That’s because Tricia and Nikki aren’t here. Yesterday morning I was up at 6 to take them to Heathrow, for their trip to New York. I had thought they would be full of excitement at the prospect of the trip, but both seemed a bit narked at having to get up so early. No pleasing some people. Anyhow, a straight forward trip to Terminal 3, and I was back home by 9am, listening intently to the cricket commentary as I drove. We beat the Saffers, woohoo. When I got home, Tricia’s brother David popped over for a while, and we had a cup of coffee and a catch up before it was back out again.

We had got Robbie a drum tuner for Christmas, and it didn’t entirely hit the spot, so off we went to Chesham, to visit the ‘drum shed’ to exchange it for something else. This place is ‘Robbie heaven’… he talked drums with the staff, and selected a couple of items and he was happy. Then it was off to Aylesbury, where Ellie wanted to spend some Christmas money on a new coat. I had instructions from Tricia on what she wanted, so it was all pretty straightforward. She got the coat she wanted, and a silly hat and also spent some of the money on a gift card in Claire’s accessories.  I then went to Brantano to get some replacement slippers as my old ones were becoming hazardous (the sole was coming off). Whilst in their Robbie found himself some new trainers, so he was happy.

Then back home for a cup of tea and a flop in the chair. Tricia had asked that I take down the Christmas decorations whilst she was away, and so I removed all the trees around the house. The lights had gone on the main tree anyway, and I haven’t taken everything down. I have left the garlands with the lights on, so there is still some decoration in the house. But it is good to have the tree down, simply because the blessed cats kept trying to wreck it.

I dropped Robbie off at his mates this morning, then went and got some replacement light bulbs Tricia wanted me to get, and and I am now just sat enjoying some peace and quiet….

Happy New Year to one and all.

Yes, that is a deliberately wrong spelling of Christmas.. it turns out that on one of the cakes Tricia did for a customer she piped Chirstmas, instead of Christmas… the customer was amused thankfully.

Well, Christmas Eve was busy with an early start, dropping Nikki off in Hatfield where she was working before going onto Watford. When I had finished it was back to Hatfield to pick Nik up, then home. We had a quick turnround before Nikki, Ellie and me went up to church for the Carol Service. Nikki was doing a reading. Back home for our Christmas Eve meal… then a a tidy up. By the time Nikki and Tricia went off to midnight mass I was whacked and went to bed.

I slept soundly till 8am when Ellie knocked on the door to see if it would be ok to go and open some presents. Bless her, that was remarkably patient. Once Ellie was up we all were.. and once we had enjoyed some wake up juice (tea), present opening was allowed.

Breakfast was our usual Christmas one of Croissants and Bucks Fizz. It all caught up with Tricia about 11:30 am when she fell asleep in the sofa, no doubt a combination of all the hard work she has been doing catching up, and the Bucks Fizz.

Whilst Tricia dozed, I managed to produce the dinner. The picture below contains Nikki pulling a face… children, what would you do with them. After dinner, we all watched the latest Harry Potter film, which Ellie had received in her Christmas sack. It was then Nikki’s turn to snooze, and snore.

I watched the first of the much vaunted Doctor Who and thought it was mainly drivel. I watched the Royle Family, and honestly think they should stop, it’s just a rehash of what was once funny, but no longer is. Tricia and I had watched Victoria Wood on Christmas Eve, and thought that some of that was good. But really, so far Christmas TV has been mainly drivel. I watched a documentary on Laurel and Hardy, which I enjoyed, I always used to think (and still do) they were brilliant. Comedy expression and timing was brilliant.

Boxing Day, Tricia’s parents came over. Trish cooked a Beef Wellington with roasted vegetables, which was fantatstic. West Ham beat Portsmouth 2-0… which I am pleased about, even though my Dad won’t be quite so pleased about it. I sat up and watche Match of The Day, to see the game… well, when I say watched, what I mean is, that I saw the West Ham game, then woke up in the chair an hour later.

I managed to get out on the bike today. What with the bad weather before Christmas, I hadn’t been able to get out on the bike, and sitting around these last few days made me keen to get some fresh air. So, I had an hour on the bike, and feel better for it. If the weather is reasonable tomorrow, I shall repeat the exercise. Tricia and Nikki went off and did a training session, so they feel better for the exercise as well.

 Ellie has been intrigued by the recent operation performed by the vet on the two kittens… Tricia and I variously described the operation on the cats as being ‘nadgered’. Male cat castration is necessary for a number of reasons, not just avoiding an over population of cats. Tricia was trying to explain what had happened… and Ellie considered the explanation and then asked … so, has he had his balls cut off ? Well, you can always rely on a youngster to get to the root of the matter !

I managed to pick up Nikki this evening. As she is not at her uni home for a few weeks now, and the house she lives in will be unoccupied over the Xmas period, we have brought a lot of her possessions home, rather than leave them for a burglar to have. Nikki is all excited, not just because its Christmas, but also because she is going to New York with Tricia next week. Me, erm, well I will be at home with Robbie and Ellie.

