Christmas Celebrations with Isobel & Darren

 Christmas Celebrations 

Feeling jolly and in the festive spirit we made our way to Corton Coastal Village for our Christmas holiday. It was beautifully decorated with twinkly lights and plenty of Christmas decorations. 

Look who we spotted coming down the chimney on Christmas morning! 

Luckily for us Santa had enough time to come and say hello to us and we all received some lovely presents. 

The sun was shinning and we enjoyed a stroll around the grounds making room for our Christmas Day feast of Roast Turkey and all the trimmings. 

We were certainly in the festive mood wearing our brilliant Christmas jumpers and accessories. We watched The Queen's Speech and took part in the Christmas quiz, scoring an amazing 35/40.... and were crowned winners! Go Team JollyDays! 

The evening entertainment always had our toes tapping and we sung our hearts out to well known hits. We laughed out loud to the hilarious comedian and were blown away by some mesmerising magic. 

  We spent the afternoon in Lowestoft admiring the beautiful Christmas lights and displays whilst browsing some of the shops for souvenirs to take home. 

               

               

Our Christmas had certainly been one to remember, full of fun, laughter and friends. 

Christmas Pantomime with Oli, Netty & Midi

 Christmas Pantomime 

It wouldn't be Christmas without a Pantomime and as always, Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver had us in hysterics. The storyline was ingenious as the panto baddie tried to ruin all the well-known fairy tales. But in true panto style, good overcame evil and normality was restored!

We visited the Botanical Gardens,  enjoying the beautiful gardens looking at the different plants and trees.

The City of Cambridge is full of old historical buildings and collages and we loved exploring the cobbled streets. There were lots of little shops, selling an array of gifts and souvenirs for us to browse amongst. We stopped lunch at a famous cafe called Fitzbillies for delicious homemade scones and cake. How fancy! 

A lovely evening meal was had wearing our fabulous Christmas jumpers,  pulling crackers and sharing the silly cracker jokes. Our very own little Christmas party! 

We were fascinated exploring the Museum of Zoology. Everywhere we turned there were interesting cabinets displaying thousands of specimens spanning the entire animal kingdom, from elephants, giant ground sloths and giraffes, to birds, reptiles, insects and molluscs.

A beautiful winters day made our day on the river magical. 

We boarded our punt and set sail down the River Cam where our knowledgeable tour guide told us all about the history of Cambridge and its stunning colleges whist we all enjoyed the incredible views and a very relaxing ride. 

Most evenings we ended up at the local bowling and pool centre for some competitive but friendly games. There were amazingly high scores and some great pots on the pool table. 

Oxford- The Harry Potter Tour with Duncan & Tracey

Oxford- The Harry Potter Tour

It was dream come true for our group of Harry Potter fans. Excited was an understatement as we made our way to The Warner Bro's Studio.

We were greeted by a Norman, a massive dragon before our tour kicked off by watching a film which included some of the original cast members and we learnt how the films were made. 

We saw so many of the amazing props and costumes used in the films, including the flying Ford Anglia that came to Harry and Ron's rescue. 

We walked down Diagon Alley to check out all of the magical shops where Harry and his friends bought all their wizardly wares before it was our turn to perform our own magic and fly on the broomstick. 

After making it out of The Forbidden Forest we took a stroll through Gringotts Bank, passing under the baleful glares of the Goblins behind their desks. 

Next, we headed to platform 9 & ¾ where the magnificent Hogwarts Express was waiting for us to board! 

An evening was spent at the local bowling alley for a couple of games of 10 pin bowling. This was brilliant fun with some great scores across both teams. Colin shocked everyone as this dark horse turned out to be a demon bowler!

  

A lovely day was spent in Oxford where we met our guide Lucy who proved to be an absolute fountain of knowledge, particularly about the local buildings and their history. She led us on a tour through the streets and alley ways of Oxford and we very much enjoyed seeing some of the other locations used in the Harry Potter films. 

A spot of Christmas shopping was a must. We loved browsing the beautifully decorated shops, full to burst with gifts and souvenirs.