The best of the rest from this year - all the stuff that didn't fit anywhere else. Snowmen, cakes, and friends reunited.

One advantage of leaving Blackpool until the autumn was that we got to see the illuminations, which were wonderful, although their electricity bill must be astronomical. While the sun was up we dallied on the beach, drank coffee in the ballroom and got a little wary on the glass floor at the top of the tower. Nice work if you can get it.

We've known Douglas and Ruth for years, and on a beautiful summer's afternoon in June they finally tied the knot at the picturesque Friar's Court, before holding a reception at a village hall just a few miles up the road from here. Worth it just for the cheese.

A few shots from our camping week in May, where we got to Warwick Castle and the middle of Birmingham, among other random little jaunts.

We try and get to London at least once a year, and on Easter Saturday we were up at the crack of dawn to get to the Science Museum in time for their autism friendly session at the Power UP video games exhibit. There were games from 1972 and games from the present and just about everything in between, and we could have spent the entire day there, but we also got the chance to visit the London Eye, the Tate Modern and the Shrek Experience. There were jokes about it being a family reunion. Bet you can't guess which one of us they were talking about.

In April we made the first of three visits to Alton Towers - a place the two of us hadn't visited in years and which the kids had never seen. We eventually spent four days there, marvelling over the gardens, enjoying the shows, and riding everything we wanted at least twice.

For the most part the sunny climes you can see here don't reflect the reality: it was cold, grey and a bit wet. But Em and I had an absolutely brilliant time here, eating a fabulous breakfast, lounging in our luxury suite and examining every nook and cranny of this most unusual of places. It really was the most wonderful surprise.