will tell. Meanwhile, I can't help thinking about my trip to the English countryside and how beautiful it was, I have always felt very much at home over there.

As you must have heard, Christmas was all fogged up and a lot of BA flights were cancelled but thanks to my Internet connection and my credit card, I was instantly able to book a seat on Eurostar, thank God for this alternative. I boarded train 9133, as Aloisius did. I felt like approaching the Euro Star for an autograph but decided not to bother him as he was obvioulsy travelling incognito so I hopped in carriage 14, seat 73. There I was sat next to a guy watching a science fiction DVD on his laptop. After a while, as I was wondering why he had stopped eating his sandwich and had not yet looked at me, I realised that rather dull movie was full of totty and that must have been the reason of all his attention, hence no conversation possible... this is definitely a sad world.

I saw Aloisius again at Waterloo International and at the time, I was more concerned about asking him to show me the way to the Underground rather than having his autograph but he disappeared before I had the chance to do so. Nevertheless, I followed the signs and whilst in the metro, I thought I had entered a Star Gate and found myself in a completely different universe; the tube made me think I was travelling from a space station to another. I reached Blackfriars without getting lost and an hour or so later, I had arrived to my final destination up North and was welcomed by my sister and brother-in-law, oh and by their dog too, the very one that kept walking ME around. We had a lovely time altogether and I already look forward to a next visit.

The highlight of my trip was the midnight mass. I didn't even know what kind of church I was entering but it didn't really matter, I had to be therein or else Christmas would be meaningless. I was provided with the order for the celebration and the lyrics so there again, I felt pretty much at home and was proud to sing the carols out loud. Brilliant, so was the choir and the blonde version of the Vicar of Dibley. Britain has so many 'different' things that make it attractive to me. I like its people (the gentlemen most of all, it goes without saying), its language, the real ales in cosy pubs, the sales shopping, etc. I must say I was not once bothered by its currency. After all, who would need the euro with such beautiful coins, my favourites are of course the 20 and 50 p. because of their heptagonal shape.

All good things come to an end, enabling other beginnings to happen so I travelled back to Brussels, first class in the Eurostar this time but once again no gentleman in front or next to me so it was yet another silent journey. I had indeed promised my friend and colleague Carrie Cole we would see the dawn of the New Year together. MMVII started under magnificent fireworks and we danced the night away in a disco bar in the Chicken Market Street. Great craic and two handsome men chasing me all around and chasing one another in order to be closer to me, I just couldn't believe my luck. Apparently, this new year starts way better than the previous one. They were both young and extremely attractive men I'll have you know but... I had my mind set on delivering a box of PG tips instead. You have been warned already, I always fall for the odd and curious...