Wouldn't it be nice of Christmas was a time of wonder, peace and contemplation; a time to think through the events of the year gone by and prepare for the new adventures of the year ahead? Not realistic? Still rushing around doing all the last minute preparations for a season filled with stress, parties and noise? Well, this picture certainly took my mind off the more mundane worries of the festive season:

The door to fairyland
One of these rare pictures that fill you with a sense of wonder and - curiously enough - a strong desire that there should be fairies. The strange light somehow promises to be even stranger when you walk through that portal; will it be like Sebastian's journey in The Never-ending story (great book but crap movie), or are Greg Bear's Sidhe waiting for the unsuspecting traveller at the other side? Or is it Mythago wood where what I meet are conjured up from my wishes and fears...

I nicked this from my friend Solan, the maths professor, as I thought it was absolutely brilliant, and I keep wishing he would write more often.... In his post, it ends with the magical 'enter and see'. Stop by Solan's blog and check it out if you are curious about the picture's origin.