the movie a christmas story was partially filmed, and partially based on my hometown of whiting, indiana. after subjecting myself last year to boredom and misery for a week over christmas, this year i insisted that my family spend christmas someplace more exciting or, at least, a bit warmer.

we woke up christmas morning, had some coffee in our hotel suite, and cracked open some imported christmas crackers [and some christmas pudding] that i smuggled over from old blighty. we then opened our gifts, and went to the local cuban restaurant for some cuban sandwiches for breakfast. on the walk back to the hotel, we decided to buy swimwear, beach towels, sandals and some sunscreen and cross the street to miami beach.

laying on the beach, in the 78°F sunshine, with a cool breeze and calming waves crashing at your feet — that is how i’d like to spend every christmas. from my mobile phone, i called my dad’s side of the family back up in indiana, and spoke to all the uncles, cousins, grandparents and others that i’ve spent the past 24 christmas mornings with. i miss them, don’t get me wrong, but, in the grand scheme of things, spending christmas in miami with mumsy and bro makes a lot more sense to my and their general wellbeing.

after a few hours sunning and swimming, we trekked back to the hotel, vegged out, and then had a delightful dinner al fresco at a lovely italian seafood restaurant on the entirely-too-lovely lincoln road. we had the best calamari i’ve ever had. mumsy had penne vodka, and mike and i shared some shrimp, chicken and steak fajitas. all accompanied by some refreshing pinot grigo, i’m proud to say that it’s the most dignified and elegant christmas that my family and i have ever spent together.

we spent a few hours enjoying the sights, smells and shopping of lincoln road and the surrounding miami beach before calling it an early night and catching up on much-needed sleep.

i’ve said it before on my trips to san diego… i love london to death, but my gawd, how a bit of sunshine and cleanliness can really improve one’s wellbeing.

i’ve been staring blankly at the wall now for about 4 hours. my brain has melted into a puddle of cranial goo.

so, excuse my unconnected thoughts at the mo…

a joke from textism: have you ever seen boy scouts sleeping? it’s in tents. :grin:

ponder this: it costs me 4p a minute to ring the usa from the uk. it costs 8c [5p] a minute to ring the uk from the us. why does it cost me 24p a minute to call my mate’s mobile phone? :mad:

when is the world going to realize exactly how good i am in bed? something about mister royal intrigues me. :roll:

i wanna be a rocket man:

the sexiest typeface is sabon. why? two reasons: it’s a delight to rough out by hand using some charcoal, and, i mean, look at those sophisticated italics! :shock:

do you think my family will figure out that i bought all of their christmas prezzies at the airport on christmas eve, because i’m the most unmotivated shopper on the planet?