More Christmas reflections

I really enjoyed watching ‘The Good Dinosaur’ – a sweet animation by Pixar, aimed at a younger audience than their other movies, which I look forward to sharing with Mathew one day.

I really enjoyed ‘The Limehouse Golem’ – a complex and engaging thriller, showing the darker side of human nature in an enthralling way. Bill Nighy, as ever, was excellently watchable.

I loved watching ‘Worzel Gummidge’ – charming, delightful, beautiful, fun.

As you can see, I’ve been watching a lot on iPlayer.

RC 30-12-19

0010 BST

Still so Christmassy

I’m extremely tired tonight, but it’s been a good day.

I worked from 7am to 1pm. It was quite quiet, and I spent most of the time eating ridiculous amounts of chocolate. Then I got home and ate ridiculous amounts of gammon and chips. Then I had a doze, then tonight I have watched a couple of movies with Philippa, drank about a third of a bottle of port, and eaten ridiculous amounts of cheese and biscuits. It’s funny how the ratio of cheese to biscuit alters as my intake of alcohol increases. It all looked very civil at first, but after topping up my glass for the third time I was doing away with the pretence of being dignified and just putting a huge chunk of stilton onto a Cornish wafer. I shall suffer terribly with indigestion later but sod it -

IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!!

(And if anyone tells you that Christmas is over now it’s two days after Boxing Day, kindly garotte them with some tinsel).

RC 28-12-19

December will be magic again

I can’t remember the last time I posted a single-figure numbers of blogs in one month, but it looks like it’s going to happen now.

(I’ve just looked it up – it was January 2011!!!)

I’ve been ridiculously busy, rather ill, then lost in the joys of a family Christmas. I make no apology for indulging myself in my own life and not taking time out to type. As you may know, quite a few anniversaries fall in the month of December, and I’ve been enjoying the shit out of all of them.

I will fill you all in on all the various bits and bobs that have gone on at some point, but I’ll probably do that in January, when the decorations have been put away and we’re all wallowing in the depression of dark evenings. That will give me time to process it all and make sense of it, and then write it out in a readable fashion. If I try to do it now it will be gibberish.

But know this – our little family get-away gathering was wonderful, so much so that we’ve booked the same accommodation for next year so we can do it all over again. Before that, I struggled with a busy work spell that would not have been busy were it not for illnesses. There was a sickness bug that tore its way through one of my garages, so I had to swap employees round and cover some shifts myself, before succumbing to the bloody thing and losing two days to vomiting and diarrhoea. Stressful stuff, but all sorted before Xmas Eve, and all done and dusted now with no long-lasting effects.

Sorry if this has been a bit rambling – it’ll take me a few days to get back into the swing of it, I guess.

Sorry too for this belated MERRY CHRISTMAS greeting, but I truly hope you are having a great time of it so far, and I hope, like me, you are not considering it ‘over’ yet and are still in full-on festive mood.

RC 27-12-19

Full of festive fun

Our house is now fully decorated. The original plan was to keep it minimal so that Mathew wouldn’t be freaked out by all the colours or in danger of getting tangled somewhere, but that plan seemed to change pretty quickly. There’s tinsel everywhere. Our ceilings have more adornments than a Kardashian’s ears. The tree is so full of sparkly shit that it’s hard to believe there’s a tree under there at all. It’s messy, overcrowded and gaudy and I fricking love it!

“A Christmas Carol” is my favourite story ever. It was written in 5 separate parts, which were published separately in a London publication. I’ve decided, on one of my compulsive whims, to do something similar, so the next five days of this blog will be five parts of a complete story.

I haven’t started writing it yet, but I’m sure it will be brilliant.

RC 16-12-19

Saturday thoughts

Well, no matter how you feel about the Election result, at least it’s done and we can finally, for the first time in what feels like years, move on with our lives. Britain has been driving with the handbrake on, and now, whether we like the direction we’re going or not, we can put our feet down and plough on forwards.

I hope you’ll stay with me for the duration of the journey.

I haven’t exactly been Mr Busy when it comes to blogging recently, have I? It was nothing to do with the political situation distracting me, I assure you. I’ve had a combination of end-or-year tiredness, self-imposed forced relaxation and a poorly, then energetic, son to contend with. It’s less than a week now until Mathew’s birthday. WOW! Hard to believe that this time last year I hadn’t even met him, but I think I’ve blogged about that before, so I won’t bore you with it all again now.

I shall just wish you a fine festive season ahead, and promise that I shall post more often for the rest of the month.

My advent calendar this morning gave me a chocolate reindeer, that looked more like a melted hippo (but I know it’s a reindeer, coz the pictures in the windows match the chocolates).

RC 14-12-19

Don't Gloat (a poem)

When the votes are counted

And the results announced

If your chosen candidate is elected

I’m happy for you

But please be aware

That others voted too

And they voted differently

And while you rejoice, they will feel depressed

Or concerned, or disappointed

Let them have their emotions

They’re entitled to them, just as you’re entitled to yours

A General Election is not a war

It’s not a sports match

It’s not tribal

It’s not a celebrity television show

It should be about the future of our country

Not the present result

So if your chosen candidate is elected

I’m happy for you

But please –

DON’T GLOAT

RC 12-12-19

Quiet December so far

I’m still reeling from the ridiculous amount of fluid that exploded out of my son’s body during his cold. How can a child of less than one year produce so much snot? Bless him, he was a little ball of miserableness for a while there. One funny moment, though – he sneezed while breastfeeding and shot a lungful of mucus from his nose onto Philippa’s chest. I found it hilarious.

Otherwise, our lives have been calmer than they’ve been for months. We’re all sorted with Christmas stuff. Work is busy but I’m way ahead with everything I can get way ahead with, so there’s no real pressure. It’s just day-to-day stuff that will surface, as it always does. I sometimes put too much strain on myself trying to make Christmas perfect, but really, who gives a shit? It is was you make it, and if you keep it relaxed, it’ll be brilliant.

This weekend we’re decorating the house, and we’re having a REAL TREE.

Yummy, and scrummy.

RC 6-12-19

The Most Wonderful Time, etc.

A few random thoughts scribbled down during today…

If every morning in Winter could be like the last few (bright, crisp, no wind) I would find the days so much easier to survive.

I’m excited! Lots of fun things coming up. Mathew’s first birthday won’t be a big event for him, but it’s a lovely milestone for us. At times, I’ve worried that I wouldn’t be able to get him through to the end of a year, so it feels like quite an achievement. Our family Xmas gathering is all sorted and settled, and I’m ahead with everything I need to get done at work, so the pressure feels off even though it’s the company’s busiest time. As long as no member of staff drops me in it by getting flu, everything should run smoothly.

‘Knives Out’ looks like a fun film, and I’d love to go and see it, but God knows when I’ll fit it in. It might end up being one of those ‘movies I was desperate to see at the cinema but ended up viewing on Netflix.’

The BBC version of ‘The War of the Worlds’ may have been the worst television programme of the decade. How can you take one of the greatest stories ever written and turn it into that soft, soporific Sunday night shitefest? I would complain about how my licence fee is being spent, but the mad fighting hamsters on ‘7 Worlds, 1 Planet’ last week means I’m quite likely to forgive them.

I know I should take opportunities to tempt you to visit our supermarkets, but actually the best mince pies I’ve tasted so far this year are at Smith & Sons bakery round the corner. £1.50 for 4, freshly baked every morning, packed with filling, and made with enough salted butter to give a herd of elephants a heart attack.

RC 2-12-19