..on Saturday 30th then this is what you might have seen:

I, meanwhile, have been a bit tired today, courtesy of a great New Year’s Eve.  First of all, let me just say, I can’t tell you how happy I am that not only is all public transport in London free on New Year’s Eve, but it also runs all night long.  I remember the days of drunkenly waiting in vain for taxis on icy street corners until the warmth of the alcohol wore off and you had to admit defeat and try to walk home.  In the end the thought of that journey began to overshadow the rest of the night, and we began going round people’s houses or just to the local pub.

Now we can go out all over town! (although, in practice, of course, we generally stay in SE London and the Lovely Melanie and I still can’t both go out together).

Last night we still had to walk about three-quarters of a mile from the pub to New Cross station in subzero temperatures because although the trains were running just fine the buses weren’t doing so well.  We passed bus stop after bus stop with 50 or more people waiting there, the poor things, and didn’t see a single bus on our whole trek.  Just to be able to climb on board a train that will take you home at 2.30am on New Year’s Day strikes me as little short of miraculous.  Last night it probably struck me as actually miraculous.  I didn’t fall to my knees and praise the little baby Jesus who died on the cross for our sins – although I may have offered a short prayer to Saint Ken.

Fortunately, I was well enough today to take Millie to the local shops on her bike.  She’s gradually getting better on the bike; still refuses to pedal properly – she’s so stubborn, rather like her father – but has almost mastered the brakes, and sometimes even remembers to use them.

Bubbah A has also been busy today; we had a lovely time this evening after she’d had her milk: I was tickling her knees and she was laughing fit to bust while straining, as usual, to pull my glasses off my nose.  One particular thing to note is that I’m sure she’s going to be cruising before she’s crawling.  She’s always loved standing up (holding onto someone’s hands for support, of course), only now she actively reaches out with her chubby little hands for yours so you can pull her up and gets quite cross if you don’t oblige.