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.

19-12-29 Sunday - A Good Christmas

So far the season has been good to us as a family. I had a cold for the last few days I was supposed to work before the Christmas break, so I had a longer rest than intended. In fact, I’ve still got the remains of a blocked nose and a cough, as a reminder of that illness.

We stayed with family just outside Dorking, which isn’t very far away at all. We drove up on Christmas Day itself and stayed over in a Travelodge Christmas night. It was clean enough, but there were only four beds for five of us, so that tarnished the experience somewhat. We managed, though.

Christmas Day itself was very relaxed, and J&J had everything under control. I didn’t drink, but there was plenty of fizz floating around and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I treated myself to a couple of Moretti Zeros, which is currently my favourite dry tipple. We had more food for lunch than we needed, although my nephew M did his best to finish it all by having two platefuls of food. On Boxing Day he shared that he had put on 11 pounds on Christmas Day – we weren’t surprised, especially as he had four mince pies and some apple pie for pudding, with brandy cream.

After dinner we opened our presents, which took nearly two hours. TW and I only had one present each, but a number of us had multiple presents from friends as well, so opening those took some time. I was given a base layer for running, which I had asked for, and TW received a pair of trainers, as if she didn’t have enough pairs already.

On Boxing Day we played Scrabble and Monopoly and nobody was harmed in the process, which was nice. We headed home at about six pm in the dark and the rain, after a lovely day.

Since then we’ve been in the Winterval limbo, not quite sure what day of the week it is. We’ve got another week before we have to get back to normal, so let’s see how we’re feeling by next Sunday...

TTFN.

18-07-24 Tuesday - Christmas in July

So, Movies 24 (channel 325 on Sky) has been hosting a “Christmas in July” season. And I’ve been recording a few of the films to watch. Normally I wouldn’t be that bothered, but a friend of mine hosts a “Half Christmas” and that has kind of infected me, I guess... 

Half Christmas is like Christmas, but it’s halfway between last Christmas and next Christmas. We have roast turkey, roast potatoes, red cabbage, sprouts, thick seasonal gravy, except there is lots of booze involved and if the weather is favourable, we get a suntan at the same time.  

So she (N) has lent me a couple of seasonal Christmas books and in addition to the Half Christmas festivities, it’s opened my eyes to the fact that Christmas isn’t just limited to late November / December. And when I saw that Movies 24 were running a “Christmas in July” season, I thought it would be good to watch a few of them.  

Christmas-themed films tend to be love stories dressed up in snow and mistletoe. They tend to be variable in quality, and to date there has been one which I didn’t bother watching to the end. That was due to the low production values, I think, rather than the story. The story itself was rather whimsical, it was suggesting that Santa Claus’s daughter was working with the USPS to answer letters to kids who had written to Father Christmas. And there was a single guy who had taken on the responsibility of looking after his orphaned niece, so there was a big hint about how the film would end. But the production values were poor and they reminded me of a kids’ show, and so I deleted it.  

At the other end of the quality rainbow, I’ve seen a couple of seasonal goodies starring Dean Cain (formerly of Superman fame). One was a skiing film, which was enjoyable, and the other was called “Broadcasting Christmas”, in which Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Melissa Joan Hart) was a co-star. That was a good one.  

Anyway, I’ve got a couple of films left to watch. But I’ve enjoyed watching a load of crappy festive movies, and I’d like to continue down this particular furrow. Unfortunately, this particular season draws to a close this Friday, so there’s only a couple of films left to watch. But it’s been fun.  

TTFN.  

