So it’s fast approaching the end of the noughties and the festive cheer is upon us. I’m spending Christmas in North Wales and despite the poor weather on the roads all the family have made it here and the surroundings are really festive.

The mountains are snow capped, the sunshine is warm and low in the sky, we have real fires burning in the various grates and a real Christmas tree that I had the privilege of cutting down myself from a local grower. Keep on the look out for some fabulous photos of the country scenery that I’ll be popping into my gallery in the new year!

After relaxing over Christmas with my family I will make my way across country to Leeds where I will be seeing in the new year with the old crowd. It will be fantastic to see everyone again - I certainly do miss the regular social activities when I’m down in Swindon.

On the websites and communication front, I’m going to be a little less contactable over the festive period on account of my travelling around and the lack of connectivity in the countryside. While I will be receiving and reading e-mail on my BlackBerry I don’t expect to reply to any of it until the new year. If you need to get in touch with me urgently you can call my mobile - those who might need to have the number already.

Keen readers will have noticed that I’ve closed my forums until the new year. This is only a temporary measure and has been done to prevent people thinking I’m ignoring their queries - it’s Christmas and I won’t have the time or the inclination to answer technical questions. Please save up your issues and ask for help with them when the forums re-open and I’m around to answer.

Above all I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my family, friends and regular blog readers a very merry Christmas and prosperous new year.

I’m back in Swindon after taking a well needed break from the daily grind by heading off to the East Coast for the Saturday and lunching with my family on the Sunday.

The weather was most pleasant on Saturday and the atmosphere in the marina was wonderfully peaceful compared with the hectic nature of my last couple of weeks at work. I spied a couple of fantastic photography subjects but unfortunately had neglected to bring my camera - I’ve made a note of them for next time.

As far as the family catch up goes, Hannah is settling in well at Law School and has already been able to explain some of the more interesting points with me which is great. The positive difference it makes in academia when you are truly enjoying what you have to study is immeasurable.

This weekend I’ve been staying with my family in St. Albans and today we got together with other family members to go out for a big meal for Mothering Sunday. I took a few photos around the table and before the meal and you can see them by clicking the thumbnail on the right. It’s always nice to get together with family and I would have to rate today as one of the best gatherings for a while.

After a hectic week at work I headed to the London boat show on Sunday with my family to have a look round at all the new vessels for sale, not the mention the myriad of equipment one can buy for an existing yacht.

There were a few things at the event that gave us food for thought in terms of new equipment for Burnaby but in the end we just ended up wandering around, taking in the sights and buying a few books from the various stands. Of course one can’t miss out the fact that there was a Guinness stall so we stopped there for a pint and a bite to eat over lunch.

The three main things of interest at the show for us were a company that built boats entirely from wood using traditional methods, a fully operational lifeboat that we got to have a tour of and to top it all off, the opportunity to walk around the HMS Westminster which was moored in the Thames outside the show.

You could tell this was a genuine warship by the positioning of various warning signs around the ship pertaining to missiles and guns. My favourite sign read Danger! When warning rattler sounds, missile about to fire. I guess that also amounts to “Please don’t touch”

All in all it was a good day out. I’d recommend you catch it while you can but unfortunately it’s all over until next year - the show ended on the day we went!

After a thoroughly enjoyable family Christmas with a huge meal and all the trimmings, not to mention a relaxed evening and a fair few drinks along the way, the photos from the day are now online. You can view them over in my gallery.

This year I got the tripod out so that I could be included in the family photos around the dinner table and took a few more pictures of people opening their presents, some of which captured expressions reasonably well, although I’m not sure how much I’ll be thanked for putting some of the shots online!