On being sprinkled by fairy dust

 Dear Marmite

Christmas is over and it is the season for new resolutions and plans for the year ahead. Apart from aiming to be a lot slimmer, a bit richer, more charitable etc... I plan to visit you in the Spring. That time cannot come fast enough. I am saving all my hugs up already.

Christmas celebrations, visits and New Year's Eve are now a distant blur. Sammi came down from Scotland to visit so for a while we had both Shadow and Lucky flopped on the floor - quite a hazard. We got competitive at Canasta, Scrabble... and so on... it is what we do. Each time we went out it rained. This is the really wet type of rain that doesn't fall, it hangs in the air so you really feel totally soaked. Fortunately the temperatures were around 10c so it wasn't too cold. Apart from the rain, there was the mud. The towpath was one joined up puddle so we got plastered on our treks; and the fields are still underwater! 

We even went out for a game of tennis at my club in dry but windy conditions. It is always fun to play with Sammi, if only for old times sake. To think I used to beat him and he cried because I spun the ball. Oh, how time have changed. 

My other bit of Christmas exercise was when I danced the New Year in at my local pub. This was the first big Christmas since COVID so the pub was heaving, the music was "my era" and, because it is a very small village, everyone seems to know each other. I know people from table tennis at the hall, coffee mornings, the pub and church. I know I have chosen a lovely, friendly place to be even though some people say they are newcomers because they have only been in the village for 10 years. It seems to be a village joke known to all.

Not only have I had dogs lounging around the place this past week, I have also had the pleasure of a fully weaponised Ezra-Mae. To tell you all the things she has got up to would run into pages. Suffice to say, I found her with two brussel sprout sized marbles in her mouth  - so I tipped her upside down and slapped her on the back to see if there were any in her tummy as well. Luckily not! I also told her not to touch my eggs as some of them are marble and they could break her toes if they fell on them. Then I found her sitting on the floor trying them out by hitting different ones on her feet. Oh boy, she is a full time job. 

Keeping Ezra-Mae out of trouble

Life really isn't that bad. I spend my time smiling and now I have my "Ring" doorbell up and running again, I feel I have been sprinkled with fairy dust each time I lock or unluck my front door as the bell recognises movement and tinkles on my phone. Ahhh!

So, feeling truly blessed and having another year to look forward to, I send you all my love and hugs.

Love you, as always

XXX

Twas the Nightmare before Christmas

 Dear Marmite

I am as guilty as the next man. I go shopping for food at the last minute and feel really aggrieved that the supermarket is full of people emptying the shelves of the things I wanted to get but missed out on. Tescos was a nightmare and the stress of getting the few last minute things was not nice in the least. We only do it because it is Christmas but why?

It was worth it in the end though - I hope. The turkey turned out well and I still have enough to last me through to CNY. After the meal, I stripped the meat off the bones and threw them away as I didn't have you to make broth for. Then Shadow and Lucky came to stay and I didn't have anything for them. Silly me!! 

Things have certainly looked up since my supermarket hustle. As is tradition, I listened to Bells of Dublin twice on Christmas morning, then made it to church. I had two big tables all prepared for the dinner and guests galore. We played games... all the usually bits... and now I feel substantially fattened and in need of a strict regimen so I can at least move around the tennis court. All in all, Christmas has been a joy.

Sammi arrived after Christmas but already we have done Canasta, Scrabble, chess and tennis games together. The other night we went out for the BEST pizza ever. I want to advertise this place... lovely ambience, amazing food and beer... a real wow! This was an organic beer and pizza place right next to the canal in Wolverton. It is on an industrial estate and if only the metal fence between the bar and the canal didn't exist, it would be accessible to the towpath and walkers could pop in for a pint. It would be the most popular place in MK, if only.  

While we were eating our pizzas, I lost at chess. If I hadn't had Sammi as my partner, I would have lost at tennis too. We played in cold, damp conditions with a 35mph wind whipping around the court and despite the weather, it was lovely playing with my "little" boy. We did the local pub quiz last night - won that!! The reason we won was because I have amazing quiz friends who know everything... They even put up with three Woolheads on the same team!

Perhaps the biggest joy of all was seeing my cousins from Australia yesterday. Imagine travelling all that way and ending up in a small village and having a drink in the pub. We were so busy chatting that I forgot to get a picture to send to you in my blog... I am sure you remember them, Marms.

Now I have New Year celebrations to look forward to.

Lots of love and Happy New Year 

XXX

Merry Christmas or something close to it!

 Dear Marmite,

Yesterday was the shortest day and now we have longer days to look forward to from now on. That is one thing for certain! Other things are less certain. For a really long time the weather was well into the minuses and now it has risen to a heady 12c. It is permanently wet now and drizzley. Yuk! I heard how your fellow Singaporeans have been whinging about the temperatures dropping to 24c. Just tell them that is barmy summer heat over here.

