Blue Planet III

Our goal today was to finish editing our Christmas newsletter and post our Christmas cards. This was accomplished. We are pleased to introduce Blue Planet III as the successor to Settlers of Catan in 2016, Halldark in 2015, and numerous other home-crafted missives that have tested our creative talents since 1992.

So far none of our friends has come anywhere near identifying Blue Planet as our 2017 theme. Their predictions have included Boris, Brexit, fake news, and/or Trump (all far too depressing for a Christmas newsletter); Elena Ferrante (I would have loved to have done this, but only those who have read the Neopolitan novels would have understood it); and a few non-topical and slightly bizarre suggestions such as Katie Morag, the gunpowder plot, and the Wizard of Oz. Our friends have been on target, however, when it comes to the content of our newsletter. Those who predicted mention of the 2017 eclipse and crazy cycling tours will not be disappointed. A few blippers also feature in the text: alfthomas, ArcLight, don_T, new blipper jtiitanen (do pop by and say hello to him), nadinepierce, Ridgeback13, TBay, and Winsford.

We have also returned to our exercise regime. I even managed a run (without knee/ankle pain) just before lunch. I should not, however, have volunteered to accompany Mr hazelh on my bike as he set off for an 80 minute run in the freezing cold and failing light. I returned home chilled to the bone with my fingertips in absolute agony.

This evening we also found time to pop out to a lecture at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on the representation of the Middle Ages in film. It was a very entertaining and well-presented talk which prompted some interesting conversation on our walk back home from town.

Exercise today: 36-minute run, 10 mile bike ride, 20,044 steps