December came… Matt celebrated his birthday on the 1^st, and on the same day Rob and me went to Bracknell after work to visit the folks. People started opening advent calendars, and so the festive season kicked off. It became the month of mass mince pie making for Tricia…

Friday Dec 4^th, and Tricia was catering for another funeral. There had been a few lately.  In the evening though, it was out for some fun as it was ‘curry night away’. We went with Pete and Sara to the Fort in Buckingham, where we were joined by Nikki and Matt. Then on Saturday, it was the North Marston Christmas Bazaar, so Tricia was on duty there. Then it was onto Waddesdon manor in the evening for the lights. Not as cold as last year, but a still chilly and windy, we ended up enjoying a free burger courtesy of Elliott, and a nice ‘flat white’ coffee for me as well.

Sunday morning Tricia and Nikki met up with their old coach Brian for a catch up. Then in the afternoon Tricia and me went to our first Christmas social, drinks at the Docwras. Very pleasant :-). Meanwhile Rob and Amy enjoyed a day out at Whipsnade Zoo.

On Monday the 7^th, Ellie was starting her ‘dreaded’ mock GCSE’s. Two weeks of stress… and as much as she wanted to look forward to Christmas, she knew she couldn’t until the mocks were done. Credit to her though, she has declined the opportunity of a trip to Munich as it would have fallen in the middle of her mocks, and she decided it wasn’t the right thing to do and that her mocks were more important. Also on Monday there was the Brownie Christingle… Christmas was coming quick! Tricia got the fireplace decorated…

On the Wednesday I went to the ‘end of year’ event at work. End of Year… FGS what can’t they call it a Christmas event. Changing the name just so as not to offend anyone…. Makes my blood boil. Anyhow, this was a subdued, afternoon event. We had just gone through a round of cuts, and se we were all losing friends from the organisation… we didn’t feel like celebrating. I had survived… twice in a year. But not so lucky for my good friend Peter. He had been given notice and would be leaving at the end of Feb. On Thursday I had to sit in on the Waddesdon AGM… a fairly light affair, but a job done.

Then it was Friday… and Tricia and Nikki were off to Munich for the weekend. With Ellie dropping out, Nikki agreed to go with Tricia. So I dropped them off at Luton airport on Friday afternoon. I picked Robbie up from Tring on the way back… he was staying over to have a driving lesson the next day. Rob was pleased with himself, he has just been nominated as ‘employee of the year’ where he works. Not bad! On the Saturday morning Robbie and Ellie jumped in the car with me and we went and purchased a Christmas tree. Ellie was dropped off at the Green Dragon on the way back… she was an elf at the grotto in the lead up to Christmas. In the evening I dropped Robbie off at Tring, and then went on to Wargrave, where I met up with Steve and Mark for a curry and a catch up.

On Sunday, I dropped Ellie at work, and then went in search of some holly…. I managed to get some and then finally put the advent wreath together. It was the third Sunday in Lent, so a little behind schedule. I put the tree up, and managed to get the lights on the tree outside. Tricia arrived back late Sunday evening, Matt picked her and Nikki up. She had had a good weekend but was tired. It was good for her to have a break in between all the cooking demands she had. They were later than expected because of delays taking off due to fog…. and they sat on the runway… and because it was Nikki and Tricia somehow they managed to get an opportunity to go and sit in the cockpit!

On Monday the 14^th, I worked up in London for the day, and then in the evening met up with my old Pres school mate Julian. Then on Thursday evening it was The Waddesdon school carol service. I always enjoy this, and to add to it this year, Ellie was doing one of the readings. It pretty much marks the end of school term. Ellie finished her mocks on the Friday, and happily finished for Christmas. Tricia finally got her cards written… and celebrated with something bubbly…

On the Saturday , it was the real or ‘Living Nativity’. We started at one end of the village and worked down to the Shotton’s where we finished, having collected shepherds and kings along the way. It was fun… I am a bit old for playing Joseph. But Mary was older than me 🙂 …  In the evening we were at Lisa and Bradley’s for drinks. A pleasant evening. Here is the nativity… even featured in the Bucks Herald.

Then all of a sudden we were into the week before Christmas. On Sunday the 20^th, we went to see Star Wars at the cinema. It was ok… Tricia was busy of course, not helped by having another funeral to cater for on the 22^nd. I picked Robbie up from Tring on the 23rd. Rob and Amy had had their Christmas then…  Christmas Eve is a day I have always enjoyed, sometimes more than the big day itself. I was working, but ‘working from home’, so found time for a haircut :-). Late afternoon we went to the Robinsons for drinks, before Ellie and I went up to the church for the carol service. I had to do a reading. After, Ellie and I went and collected a Chinese meal, and we sat and enjoyed that with Tricia and Rob. Tricia was all in… weeks of working flat out, and didn’t feel up to going to midnight mass. Here are Rob and Amy… with Xmas hats of course 🙂

We had a quiet Christmas Day. Stockings first, then presents after breakfast. Lunch at around 2pm, and then Nikki and Matt joined us later in the day. Tricia though was not feeling good… a cold had taken hold. On Boxing Day we were supposed to be hosting Tricia’s family… but she wasn’t well enough, so Rob, Ellie and me took the food to Highfield Road and we had the day there. On the 27^th, we had been due to join Scott for his 18^th meal in Bracknell. But Tricia wasn’t well enough for that either…. We left her in bed, and the three of us went down. Here we have Christmas morning… seems we didn’t just get a visit from Santa… but Elf as well.

Tricia started to pick up on the 28^th… and on the 29^th we had Harry Potter day. We started at 8am, with the first film and went through to 3am to finish the lot. Pat joined us for part of the day, Amy was with us… Pat didn’t make it to the end. Nor did Tricia. Just Ellie, Rob, Amy and me at the end. Needless to see the 30th was a quiet day… caught up on the darts and snoozed in the chair.

And so to the 31^st. New Year’s Eve was celebrated at the Webbs, pretty much the same group and in the same way as the last few years. Tricia, myself, Ellie and Robbie and Amy. I did a little quiz. Bob did his present game, and we played charades… the usual format for our NYE parties.

And that was 2015.