Tuesday 16-12-27 Christmas

Well, that was a busy few days, and it was even busier for TW. We had our annual Christmas Eve drinks, an open house where friends and family were invited to relax and start the festive celebrations, and we also had family staying over and more family visiting on Christmas Day. We went for a walk along the seafront on Boxing Day, yesterday, as a family group (13 of us) and then we had the parents back to ours for the afternoon and a cold supper of leftovers, before collapsing into bed at ten last night.
TW had it all planned; she had been feeling a little anxious about the whole thing. It's not straightforward to have an open house for about a hundred guests on the Saturday afternoon and then cook Christmas dinner for 14 on the Sunday. So she took the opportunity while she was babysitting the Friday before Christmas week to write a whole load of lists - what shopping needed to be bought, when the meat needed to be collected, what needed to be done around the house, and once she had those she felt much better. Unfortunately I had a cold so I wasn't much help in the couple of days before Christmas, but she got there, and it was very much all TW's doing. The open house went without a hitch and we headed off to Christingle, where I tickled TE during the hymns until she complained to TW that I was drunk and they swapped places.
I do love the Christingle service, and the energy involved. This year they tried to make sense of the story and relate it to the real world, so for instance they said that Mary at nine months pregnant wouldn't have ridden on a donkey but she may have been in a cart pulled by a donkey. They pulled away at the elements of the Nativity like peeling an onion, and they finished with the assertion that, however it happened, the one essential part of the story is that a child was born to a virgin. I turned to TW when I heard that, and pointed out that is the one part of the story which is scientifically disprovable. Then we sang some more hymns and came home for Christmas Eve.
We had TW's sister and family to stay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so TW had spent most of the previous week blitzing the house into a new level of cleanliness. It certainly worked, it was lovely. M&P and the MiL stayed with us for dinner on Christmas Eve, and they went at about 9pm I think (...?). My cold was just easing off and the prosecco I had been drinking all day was drying it out as well. We headed to bed and looked forward to Christmas Day.
The childers woke us up at just after 05:30, and so we told them to go back to sleep. I didn't sleep, and so when they stirred again at 06:00, we let them get up. It was about 07:00 when they started opening their stockings because we had to wait for the cousins and S & A. TW was happy with her haul, and the girls were happy with their stuff. The cousins liked their presents, and then we had the first tidy-up of the day, getting rid of all the paper etc.
Breakfast consisted of bagels with salmon and cream cheese, followed by croissants with butter and apricot jam, and fresh orange juice and coffee. Then M&P arrived, while the MiL had set off to collect the GiL, who was also spending the day. It was a standard Christmas day, there was lots of presents opened and wine drunk, and laughter had. It was very enjoyable and very tiring. Unfortunately I didn't get to Skype with my sister, it would have been nice for the children to have wished each other a Merry Christmas but they'll catch up soon, I am sure.
The GiL went back to hers at about 18:00 I think, she did say that she wanted to stay but since we had all beds occupied, that would have been impractical, and she would have found it difficult to get up the stairs to the toilet unaided I think, so the choice was taken to ferry her home.
I was happy with my presents; I got a new hoodie, which I had seen online and liked the look of, and it didn't disappoint in real life. I also got Mainlander by Will Smith, Head Carrier by Pixies, and the obligatory pants and socks. TW and her sister did most of the prep in the kitchen and enjoyed a few Aperol spritzes, and all in all it was a very enjoyable day.

And So the Festivities End

Welcome to the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. It's been a period of over-indulgence in several ways; we've had lots of fun, lots of presents and lots of booze.
TW spent a lot of time in hospital with her gran - she's fine, still going strong and is as stubborn as ever.
Our Christmas Eve drinks party / open house tradition was a success again. I say 'our', but really it is all down to TW. She loves it. The Day itself was a restrained affair at M&P's, and then friends came over for the evening.
I was back to work on Thursday 27th as I had drawn the short straw at work.
New Year's Eve was a second wave of over-indulgence and January 1st was a very slow day indeed - all the girls saw in the New Year though, which was a good thing (I think).
Then 2nd Jan was back to work again and for me it's been back to normal every since. TW, on the other hand, restarts her routine tomorrow - and that might be a shock to the system... :)
Me? I've already been out running twice this year, and looking forward to getting out more.
Happy New Year!

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Christmas Hangover

Well, that was a lovely Christmas. Time with family and friends, and delicious food and too much wine.

On Christmas Day TW's family came over and we had some of the most delicious food. Delicious roast potatoes, red cabbage and turkey. The cauliflower cheese didn't work as well, though... :(
We lived on fizz in the morning and moved on to wine for lunch. We'd opened our stocking presents in the morning, and then when we were sated with stuffing and cranberry, we opened our tree presents. The day was very relaxed, the kids were great, and GiL fell asleep in her dinner. A perfect day.

But it wasn't over! Then we went to our neighbours for Christmas Night. We drank more wine, I went to bed at 20:00 with our youngest, and then arose at 21:30 to carry on. We played charades, drank more wine and then retired at 01:30 (or so I am told).

Boxing Day was a very sedate affair. I didn't eat much, and had to go to bed again at 12:30 to lie down. I was not feeling very chipper. After an hour and a half I arose to catch the end of 'Elf', and felt much more human.

27th December was another spontaneously boozy day. We had guests for lunch at 12:15, and then invited some friends over at 18:30. Lots of booze was consumed and I woke up with another hangover.

I'm looking forward to getting back to work.

TTFN.

iPhone 12 Days of Christmas App

I received an email from O2, or Apple, or both, advising that between 26th December and 6th Jan, I would be entitled to a free download each day.  I didn't have high hopes, as 'free' normally means 'of no interest', to my understanding of things.

However, I have dutifully downloaded everything on offer so far, and as a result I have the following:

a Kylie Minogue single (never to be played or mentioned again)

a Cheryl Cole single (to be played once, and then probably deleted)

a Father Ted Christmas special (probably the jewel in the crown, but the 12 days aren't up yet...)

a game - Fishing Kings (no idea why I downloaded this, it didn't work)

Life of Pi (through iBooks - this should be good).

 

So, all told, 2 out of 5 isn't bad.  But why would I download Cheryl Cole or Kylie tracks, when I have absolutely no interest in those?  It's just part of this 'eat all you can, consume all data' era we live in...  I think a New Year's resolution should be that I be more choosy in what I download, and not just take it cos it's free.  There are other resolutions too...

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site