Friday 24 December

Christmas Eve is upon us, and I make use of the daylight hours by going for a walk. First into the next town to buy some mobile phone top-up. Only to discover that my SIM has been disabled for non-use. I have not used it for more than 6 months. The other gripe is that although my credit expired, the €33 is still shown on the phone. Annoying. The roads in Velp are atrocious. No gritting or clearing has been done, and the snow sits on a substrate of sheet ice. You can imagine the slipsliding away that goes on, and not just by pedestrians.

Our aim for the walk is the Emma Pyramid, a viewpoint on a hill in the forest. The only problem is that the trees have grown too tall to see much beyond the confines of the forest, apart from the Rhine valley to the southeast. There is a thick layer of snow on the ground, up to 8 inches (20 cm) in places. The roads in the forest and heathlands areas have been closed; you need to know that this is actually a hilly district in Holland, and roads are steep and winding. The highest point stands at 370 feet above sealevel.

In the evening, I attended the Christmas Eve service in the local church. I was invited to join the tenor section of the church choir, as they are always short. I'm out of practice, but hope I made a useful contribution.


Church


Emma Pyramid


Road closed


Ducks - unusual ones


Slippery roads in Velp