The BT Christmas Spectacular

To help us get in the Christmas Spirit, I got tickets for Tony and me to go to the BT Christmas Spectacular at Albert Hall. The promise in the advertisements was that there would be all manner of Christmas music including Choral, Orchestral, a Scottish Military Brass Section, and a Steel Drum Band. They also promised that there would be fireworks. . . IN THE HALL! It promised to be a Christmas Spectacular, Spectacular!

First, Albert Hall is Stunning. It is a magnificent venue, and a treasure for the British people. I hope to see something again there soon.


I spluged a bit, and got us box seats. Not in the uber primo box seats, on the "Grand Tier", but just above it in the "Secondary Tier". In fact, we ended up in the box just above the Royal Box.












The box was spectacular, and included a small antechamber through a curtain behind the seats, where, if we had brought alcohol, we could have set up a small bar. There was also an area there for hanging coats and scarves.

Just prior to the show, the usher came by and closed the door to the box from the outer hallway. So european!

Mark Comes to Visit

Mark happened to be in London for business the same weekend that Tony and the pups moved over, so with Tony's jetlag in check, we headed off to the German Christmas Market on the Southbank of the Thames.


They were serving all manner of classic Christmas foods from Mulled Wine to Hot Roasted Chestnuts. So I've finally done the Roasted Chestnut thing. . . eh? They tasted better in my imagination.



Though it was raining off and on, the temperature wasn't too bad. The festive nature of the Christmas Market with it's Rides and cute village look helped too.





We then went out for a wonderful dinner at a Gastropub in Angel called "The Barnsbury". It was a really wonderful meal in a very warm and inviting space. Mark introduced us to some other friends of his that are living in London.

A Dogs Life

Yes, it's tough to be a dog. One of my big concerns in moving overseas was for our dog's safety and well-being. I was concerned about what it would be like for them to travel 1/3 of the way around the planet, and what would that be like for them. Would they be able to have the same quality of life in an only "semi dog-friendly" city like London.








I'm happy to report that they are doing fine. As you can see from the pictures, very little has changed in their lives from living in LA to London. The biggest difference is that if we want to let them out in the yard, we have to walk a couple blocks. There is a cute dog-friendly park that has lots of squirrels, which is keeping Bentley very happy. Pepper had a small incident with a fountain in the park. She was running around it and fell in. It's freezing cold right now, but Tony got her dried off, and she seems fine.

Yes, it is tough to be a dog. . .

Tony Arrives with the Puppies

Tony flew out of Los Angeles on December 3, and arrived here in London on December 4. We weren't able to get the dogs on the same flight as Tony, but they arrived about 2.5 hours later.







Tony drank some wine and took 2 sleeping pills, and arrived in London nauseous. I helped him over to some chairs and got him some mineral water. This wasn't the arrival I was hoping for, but it was great to finally have him here nonetheless.





We took a cab over to the quarantine area, which is quite a ways away. It is also called the Animal Reception Centre. After a little while, a truck pulled up with the Brittish Airways logo on it and a sticker warning people that there were Live Animals on board.




We knew immediately that this was the truck carrying Bentley and Pepper. We had to then wait for about 2 hours while they inspected our puppies and eventually would give them permission to enter the country. I had booked a Minivan (in British they are called "People Carriers") from Addison Lee to pick us up, and it arrived right on time.





A little while later, all of the pain of waiting (we were subjected to a rerun of Murder She Wrote NOOOOOO!!!) , all was forgiven when out bounded Bentley and Pepper. The first stop was the conveniently located grass lawn out front. Pepper peed immediately. She didn't recognize me at first, and it wasn't until we were in the van on the way home that she suddenly realized who I was, and she jumped right up into my lap and started licking my face like crazy.

Thank God for Skype!

Skype has been a wonderful tool to keep in touch with my family back in the states while being separated from them for the past 4.5 months. Before I left, Tony, my Mother, and I set up our computers to be able to talk to each other through this amazing software. It has allowed us to be current in each others lives without it costing us a ridiculous amount of money.




In fact as insane as this sounds, Skype is free. And it is better than phone in that you get to see the people too. It has been great to see Tony, my mom, the pups, and my dear friends as well as hear their voices.




I don't think the dogs ever quite figured it out, because they could hear my voice, but never understood where it was coming from.

My mother loved using Skype, and it was a wonderful way to see her and her husband Dean, and it made the distance and time zone difference not seem so far away.


My evening routine often consisted of coming home, making dinner, then sitting down in front of the computer. Because of the time difference, Tony would often be having his lunch at his desk at work, while I was having my dinner. At least this way, we could have a meal together.




The last day that Tony was in LA, though a hectic one, we took time out to talk on Skype one last time. The image to the right is the last image of Tony with the pups before they went with Paula, our Pet Relocation person, and before Tony headed off to the airport. It was nice to be able to say goodbye to them, and see them, knowing that the next day I'd see them in person.