I had been getting some judder/echo on the car this last week when driving, so went to Kwik Fit for a look see, and ended up with four new tyres on the car this morning…. I suppose at least I have maximum tread in the bad weather. And the problem has been solved. I also got a wing mirror glass replaced, after somebody clipped the wing mirror. So, the car is feeling better about itself.

The last time I remember snow before Christmas … 1981. 28 years ago, and on the walk back from midnight mass, Dad took a tumble. I also recall a white christmas in 1970, when it snowed on Christmas Eve. I told my brother Steve, who excitedly got out of bed to look, and fell and hurt himself… apparantly this created chaos downstairs as all FC’s presents were being sorted out and had to be hurriedly hidden. Kids.. don’t you just love us.

 Well, I got into Watford, but it was quite slow going. Part of the A41 was closed, and when I did get onto it, it was pretty much single line traffic, with loads of abandoned vehicles by the roadside. I have been trying to remember a time when we had this sort of weather this side of Christmas, and I think it was probably in the early 80’s, when I remember walking to midnight mass with the family, in the snow. It is difficult to buy into the whole climate warming theory when you get cold snaps like this.

Tricia abandoned ideas to go training in Tring last night, due to the weather. A wise decision based on the amount of abandoned cars I saw near Tring. Trish was due to go down to Swindon with her Mum today to see her relatives there, but they called off the visit due to the weather. I am off to pick up Nikki from Hatfield this evening. This photo was taken from the bedroom window last night… you can just about see the lights on the conider outside the house.

I met Trish… it was at the Aylesbury police station Xmas social. I hadn’t intended to go, as I was working early shift the following morning, but thought I would go across for a drink. A little, spare of the moment decision that fell in my favour. We have been together since, and had fun since. We had a glass of champagne this evening to mark the occasion.

A busy weekend just gone. Claire had her 18th, so we were at Wendy & Robs yesterday, it was good to see everyone before Christmas. On the Sunday morning I did a reading in church. Saturday was the lighting of the church tree, and a walk around the village singing carols… it was rather cold.

More snow this evening  , which no doubt will make for a slow drive into the offifce in the morning. Still traffic should be light.

Having got home this evening, and had an interesting meal – couscous with pomegranite and a lamb dish, very nice indeed – I was despatched to deliver some cakes around the village. My goodness the temperature had dropped, it was rather chilly. God had turned the thermostat down. I suspect it will be a bit icy on the road tomorrow.

This time last year I was reflecting on 2008, and how the economy had gone pear shaped, MFI, Woolies disappearing, etc. I suppose there has been a steadying of the economy and we haven’t quite seen the big stories we had in 2008, and we have even seen some stock market recovery. Not that all is well yet, inflation was up to 1.9% today, so still below the 2.2% government target, though I wonder if this means we might start to see interest rates rise, even though the economy is still flat. If interest rates are kept low, will we see inflation starting to run ahead… who would be an economist ? I was also wondering about how the ‘saviour’ President Obama would be looking a year on. He was swept in on a wave of media hype… he certainly seemed credible, spoke well, and had an authority and certainty about him… but he also had a trillion dollar deficit to deal with, which would no doubt stop him doing what he wanted.

I never expected him to get the nobel peace prize… what was that all about ? Precisely what did he do to deserve that ? A month later he started to send more American troops to Afghanistan. Sounds wrong to me. But in the States, it would seem that his ‘approval’ ratings have fallen. It isn’t his fault that he inherited an economic mess, but there seemed to be an expectation he would start waving a wand and fix everything. How deluded… Trouble is he can’t really seem to point at a success in any area, his foreign policy doesn’t seem to have made any difference in Iraq or Afghanistan. I don’t suppose that anybody else could have done better, but he is just a classic example of looking good, plenty of soundbites, media hype… and little substance. We should all worry about politicians who crave power… Tony Blair, David Cameron, even Gordon Brown, all desperate to be / have been PM regardless of what it took.

Tomorrow evening Robbie is off to London to meet Nikki and they are going onto a concert… guess who is picking him up at the station around midnight when he comes back… oh yes that would be me.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

A Boxing day dinner from either 86 or 87… Tricia took the photograph. And one of Ellie when she was about 3, with Tyson, our old cat with her.

A sad night, Ellie has just come home from her last Brownie meeting. Next year she will become a Guide. The Brown Owl at Ellies group also retired tonight, after 25 years as a Brown Owl. As a bloke who is married to a Brown Owl, all I can say is well done to her… 25 years running a Brownie pack, give her an OBE. She will be more deserving of it than some of the muppets that get OBE’s.

Ellie didn’t seem too upset finishing, she is just looking forward to Guides. Having said that, she will be donning the brown sash tomorrow with Tricia’s pack, who are singing at the British Legion. It did ocur to me though when I picked her up, that my little girl was growing up… she towers above most of the other Brownies, and is nearly as tall as Brown Owl.

