Step away from the tinsel...

We had a call from Ted this morning: “Beryl is having her annual ‘try out new food concoctions so you’ve practised them before Christmas’ day, so why don’t you come over and get fed for free?”
We didn’t need asking twice! We paused in mid-decorating and hotfooted it up to their house. Beryl gets more adventurous every year. She can’t move too well because she’s still waiting for her knee op, but you can’t keep a good woman down, and she’s not gonna let a little thing like a knackered knee joint stop her from creating heavenly things in the kitchen. She convinces herself every November that ’this year might be my last’ so she goes bigger and better and madder and sweeter, to make sure her last Christmas as a hostess and cook is a good one. So today I’ve tried home-made parsnip crisps with a spicy berry dip, turkey and ham tajine with added ginger and cinnamon, and chocolate-coated rum mince pies with a saffron sugar coating.
Every dish a triumph! But of course Beryl wasn’t happy with herself and has spent the evening thinking of ways to tweak everything to make it even nicer.
And you know what the funniest thing is? They’re not even at home for Christmas - all the family are renting a cottage in Devon for the week so they can all be together down there. So these ’Christmas Specials’ aren’t even for Christmas - they’re going to be used on New Year’s Day when everyone is back at theirs.  But she’s still plotting and planning as if she’s doing a Christmas Day feast for the County.  
Amazing woman, Beryl. 

RC 4-12-16