Snow way, Jose

It's been a weekend of snowy catastrophes and fun. On Friday we had tickets for us and the Spareys to see the panto of Cinderella at the local White Rock theatre. Due to the ice and snow that hit town that day the Spareys' babysitter got stuck and couldn't make it to their house, so only Maria was able to join us. We made our way to the theatre by car, sliding the last part downhill on ice, stopping just before we joined the ring road. The panto was brilliant. I was expecting something along the lines of A for amateur, but it was great. Despite a seriously diminished audience size, the cast put on a hilarious show that we were able to scream, heckle and laugh through. Jimmy Osmond was very game and laughed at himself like a pro. While Flo was genuinely terrified of the ugly sisters, who had THE BEST outfits outside of Mardi Gras, Scarlett found the whole thing amazing, declaring me, uncharacteristically,  the 'best mum ever' at the end. On Saturday we were expecting to meet Liz and Charlie at Bodiam Castle to meet Santa in his fairy-lit grotto. Again the snow led to the whole event being called off and Liz and Charlie were unable to make the drive south to us due to heavy snow in Maidstone. Cathy and Dom and their kids were supposed to come over afterwards for Nigella's coco cola ham. In the end the gods were against us.Their son Gabriel was too sick to come so Cathy stayed at home with him. Dom made it over with Francesca who was clearly unwell with something unpleasant. They left early,  so in the end it was Rob and I with Maggie and Popi eating ham and cheese in front of the  fire with a couple of bottles of Champagne.  

Today, feeling quite housebound, the girls and I sorted through the playroom, making a pile of old but useful toys we will donate to charity on Monday. When Rob got home from work we drove north into  Kent for the carols at Scotney Castle. On arrival a large sign informed us they were cancelled and the castle was closed due to snow.  Grrr.

Driving home, Rob turned off onto the B road to Bodiam where we discovered the castle closed, the moat frozen,  but the footpaths open. We had a lovely hour walking around the castle, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, before having lunch at the local pub. 

Once home, we were invited into the home of some neighbours 6 houses along. We had only ever met them, heavily rugged up, building a snowman some weeks ago. We had such a great time in their home meeting a really great bunch of like-minded folk, who all live within walking distance.  This weekend we have also been trying out the sloe gin Moira and Fraser brought us earlier in the year, made from sloe berries they picked on Ashstead Common in the summer. It is a triumph, resembling the caprioska cocktail we loved so much in Sydney.