I have to admit my childhood excitement for crunchy snow under foot and my grandaughter loved the snow too. She is now very sad her snowman has gone. Even Shadow loves the snow. I can't stay sad for long though. There are lots more exciting things to look forward to. I have the turkey and today I am making the stuffing. I just love cooking the traditional dinner. This year Richard is doing the trimmings and we have the hordes descending on Christmas Day. There will be two tables side by side so we can all sit round but I don't think it will turn into THAT Christmas!! 

I met up with Rachel, Diane and Jeremy last weekend. It truly was a Dairy Farm reunion. Rachel lives over two hours away so it was a very special get together. Lovely food, even nicer company - Claude - that little creature on the other end of the doggie spectrum -  was pleased to see us! I am sure you must remember him flirting with danger trying to sniff your bottom just when you were about to sit on him. 

I took my Christmas quiz down. I did a bit of research to put the History of Christmas quiz and now realise how much of our celebrations is not in the least related to Christianity. So when eat, drink and get merry, you are bringing out the pagan part of you. Pope Julius l decided that the Feast of the Nativity would piggyback a Roman festival of Saturnalia which involved 6 days of debauchery where rules were thrownout of the window and it seems nothing was off limits. He did this to sell the new religion to the masses. Nowadays, I feel we are much more reserved - even when you take THAT Christmas into consideration - including the mislaid specs!!!

The image for this blog is full of things we have invented and thoroughly absorbed into our celebrations. Believe it or not Rudolph was part of an advertising campaign for a department store in the US in the 1930s, and Clement Clarke Moore was responsible for other frippery. This is all so fascinating I could go on at length but I won't.

Take care Marms and don't eat too much turkey. I am sending you extra-special hugs at the season.

Love

XXX

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

 Dear Marmite

We are heading for Christmas and there are just a few more sleeps to go. I am as excited as a child - I always am. I love the whole thing of cooking the turkey, having family around and playing games. I started my season of joy with games at the tennis club last Sunday. When Nasser and I arrived it was like an ice rink on court so we just stood on the spot and hit the ball to each other. Then others turned up and joined in... standing still tennis evolved....

We ended up with a 3 v 4 match so we had the court covered. The rules were flexible and we laughed - oh, how we laughed. After two hours in sub zero temperatures we topped off the morning with mulled wine and mince pies. The real creative part of the day was the combined cleverness of the club having  a Christmas tree decked with "decorated" tennis balls! Even the Grinch was enjoying himself!

On the home front a Naughty Elf has come to stay. Ezra-Mae knows not to wake him up. I have told her he will do naughty things if is awake. I have told her to "Shhhush" and put my finger to my lips when she gets near him. She copies me but sticks her finger on her forehead and gives the loudest "Shhhush" ever so as NOT to wake him up. He seems to find a new resting place each day so he keeps me on my toes.

Outside, everywhere I turn, it looks like a chocolate box scene. On my walk this morning, the canal was totally frozen but the river was still flowing. Provided I stayed upright and tramping across the fields, all was well. I didn't have to worry about slushy mud. The roads which haven't been gritted were a bit more of a challenge. 

Yesterday as I turned into my little road, I skidded and very nearly hit the wall on the bend - eeeek! It just shows how how easy it is to lose control. For the time being, I am not venturing out on my bike. 

I put a Christmas History Quiz together for a friend's party. I learnt a lot along the way. It really was the Victorians who "invented" our Christmas but most of our traditions are actually pre-history and Pagan. Jesus was squeezed into the party around the fourth Century AD when Pope Julius l sold the idea of the Feast of the Nativity to all those Pagans. So when you are eating, drinking and generally being merry - that is what you are meant to be doing - that is what we have been doing in the middle of winter for millenia...

So I raise a cup to you and send you my love.. 

Party Marms like it is going out of fashion. 

Love You

XXX

Happy Birthday, Marmite

 Dear Marmite

This was in a window in Sophia
Happy Birthday, Marms

Amazing!! you have reached another milestone and you are still going. I have my theories as to why you are here to celebrate. I think when you went to live with Rita you realised you were already in heaven... No more long walks through the jungle for starters. Life clearly made a big turn for the better on so many fronts for you. I congratulate you on being so old! 

You were born in 2006 and came to live with us in 2007. The SPCA didn't know when you were born so I gave you my father's birthday - 9th December. He would have been 99 years old if he was still around. In doggy years you have outlasted him.

You might have heard how Britain is freezing - literally freezing. Temperatures are now in the minus zone. Where I live is a frosty hollow and I have noticed consistently that the temperature guage in my posh car always rises by one or two degrees by the time I get to the big roundabout. So you can imagine how thankful I have been that I invested in a VERY warm coat a few weeks ago. I am going to get out my ski trousers just to make sure everything is covered!

I went walking around Stowe Gardens yesterday. This is something I had been meaning to do for a long time. There is a folly or a monument at every twist and turn. My favourite was a shrine to the British Worthies - three monarchs, a couple of explorers, an architect, a writer, a couple of scientists. I expect you can guess who they are mostly.  This and lots of other wonderful classical edifices are set in the landscaped gardens designed by Capability Brown. 

The National Trust are repairing bits and pieces. Currently under repair is a temple to the modern virtures which sits next to a domed temple to the ancient virtures. I would love to know which virtures slipped out of popularity between building these structures. 

