I took the lads sledging in Durham this afternoon. Fo was still zonked out but getting better. Into her grub anyway! The snow was quite thick but wet so the sledging was a bit slower than expected not that I noticed because I had a nice three mile walk around the river Wear and into the City. A few snowstorms blew over which made it really cosy and I had a good look with dripping binoculars at the two very mature Goosanders I saw yesterday . True to form as soon as I stood still to observe them they moved off but didn't fly off . Not many open patches of water at the moment so the risk/reward ratio was in favor of staying put. When I got back to the lads for biscuit break the they were having a good time so I went off for another just half hour trek this time through a downpour of snow . Great ! When I next got back to the lads Miles had just about ripped his trouser leg off because ( as far as the little pratts were telling me ) they zoomed down the slope held together by this stick which broke , stuck in the ground and then ripped up Miles leg taking out the trouser part leaving a nice deep scratch that was going in the direction of his wedding tackle . As I have frequently said in the past " Always protect your nuts" but I chewed him over anyway because if the stick had stuck more firmly in the ground it could have impaled his leg or worse . I had a bit of a job keeping a straight face when I did this but he still believes me even when I was in Oscar winning performance mode . Good! Cracking afternoon out made even better by being greeted by a warm cuddly wife who is feeling a lot better !