Monday, December 30, 2024

24-12-30 - Monday I - Christmas in 326 Miles

On Christmas Eve we drove to the MiL's house up in Oxon, in a little village called Long Hanborough. We had a nice afternoon getting ready for actual Christmas in a different house and then cracked into Christmas there. Christmas was a quiet low-key affair, as we were celebrating with TW's Mum who is 80 and her partner who is 89. 
I got some nice presents including a lovely warm dressing gown and I think TW appreciated her gifts. 
On Boxing Day we drove to Bristol and celebrated with TW's family including the MiL & partner and TW's brother and sister and spouses and nephews. It was a lovely day, more celebrational than actual Christmas Day and unfortunately I overdid it slightly. 
On the 27th we girded our loins and drove back to Worthing on a very slow M4 - it took us five hours to get home but once we'd got off the M4 onto the A34 the traffic was more free-flowing. When we got home we watched three episodes from the first series of Gavin and Stacey as a family, which I really enjoyed.
The other thing of note worth mentioning was how still and how foggy it was for three days or so. Driving to Bristol we couldn't see the countryside and I was disappointed about that, and it was really quite mild - no need for heavy jackets at all. It was difficult to get a fire going in Long Hanborough because it was so still. 
It was a lovely four days though, and a great way to spend Christmas. 
TTFN.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

24-12-18 - Wednesday I - A Birthday Trip to The White Horse, Chilgrove

Sunday 1st December, the day of my 53rd birthday, TW & I went to The White Horse in Chilgrove. We stopped in Chichester on the way and TW shopped for a few Christmas gifts at John Lewis and Home Sense, then drove on to Chilgrove.
We checked in and lay on the large double bed watching an FA cup game, which was a nice distraction. It was just the two of us, in the afternoon, with nothing to do except enjoy each others' company and pass the time until dinner.
Speaking of which, the food was lovely. I had rainbow trout with some horseradish loveliness to start, which was a departure for me. TW was planning to have steak for her main but because it was Sunday and they were doing roasts, steak wasn't on offer. So we had burgers and fries, which were delicious but not the experience we had planned. We had cocktails as well, which were delicious and refreshing,  and then shared a bottle of wine that could have been a bit colder. TW of course had a pudding which was delicious but would have been too much for me - I've always preferred "starter and main" rather than "starter, main & pud". The restaurant had a nice atmosphere, it was very relaxed, and I enjoyed the evening. We were tired from the previous evening so it was early to bed for us. 
Next morning my cold really started to develop, so we had breakfast which was again delicious - I chose eggs Benedict instead of a full English, another departure - and then we came home where I retired to bed for a couple of days. 
It's funny, I seem to remember not being floored by colds twenty years ago, but these days it really helps just to get into bed and watch some mindless Christmas films where concentration is only minimally required. And lots of lemsip and tissues, of course. 
So that was Birthday #53, let's see if #54 can top it!

TTFN.