I had a day off today, using up some leave I am owed. A relaxing sort of a day. I needed it. Tricia bought some Christmas crackers today… so we definately have everything now.

I think.

Ghosts of Christmas past

The first photograph is from a breakfast on Christmas morning 2007. Our usual Christmas breakfast is croissants and bucks fizz. The second photograph is from 24 years earlier, after midnight mass 1983 – I think. Dad is taking a picture of me taking a picture of him… I wonder if he has the corresponding picture anywhere ? In the drinks cabinet there is some Stella Artois, and on the shelf above, the Christmas cake. The cake would have done well to get as far as being iced, as we would sometimes eat the cake before it got that far. Having made it to Christmas, it certainly wouldn’t have lasted to New Years day !

Christmas is creeping up… and despite my best efforts to ignore it, it doesn’t seem to be going away. I suppose with less than two weeks to go, it is reasonable to start accepting the Christmas season. I do get a bit humbug about having Christmas shoved down my throat at every opportunity though, by shops and tv. Christmas is of course a business now in its own right… perhaps it always has been, but it just seem so much more commercialised now, then ever before. I don’t suppose we will ever lose the Christmas period as a time of celebration or festival, and perhaps the constant ‘commercialisation’ helps keep Christmas for us all, because if there wasn’t any money in it then perhaps there would be a danger of it slipping away. I have yet to see any stupid nonsense this year about renaming Christmas as ‘the winter festival’ which is a good thing.

I do however lament the present Christmas, and recall my childhood years when Christmas was all so different. There would be different foods, that you would only really see at Christmas, due to seasonal availability or affordability. Now supermarkets tend to stock all items all year round. The TV used to be great, you would see films for the first time, and a number of top class entertainment shows, such as Morecambe and Wise. There used to be a sense of anticipation, brought on by having to wait for all the special items of a special period. I don’t sense that is the case any longer. Perhaps it is just me getting older. To me Christmas is a time for family, and for reflection. If I have my family with me on Christmas Day I am a happy man.

The Christmas decorations went up yesterday… including the tree, and before you could say ‘cat’ we had three of them up the tree. The kittens in particular enjoyed the tree. They are being ‘educated’ at every opportunity about not going up there. Below is a picture of Todd (aka Trotsky) in a place he shouldn’t be. Tricia tells me all the Christmas shopping has been done. Today there was a Christingle service in church which I went to with Ellie. I have written the Christmas cards. I suppose you could say that we are into the season.

Tricia has been working like a demon, with chutney and preserves going in all directions. She has just about finished all the pre Christmas food fairs, and is now into icing and decorating cakes for all the orders she has had. The dining room is full of cakes and Christmas puds. In a way I will be glad when Christmas is here so that we can get some space back. Yesterday, after coaching at Brunel Uni in the morning, Tricia was at a food fair in Haddenham near Thame. The event closed at 5pm, and Tricia had started to pack up when she had her final customer.. Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and his wife… serving celebrities !

Last week Tricia was approached about some catering. A bloke who has been a producer for the pop band ‘The Kooks’ has moved into North Marston with his family. He has set up a recording studio at his property, and Tricia has been asked about catering for bands when they are at his recording studio… whats more, it seems they are looking for a team of lads to paint the studio in return for a free recording session… step in Robbie and his mates. So, he will be painting the studio week comm 21st Dec.

Nikki has been doing well with her training recently, and competed last weekend in 2 60m indoor events, as part of sharpening up her speed. She won the second race and is pretty pleased with progress. Unfortunately she is not well at the moment, having somehow managed to get shingles.. but she was well enough to go out on the Homebase Christmas do last night. They are pleased with her in Hatfield store at the moment, as twice in the last month she (unknowingly) had to deal with a ‘mystery shopper’. Both times she got full marks and so Hatfield are top of their region for customer service… as a result Nikki got… 2000 nectar points  worth about £15.

Robbie went to his mates Zak on Saturday and stayed over. With Nikki in Hatfield over the weekend, it was quiet in the house with just Tricia, Ellie and myself. I need to start getting used to this, because if Robbie goes off to Uni next Sept, it will be like that most of the time. This evening Tricia and I watched the annual BBC sports review… and it was won by Ryan Giggs. Ryan Giggs is a model professional, who has had a lot of success in his career, and can be said to be a good role model… BUT… Jessica Ennis is a world champion, who came back from serious injury, to become a world champion. I guess that because she isn’t a footballer she didn’t win it, but it all seems a bit wrong to me. Anyway, it was better than watching X Factor… thank goodness that has all finished.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

Here is my brother Steve after a midnight mass in the early 1980’s. An empty glass of sherry on the table next to him. And Ellie from Xmas 2002 when she was 3, with her Christmas cracker hat on upside down.