Also, I was wondering whether it would it have been visible over xmas? When I was staying down in Sussex, went out for evening walks on a couple of days and saw a very bright planet .. I happened to suggest it might be mercury, but that was just a wild guess! Well, it was more saying that it was a possibility, (either that or venus or jupiter!), but that mercury isn't shown on my planesphere because it moves too quick (plus I didn't have it with me at the time either - obviously, as not something I had thought of packing
so was completely 'in the dark', as it were
)