My first white Christmas- England 2017

On the 15th of November, I wrote my final exam for my BSc Sport Science degree. What an exciting day that was! Two weeks later however, just before graduation & Jord and I leaving for England for Christmas, I sadly broke my leg wakeboarding... It was by far one of my most painful experiences yet. It happened on a Saturday morning, which meant I had to wait until Monday before I could see the knee surgeon & get a diagnosis. I thought that I had definitely torn one or more ligaments by looking at the swelling and bruising on my knee & all the way down to my foot. After seeing Spike though,  I was relieved to hear that I had only broken my tibia & all my ligaments were okay. From the mouth of the doctor: "you either have really strong ligaments, or really weak bones". With no surgery needed, it meant that i could still fly to England & experience my first white Cristmas.😀 However, it would be on crutches and in a wheelchair.  I also had to attend my graduation on crutches.

Jordan & I flew to England on the 6th of December. I tried to prepare myself for the cold but when we walked out of the airport in Manchester, I was still shocked by the icy breeze & burning sensation in my throat when breathing. It felt like I had just eaten a strong minty chewing gum. Suzy was waiting for us at the airport with a much needed sausage butty.  On our way home we stopped off at Sophie's (Jordan's sister) beauty salon to say hello. Suzy made the most delicious duck pancakes for dinner. Later that evening, Sophie & Seb came over for a drink, & believe it or not, it snowed on my first night there! First time that I had even seen snow up close & personal.  I was super excited so of course, we had to have a little snow fight.😉

The next few days we spent chilling & drank ALOT of tea. For some reason tea over there seemed to be tastier than back home. Suzy took me on a little tour around Todmorden & showed me some local shops. They have a huge shop nearby, which is purely dedicated to selling Christmas trees & decorations. It's mad! On the 8th of December, Suzy turned 50!😀 Jordi & I woke her up with tea in bed, singing happy birthday. She had loads of presents & cards to open from all over the world. Jordan then made a big fry up for breakfast. We were heading to the Lake district the next day so we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling & packing. That evening, we went to a very posh restaurant for a 3 course dinner with the family (except Alan & Marcus as they were still in Spain). The food was awesome!

We left fairly early the next morning for the Lake District. We had a pit stop on the way for "breaky"& a coffee. It was snowing very heavily on our way there so I had my eyes glued to the window. As we got closer the snow stopped & the views were absolutely beautiful. There were many large open fields & hills with sheep. Typical countryside view. On arrival we were warmly greeted by their long standing family friends, where we were spending the weekend. I was introduced to everyone (Jeannette, Jo, & Jonny) & immediately felt at home. Jeannette had prepared sandwiches for us, so we had a quick snack & then headed out to see the Christmas market in their local town. Shortly after, Jordan, Jonny, Jo & myself went to grab a drink at a pub nearby. Jeannette prepared a lovely seafood pie for dinner. Sophie also joined us in the evening, and after we sat around the fire place & played cards.

The next morning, I was woken up by the smell of bacon.😍  Jeannette was back in the kitchen & made a fry up for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day walking, well crutching or wheel chairing  around the town looking at different shops, & being tourists. It was really nice to see some of the town. We then stopped for a glass of wine on the lake & headed home after to relax. It was Sunday so of course, a roast dinner was in order at a pub nearby. It was my first roast dinner in England, so I was very excited. Jordan, Suzy & I left the next morning & stopped at the Trafford Center on the way home. Suzy had some shopping to do, so Jordan took the time to show me around. We treated ourselves to a Chinese meal for lunch, & my oh my, it was next level deliciousness.

We spent the next couple of days at home watching movies, jacuzzi chilling, snacking & drinking the occasional G&T.😉  Rob (Jordans childhood friend) also came to spend a night, which was really nice for me to meet him & for them to catch up. Alan & Marcus arrived late in the afternoon on the 17th of December. Sophie & Seb came over & we had Indian take outs for dinner. The next day we went to a big family Christmas lunch where I had the opportunity to meet all the Darwins. We had a 3 course meal, all the food was super tasty. I had roast beef as my main, followed by a mouth watering double chocolate brownie for desert, which put me in a food coma.😍

I spent a day at Sophie's beauty salon (Bare Beauty) to help out. I did a little bit of helping but got a whole lot of pampering haha while Marcus was making tea & coffee on tap. It was amazing! I got my fingers & toes painted, all sparkly (felt like a mermaid). Thank you Sophie.😘

We spent some more days chilling at home, eating ourselves into food coma's with Alan's delicious cooking. I caught up on loads of Disney films, most of which I have never seen before because I was never into cartoons when I was younger. I can definitely say I am into them now!  The day before Christmas, Jordan took me on a walk along the canal to the a pub called The Summit for a beer. The scenery around there is beautiful! We passed sheep, turkeys, ducks & emu's (which was strange because its not actually a bird from there haha) on our walk. Well when I say "walk", I actually mean "piggy back". I crutched for some of the way & then spent the rest of the walk on Jordan's back. We each had a Peroni when we reached our destination.😋  We had to call Alan to bring the wheelchair, as it was too far for crutching or piggy backing to get home.

We spent Christmas Eve at home with the family, & of course eating some more - Chinese take-outs it was! YUM! My favourite being lemon chicken. Christmas morning was very exciting & slightly different to my normal Christmas traditions. Marcus was the first one up at 6am but waited until 8.30am before waking us all up. Our stockings were full! We came downstairs, & the first thing we did was drink a cuppa tea. Sophie, Jordi, Marcus & I then opened our stockings, which were filled with sweeties (enough to last me a couple of months haha). We then all went upstairs to the Christmas tree where we all opened our prezzies. It was really special for me to meet Nana & spend Christmas with her. I was very spoilt! We spent the rest of the morning eating sweeties & chilling, while Alan was on to making lunch - salmon & prawn salad for starters, roast dinner with pork, vegetables, pigs in blankets (sausage wrapped in bacon) & potatoes for main. It was unbelievably delicious! After lunch, we spent a few hours around the table playing games, eating chocolates & having a good laugh. We then had to get rid of our food coma in the Jacuzzi with a beer.

Two days later, I woke up to snow! Marcus, Jordi & I got our thermals on, & had to go out to make the most of it. We had a snow fight, followed by building my first snow man & then sledging! It was an awesome morning. Family friends (Jose, Kara, & baby Isa) arrived from London. Alan made a boss shepherd's pie. The next 4 days were super chilled at the house & it was really good to bond with them again. We spent New Years at home with the family, & once again ate way too much food! We celebrated with fireworks & LOTS of champagne. It was a lovely change from the usual New Year plans, which generally turns out being a massive anti-climax anyway.

We flew home on the 3rd of January & arrived back in Cape Town the next morning. England was magical & I definitely think it was the best weather for my knee to recover in. I'm going for another check-up on my knee this week, & I'm hoping I'll be off these dreaded crutches. On a side note, I am very happy to inform you that ROXY has renewed my contract for 2018 & am super excited for what lies ahead this year! I am doing my honours in dietetics at UCT so I've moved out of my parents house & am now staying in Cape Town to be closer to the uni. Wish me luck..!🙏