There was a Shaun the Sheep theme to our annual pilgrimage to Anglesey Abbey to see the snowdrops this year. There were nicely ornamented Shaun the Sheep statues scattered round the grounds, competing with the snowdrops this year for attention.

Anglesey Abbey wasn't crowded when Virginia and I arrived just after 10am. I shall have to remember that they keep a few places on the special snowdrop guided tours free each day. We were offered the chance to go on the tour at 11am or 1:30pm but the timing didn't work for us. A shame. As nice as seeing the snowdrops is what I really relish is just the colours and shapes of the vegetation that the gardeners create. Like an abstract painting. The plants are perhaps as artificially arranged as in a classic formal garden but nonetheless enchanting.

Illuminations now seem the thing at stately homes and gardens. Virginia and I went again to see the lights at Wimpole Hall this darkening evening. Not too crowded and it didn't drizzle too much. It wasn't always clear in the darkness where the path was. The first light installation was very impressive, like a magic carpet of coloured sprites that wove across the ground. The rest were okay but not as good as last year for me. I missed the lasers in the smoke from last time. We rounded off the walk round with churros from one of the refreshment vans. Only needed one bag between us, and it was a sticky experience. Churros normally you dip but for simplicity here they poured the sauce over the dough sticks.

We went to see the Christmas illuminations at the National Trust Wimpole Hall site, along with quite a few others. Happily the weather was warmer than it was a week ago when we were first supposed to go. They had done a lot of work to Wimpole since we had last been. Where we parked was new. A good variety of illuminations on the circular walk from the Stables at Wimpole Hall, including a 'laser' walk which was spooky. And there were plenty of stalls to help the famished traveller. We had hotdogs to show willing.

Browns is a sedate restaurant nestling in what was the old Addenbrookes outpatients department. I like as it is a nice relaxed place to eat, it feels civilised out of the hustle and bustle of the nearby streets. The service is classy, the food normal European stuff but reasonably priced on the lunch menu.

Many of the ten plus post boxes around Histon where Virginia and I live have been decorated with woollen creations for Christmas. It adds a lovely touch to the season. I am impressed that these decorations have stayed there - in some places in the UK these decorations would have been nicked instantly. This is the second year this decoration has happened. A local group of knitters supported by local business worked for months on these installations. For more information see HI Hub. Let's celebrate this worthy contribution to the Christmas spirit.

Seeing snowdrops time again at Anglesey Abbey! A wonderfully fine day for doing so! The snowdrops were out! The cream on the mixture of textures and shapes and hues on display. What problem could there be? They even had the underthrow wheel at the mill working! Well it was half-term, a wonderfully sunny day, and most of Cambridgeshire had turned up. We barely found space in the overflow car park to the overflow car park. National Trust 's website had warned us. So it was our own fault. My sister had come down to Cambridge which was why we went on this Friday.

In front of the Sovereign House offices on Vision Park in Histon that I work in (as of 2019) there is a gentle pond. It has a fountain that is sometimes spurting forth, water lilies that in their season squat on the surface, and ducks that keep on trying to rear ducklings but keep losing them to herons and other predators. Watching over the pond there is a coffee and sandwich bar d:licious which I patronise once a week. In early 2019 they (whoever they are in this case) decided that this pond needed a makeover. This was a radical makeover which involved removing the fish and terrapins, digging the pond right out, laying new liners, reseeding the surrounding green. As something to put on my website here is a photographic record of the process.

Every year we go to see the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey. The gardeners of the National Trust even in winter manage to create a marvellous display of textures and shades and colours and shapes in the gardens there. The snowdrops were out in force when we went, the different varieties explained in signs which we saw but didn't really read. There are lots of days in a year. As humans we need to divide up the year in some way to make it less intimidating. In the past they had harvest and the equinoxes and the solstices. Now perhaps we have see the snowdrop day, and Valentine's Day, and Bank Holidays. And Black Fridays?

There are various rituals which mark the turning of a year for me. I can think of my own birthday halfway through the year, I can think of Christmas and New Year of course which is a busier family time. Virginia would be unhappy if I failed to mention St Valentine's Day which we now tend to observe at the "Phoenix" in Histon, one day out so it's more relaxed. The less common rituals are those like the "Tufty Club Outing" held on the last Thursday in July, or the fireworks at Impington Village College which begin the season of winter. And what's becoming our annual pilgrimage to Thursford for their Thursford Christmas Spectacular. We begin the year with seeing the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey. A pleasant stroll in an otherworldly place, slightly removed from the stressful society we inhabit. Doors in walls make me think fondly of "The Silver Chair".

Pictures by the office where I currently work on a rare snowy day. Currently being the operative word as my US employers have decided to rightsize us yet again, and I am at risk in a shrinking pool.

The weather was fine as my father explored the grounds of Anglesey Abbey by means of one of their mobility scooters. He went so far I was worried how late we would get back! We rounded off the afternoon in the cafeteria there, finding plenty of space despite the coaches visiting.

Our annual pilgrimage to see the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey. How much is the National Trust running Anglesey Abbey for us to see our heritage, how much is it running it as a business? I was struck as we sat in the posh cafeteria by the adverts for people to hire Anglesey Abbey for weddings and corporate events.

Snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey

In Cambridge we live on the outskirts of Fenland. Originally marshland this was drained by first wind-driven pumps and then steam pumps (and then diesel and then electric but they're less romantic.) Stretham Old Engine is a surviving example of the convoluted steam pumps that bled the Fens dry. It's open for a few days each year, and I took my father on July 11th as he wanted to photograph the beam for one of his slideshows. The machinery itself is a marvellous puzzle of shafts and bearings and cranks and gears and things that spin round. The massive main beam at the top of treacherous staircases rises and falls very slowly. It is almost alive, a dinosaur in wood coloured metal. Very inefficient, the boiler relied on atmospheric pressure to move anything. It took a day or two to get steam up to start the engine, and persuading the engine to start pulsating was hit or miss. The electric motors which now do the same job are about the same size as a postbox.

We went to see the snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey again.

Virginia and I went to Elton Hall near Peterborough for another stately home. Elton Hall is still lived in by the Proby family, rather than being looked after by the National Trust. We saw the furniture, the books, the porcelain, the silverware, the paintings that the rich have - the guides were very helpful and informative - but a question for me remains. What is it like to be in that social class? How do the people who live there think?

Virginia and I belong to the National Trust, and one of their nearby places is Anglesey Abbey. The gardens are open in January and February to see snowdrops (they have 170 different varieties here!) There is some artifice in the gardens, the whiteness of the silver birch is apparently due to washing up liquid, but it is a very beautiful place to visit and be enchanted by. The colours and shapes and textures in the plants is intoxicating.