Ladies and Gents, I'm really really cold, I love snow, but it's getting annoying trying to get to work in a blizzard every morning, oh yeah and somewhere out there in the cold is my wife trying to get home for Christmas.

The snow hitting the car windscreen was giving her tunnel vision, she loved the snow, she really did, but this was a joke. She'd borrowed a Volvo C70 estate 4x4, from the estate manager for this journey, and the unusual driving position was making her miserable. In the back of the car slept her youngest son, all of 3 he and his big brother had been up since 5am the excitement of Christmas morning to big a draw for them to stay in their beds. They'd spent the week running up to today at her father's estate of Blengindale, with the understanding that they would travel to The Holmes estate at Thame in time for Christmas Day Lunch.

John and Sherlock would already be at the house, an SOS text message from Sherlock 2 days before had advised her of that. Mycroft had decided that the couple would travel to Oxfordshire with himself and his assistant when they left Whitehall on Friday afternoon. After years of avoiding all Christmas festivity, this year Sherlock would have no choice. They of course would have had a chauffeur driven black Mercedes to ensure their safe arrival. Lucy and her precious boys would have to face the horror of a 100mile drive, in a snow storm on Christmas Day.

The M23 and M25 were fine, quiet and with little weather, but the M40 had proved her undoing. The quiet road and lack of gritters had meant snow settling on the carriageway and despite the Volvo's excellent road handling she was struggling to travel at a decent speed. Squinting at the road in front, she wished she'd left earlier, but Simon and John had been playing with their new toys and her father hadn't wanted them to leave at all.

"It's OK Mummy, we have plenty of time" Simon informed her from the passenger seat, "Lunch isn't till after 3, and it's only 12 now."

Lucy looked across at him and smiled, all three of them were wearing matching reindeer jumpers, and Simon had pulled his sleaves down to cover his little cold hands. She reached across and pulled him towards her.

"You know I love you, don't you kiddo?" she asked him, taking her eyes from the road, to plant a brief kiss onto the top of his dark brown curls, before gently pushing the child away.

"Yeah!" he told her, carefully re-arranging his hair.

Radio 4 was playing gently in the car, after The Archer's omnibus it had changed to Desert Island Discs, but she hadn't any interest in changing it. A comedienne she didn't recognise was taking Destiny's Child Bootylicious, to her island. A thought of how Radio 4 was dumbing down ran through her head, before she realised that not only was Jnr awake behind her but was in fact dancing and singing along.

"Where did you hear this song?" Lucy asked Simon, a little disturbed by her giggling toddler.

"Uncle John sings it all the time" Simon explained, looking at his tiny singing brother.

"figures!"

So there will be more, I'm thinking Christmas Lunch, 'cos well you know we can all imagine them.

Stay warm, stay safe

Merry Christmas

Jason xxx