It was just a bit too nippy to take lots of pictures. It meant I had to take my gloves off and stand still. In the background was the vroom and roar of cars going round Silerstone race track on a Wednesday morning!

Anyway, I wrote this especially to wish you all the best on your big day.. Enjoy it. 

Sending you extra big hugs.

Love you

XXX

Brilliant

 Dear Marmite

The things that trigger my ire are increasing exponentially. This could be the product of getting old or not having enough to occupy me. I recently had a phone call to a call centre that needed my details to confirm who I was. Every time the lady at the other end of the phone got a detail right, she'd say, "Brilliant". The conversation was a bit like this, "What's your family name?" ..."Brilliant" and .... "Your house number?"... "Brilliant". How sad her life must be if getting my details right is her pinnacle of brilliance -  DUH! I was so tempted to ask about her exciting life beyond answering the phone but I reckon my life was too short to hear her answer. Brilliant!

There have been other, more interesting things happening though. My Christmas tree is up and bedecked. This year I had Santa's not-so-little helper, Kenan, to decorate it. It looks lovely. He did a really grand job. I expect it will soon get tested by Ezra-Mae to see how sturdy it is.... watch this space.

The temperature is around 5c over here. It is damp and overcast most of the time. Night falls around 4pm - You get the picture, Marms. So when I see pictures of my friends in sunnier places, I feel more than a pang of envy. I admit to having second thoughts about playing tennis when the conditions are less than clement. I definitely need more resolve to get myself moving in the winter.

Added to the conditions outside, the one thing on everyone's mind is the cost of fuel. In the sauna at the pool the other day, a lady was saying how much it cost to boil her kettle. I suggested opening a bottle of wine wouldn't incur the same charges as making a cup of tea. For me, boiling the kettle for coffee is not something I'll be cutting back on.

Saturday was Wolverton's Lantern Festival. For "Lantern Festival" don't imagine the ones in Singapore. This is a whole new ball game. There were giant bugs lit up and they all went for a walk ALL around the town. The central square was buzzing - literally buzzing. Hundreds of people turned out to see the choir, the band, the Carribean band and there was a children's circus group. I joined in juggling with not-so-little persuasion! The big kid inside of me escaped once more. Brilliant!

The downside of my trip to Wolverton was the cycle home. Once more I managed to have a front light that almost died on me as I pedalled back along the pitch black tow path. My thighs were so cold, they were burning and I couldn't push hard as I couldn't see where I was excactly. Silly me - I do this too often.

I haven't forgotten... your birthday is just round the corner. I bet you are getting excited already in the only way you know how! Brilliant!

Love you as always

XXX

Countdown to Christmas

 Dear Marmite

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent and my mind has turned to thinking about Christmas. I have already got my visit to IKEA out of the way. I needed lights and candles and there is no better place to find all those things under one roof. I managed to restrain myself from buying any more house plants though. I always get itchy fingers when I walk through that section. I can't help myself.

Sadly I missed the village lighting up event yesterday. It was such a lovely one last year, I'm sorry I missed it. At least when I drove back into the village I saw our newly lit Christmas tree standing proud at the end of my road. By comparison, it is smaller than the Dairy Farm one but probably decorated with more panache!

What really has got Christmas underway was my trip to the Ideal Home Exhibition with Sophie, Diane and Jeremy. We did a wreath making workshop which was the big part of our plan for the day. Everything we needed was in a big box and all we had to do was tear open the package and put it together. Easy! Well actually it wasn't. I got into a fight with the fine wire that we needed so that we could wrap the leaves to the hoop. It had a mind of it's own and it fought back. 

I set about repairing and fixing my wreath this morning. An hour of being pricked and pierced by aggressive, fine wire was not enough time to create  masterpiece - I needed to continue with the masochism to get the finished article into an acceptable round. At least now I am a bit happier with my result and it will be put in a place of pride on December 1st. 

On the downside of our day out, the Olympia Exhibition Hall was heaving! A dizzying amount of  people all wanting to eat in a "food court" style area. It wasn't nice. We got food from a stall that didn't have a mile-long queue and found a table to sit at. Even table's were at a premium. errr. 

Part of the exhibition had stalls very much like those found on an indoor market. They were all set at the back right-hand side of the hall. I wonder whether this is a sign of our current economic decline or that my tastes don't allign with their "Ideal Home"ones. I wonder?

What was really exciting was my trip down to London in Sophie's car. We got down to St. Albans and then drew to a halt. The M1 saw chokka. There were police vehicles and flashing lights behind us so we edged over to make space. What we didn't expect was to find the police descending on a van right next to our car. We had front row seats. Sophie turned off the engine and wound down the window so we could hear!! The van was STOLEN. The  passenger was interrogated and the driver was marched off across three lanes while we were asked to stay still and wait until the can had been moved. We sat there and took it all in.. I should have videoed it... silly me!

So today is just a normal day. I have a swim planned and despite the low temperature outside there is glorious sunshine -just right for long country walks! I know, Marms - not your style....

Love you

XXX