an elephant never forgets

I have not forgotten my blog - I have only been too busy to write anything! And when not too busy then too lazy... And now so many things have happened since my last post! Four days in Switzerland seeing friends and feeling at home in the cold and familiarity of Basel, two weeks in North Carolina enjoying seeing family again, celebrating Christmas and New Year and in between a few days relaxing in the sun in Oriental (and trying to get over a particularly nasty cold). Then back to Nottingham for a week of revision, just under a week of exams (one of the worst weeks of my life), just over a week of writing four essays, and then straight back into new lectures last week! Now with Anne here visiting from Switzerland and so busy being tourists, making delicious food (i.e. me actually cooking Risotto, and parsnip mash for example, and making tomatoe and Mozarella salad - but also the two of us making a rather yummy Zopf that disappeared in less than 24 hours), visiting Sherwood Forest (home to Robin Hood) and Newstead Abbey (home to Lord Byron), going down the caves in Nottingham, and making snowmen and having snowball fights with my housemates! Nottingham has had more snow in the last day or so than in the last 18 or 13 (depending on source) years and it is expected to carry on snowing for the next few days! Schools have been closed, lectures, cancelled, etc. Thankfully we didn't try and go to Liverpool or London this weekend but stuck around to experience Nottingham in white! Further past activities: cinema (Slumdog Millionaire and Defiance - both fantastic and moving!), pub quiz, exploring new places to go out in Notts, walks, Chinese New Year celebrations, regular things like going to the gym, etc. Possible future activities: Volunteering with the Red Cross to do some admin/fundraising work, more cinema (The Reader and Vicky Christina Barcelona), more pub quizes (hopefully with some real success soon), lectures, research project proposal, reading, more essays, more friends from Switzerland (Lena & Co.), trip to York and hopefully London and Liverpool still, etcetcetc - Phew. More news soon.