Winter Solstice

With a sunrise of 8:05 am, and a sunset of 3:56 pm, it was definitely the shortest amount of daylight I've ever experienced. (Baltimore's day was 90 minutes longer.) I've always wanted to travel to Norway, but not at this time of year!

Today we walked to The Lightbox, located along the south side of the Basingstoke Canal. Woking's newest gallery and museum just opened on September 15, and we waited until Erin returned to visit the Animated Adventures of Wallace and Gromit. The French Market was back in town for the weekend, so we loaded up with a variety of cheeses from the town square, added a few more ingredients from the mall, and had ourselves quite a feast.

Tonight I returned to the town square to attend Christ Church's International Carol Service. Now in its 3rd year, readings and songs were performed in Xhosa, Mandarin, Japanese, Polish, Romanian, Persian, Armenian, Nepali, German, Urdu, and French. Wow! The congregational carols were sung in English. However, some of the tunes were different, including Away in a Manger and O Little Town of Bethlehem. By the way, we'll probably come back saying Beth-lee-hem....

Panto with The Fonz

Erin landed at Heathrow on Wednesday morning, and on Thursday afternoon we took part in one of the biggest British traditions - the Pantomime. It's a show with lots of slapstick and audience participation. This year's Woking production (there are numerous choices in and around London) is Peter Pan, with Henry Winkler playing the part of the "baddie" - Captain Hook. He had so much fun in this role last year at Wimbledon, that he came back for another season. Almost anything goes with panto, so yes, it included the Happy Days theme song, music and dancing from the '50s, and several classic lines from Fonzie himself.



Wasn't it nice of the theatre to place this cardboard cutout in the lobby? Several friends have seen Henry out and about in Woking (he's living right here in town until the middle of January), but we have not been so lucky...yet?

Shop 'til You Drop

Not me. But there are plenty of opportunities here to do so. All on 1 level and roughly in the shape of a T, Wolsey Place has been around for over 35 years. It also includes a grocery store (Sainsbury's), which is the main attraction for us.



Just next door is the newer kid in town. The Peacocks Centre is about 10 years old, and all 4 levels will cheerfully accept your money. And right now, you can even visit Father Christmas in his grotto at Debenhams!



Finally, there are lots of small stores - including numerous charity shops - all around town. Happy shopping, wherever you are! Ten days until Christmas....