Christmas 2023

After 2022's slight hiccup, 2023 saw a return to the now-traditional pattern: four nights and three days chez Mother, then time at home and with Mfd+J up to the New Year. Pix. We start with Christmas Eve, when we drove to M-u-W for the village Carols on the Green (musicians).

  

Christmas Day featured my half, accompanied this year by Toby (I won, by a margin of him exploding up the Churchill hill) but not Lara; she and Nina did 5k I think, as did E, separately. Then the meal, culminating in Christmas Pudding, and listening to The King. I got some tasteful Beard Baubles. We played Lara's "Taboo" (Rob; Mother; Miranda; Daniel), not as forbidding as it sounds.

Boxing Day to R+N's for coffee, lunch, walk and then an afternoon of Frobelsterne and books.

On the nameless day after Boxing Day we were quiet, mostly chez Mother. RLT came round for lunch, N working, and we finally remembered to take the picture of the children by the tree.

Back home, Weina has been looking after baby Marbles. I copy (and fb) a couple of Mother's 1952 pix of a trip to Paris and the 1953 Coronation.

The next day, Thurs 28th, home (with morning run through Bruern). One of the racks of coat hooks in the little cupboard have fallen off. Fixup by going through into the breezeblock, which had been half done anyway. Friday 29th, Mfd+J around for lunch, a joint M/D/E effort featuring Tuna. Saturday 30th, I row at 10 am, thence misc stuff including feeling inspired to put in some shoe shelves in the little cupboard to replace the not-very-useful orange wire rack. Get the lowest in; the space of course does not feature right angles.

New Year's Eve, D and E and I walk to Ely.

The weather is fine: sun in the morning, never too cold, the wind at our backs and the rain didn't last. We stopped at the Five Miles From Anywhere for a drink after 15k; and at the "choice", chose the east side, which gives a better approach to Ely. We hadn't gone quite as fast as last year, so all felt like going to the cathedral which really imprssed me; must go back. Thence a local cafe, and the train home. Selfie. Evening: to Mfd+J for the civilised New Year's Eve, featuring Dominion (D won both) and Tokaji.

And lastly, New Year's Day featured the Chesterton Club 10k (don't look) and E and I went down the backs in the new Pye-n-Mash double. Which was great fun, even though as always slightly nerve-wracking.

Oh, and I get the second shelf in, and dig out some Prudential+Ecology financials for E.