Photo of the Week, plus a Thanksgiving post

From Photo of the Week

Photo Caption: This is a new clock in Cambridge. The grasshopper on top pulls the outer wheel around with his legs, blinking and pausing from time to time. You read the time by looking at the blue lights, which sit where the numbers would normally be on a clock. In the glass you can see the reflections of buildings on King's College.

The Thanksgiving Post: Grace and I went up to Cambridge this weekend to have Thanksgiving dinner (a bit early, but the only time our friends could make it), with some of our old friends from Cambridge. The last two years Grace and I have hosted a Thanksgiving dinner, but this year our friend, Gareth, who is British, wanted to have a crack at it. We weren't sure what to expect, but he and his girlfriend really got it right. They must have done research ahead of time, because all the American staples were there - turkey, stuffing, cornbread, cranberry sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, pumpkin pie (made from Butternut squash, as no pumpkins were to be found), apple pie and more. Grace and I took the train up around noon, and we started eating around 2 for a few hours. We didn't leave the house all day, and we just kept going back for more leftovers. Excellent thanksgiving.

The next day we headed into town for a walk. The weather was cold (there had been freezing rain overnight), so it wasn't particularly cold. Grace and I were reminded how pleasant it is to go Christmas shopping in Cambridge, with all the nice shops down in the old town centre.

It was a really relaxing weekend, bookended by some idyllic train rides. I had been looking forward to getting on the train, as we were travelling midday, when it's not very crowded and drunk people are nowhere to be seen. I bought a paper, and felt like a real European, reading on the train, with a four seater all to Grace and me.

Other than that, I've been very busy with work. But, I'm on my last freelance assignment for 2008, so soon, hopefully, I'll be able to relax in the evenings. We're thinking of taking a weekend trip up to Leeds in December, where some of our other Cambridge friends live...