An English Christmas?

Well, obviously it isn't Christmas but here we have the holly, the red berries, and the snow, so in another reality it must be Christmas!
A final morning with the Harlings and then Pete set off on the next leg of his journey, we headed off for Manchester Airport with NotCuthbert, and Bramble took BrambleBlossom for a walk.
Our whole trip went smoothly and tonight we are in a hotel at Arlanda (Stockholm) Airport, congratulating ourselves on choosing this option, rather than jumping into the car for the 5 hour drive home in the dark!
At the airport here we waited for an elevator and when it arrived the doors opened to reveal a good friend from home in mid-Sweden, headed in the opposite direction to us! What are the chances of that happening?! We amended our plans and took a coffee together. He was on the way home from Paris and would soon be taking a train northward, as we headed to our hotel before driving northwards tomorrow.
We've just got back from our evening meal in the hotel restaurant. There were a lot of guests and the staff were running hard to keep up. We had a minor problem with our meal and the manager offered us a couple of complimentary beers. We sympathised with their stressful lives and chatted a bit with the staff. When we paid he gave us an extra hotel discount and we gave a good tip. Being nice brings rewards to everyone!
We had a wonderful time in the UK. We saw nearly all of our families, sharing lots of good experiences involving good food, both at home and out, and culture and sights and walks! Having said that it is also good to be back in our chosen homeland speaking Swedish and feeling the crisp dry winter air.
Tomorrow we hope to drive home in daylight. Snow will be falling but hopefully not too much, and in any case we can expect the main road north to be well cleared. Homeward bound!