Hi, Ann
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself (mostly) in our country ....and that other place. I told you that you should plan to come back!
The cricket has been fascinating - even though I've experienced a lot of it by text message and next day reports. My hostess in Basel, Switzerland, could not understand why I was so keen to get the results of the Perth test and had the TV on at 6am. Funny people, the Swiss - no cricket at all (likewise Germany)
Looking forward to the trip report. Are you planning your next trip for the return Ashes tour?
Cheers from Paris.

Hi Ann, I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip. I'll be watching out for your trip report.

Margo, I am green with envy! I hope Paris at Christmas is absolutely wonderful!

Margo - I hope you're not freezing your ta-tas off in Switzerland - we had -15c temps in the Engadine - shocked even the likes of us. Think the old blood has thinned after living in freaking hot Perth.

Glad you had a good trip annhig.

It's been a bit chilly but nothing too bad so far. These puffer jackets are a wonderful invention.

Head for Scotland today, though, where it's cold and wet.

Paris looks wonderful. Weather has been good and there are some brilliant light displays.

<These puffer jackets are a wonderful invention.>

Indeed.

Raining at the moment in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany downright balmy after the Engadine.

Enjoy Scotland.

nice to see that both Melnq8 and Margo are enjoying their trips despite having to endure rather colder weather than they are used to.

it's a balmy 8C or so here, which is good for the time of year, but which DH and I are finding a little chilly.

Cold weather is GOOD annhig - we love this stuff!

Cold weather is GOOD annhig - we love this stuff!>>

melnq8 - as with the sort of hot weather that you get, after a while the cold and wet do begin to pall, but I can see their attraction to someone who lives in WA.

Agreed annhig, I sure don't miss driving in the white stuff. My winter driving skills have rusted significantly since we've been away.

Cold, wet, windy and raining in Scotland.

But...we are warm and dry, have a roast and vegetables in the oven, more than adequate supplies of food and drink, a house full of books and music, and two cats.

There are occasional sun flashes over the Firth of Clyde.

We're doing OK, thanks. Glad you've warmed up, Mel.

Almost short sleeve weather here in Munich today Margo, shocking. Those cats make good foot warmers if nothing else. Back to stinking hot Perth on Saturday. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

margo - I'm glad you missed the worst of the appalling storm that hit some of the UK in the run up to Christmas. We were relatively lucky in that it just rained and blew a hell of a lot, but many have been flooded, lost power and/or just had a very miserable time.

but hey, i gather it's raining and miserable in Sydney too! The difference is that by the New year, they are promised temps in the high 30s.

Melnq8 - glad that Germany is not as wet and windy as the UK - have a good trip home.

and a Merry christmas to you both and to everyone else who has dropped into this thread from time to time.

Cricket remains interesting, Ann.

Heading down to Devon on Sunday. I think the weather's been pretty crap there, too.

Be back in Sydney for New Year test, finally get really warm and eat some mangoes!

Text disappeared before I'd finished.

Happy New Year to you and yours

that happens to me all the time, Margo.

Cricket remains interesting, Ann.>>

more than interesting. dare I risk saying that normal service has been resumed, at least in the bowling department, and Bairstow looks very comfortable behind the stumps.

Good luck with your trip to Devon. hopefully where you are going has escaped the worst as we did, with just our polytunnel a casualty.

Happy 2014 to you too, and a safe trip back to Sydney.

Did you two hear Kerry O'Keefe announced his retirement yesterday. His last gig will be Sydney.

Bokhara2 - i heard it on radio this morning. Aggers sounded very sad about it. Having heard a bit of Mr O'Keefe while we were in OZ, i wasn't that upset, but then, it will hardly affect me. And I didn't have much to compare him with, apart from endless pop and a thrilling programme that interrupted the cricket at about 12 noon everyday which was called something like "country file in Queensland/Victoria/NSW/" and seemed to be mostly about the cattle prices. TMS it was not.

Jim Maxwell, OTOH, is a joy to listen to, and I'd be very sorry if he were to retire any time soon.

No I didn't hear Kerry was retiring. Why?

Cricket news is scarce in Scotland - TMS is on only occasionally, but I miss the fun of Kerry O'Keefe, baiting Aggers. The commentary is quite proper here.

Cricket still interesting - 39 runs needed at 2.52am!

Kerry o'keefe is hilarious, I'll miss him and his crazy laugh and funny stories.

He just thinks he's been at it long enough, time to go. He announced it yesterday or the day before, just very low key.

I'm old enough to remember Alan McGillvray, Dickie Bird & so many of the entertaining & witty commentators since then.

I was allowed to get the first radio in a new ute because I told my uncle we'd be able to listen to the cricket - and god help anyone who arrived at whatever job the men were doing without being able to give them an update on the state of play.

Like the ABC news music - cricket on the radio is parting the soundtrack of my youth. Still is.