Cringey Year-End Look-Back

I started the year approaching the end of my time as a Supermarket Filling Station Area-Mini-Sub-Division Executive-Assistant-Manager (or whatever the hell my job title was) and ended the year feeling chuffed and proud at the career change I made and the way I survived it.
(I’ll try and make the rest of this 2021 Review slightly more understandable than that first bit!).

A few Rory Awards to hand out:
BEST FILM I SAW THIS YEAR –The Peanut Butter Falcon
BEST DAY OF THE YEAR – probably the Hallowe’en party at work
BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR – The Queen is still alive at the end of it
BEST MEAL OF THE YEAR – Christmas dinner with my siblings
MOST LISTENED TO SONG OF THE YEAR – ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles

Ok, I’m bored now. Not so much for me the tired, traditional reflections. Time to pour myself a big glass of sparkling wine, open myself a big bag of tangy cheese Doritos, and see off 2021 with an overdue viewing of “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”.

RC 31-12-21

More Festive reflections

What can I say that I haven’t already bored you with in December postings over the past 14 years or so?
I love Christmas, and I consider it to be a lengthy event rather than a single occurrence; a fortnight of festive celebrations, not a day of presents and turkey. I get a warm glow that lasts right through until my birthday, and then my birthday celebrations take me right through to Spring. This year, more than ever, I am feeling contented, satisfied, happy, fulfilled and grateful.
I don’t really want to share too much with you about our little family get-together, because it was personal to us, and wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, and I don’t want to bore you with loads of stories about a group of people you’re not familiar with beyond the things I’ve written about them in this blog. I’m not one of those people who post countless photos of their movements on social media, and I’m not a fan of the people who do. I genuinely have NO interest in what your average, everyday person is doing in their average, everyday lives, and I think there is something wrong with anyone who shares their private lives publicly as if they’re a character in The World’s Most Important Soap Opera. I know I’m in a minority, but I do believe that what goes on behind closed doors with your nearest and dearest should only be accessible to the people that are there, not plastered all over the internet for all and sundry to gawp at and compare themselves to.
What I’m trying to say, and hopefully not causing too much offence whilst doing so, is that I have ZERO interest in the minutiae of most people’s lives, and I cannot understand why anyone else would be interested in the minutiae of mine, so I shall not be sharing what we did, or didn’t do, or talked about, during our Christmas break.
(Having said all that - and knowing full well I may come across as a hypocrite - I have every intention of keeping this blogsite going throughout 2022!)
So all I will say is this: family is everything, and mine is an absolute gem. Time together is important in the extreme, and after the horror of having to keep away from loved ones during lockdowns and surges and waves and variants, it was such an absolute joy to be together and enjoy each other and to not be thinking about case numbers or symptoms or PCRs.
Christmas 2020 was brilliant in its own way, but 2021 has reminded me just how much I love this time of year, and why. If you get it, you don’t need me to explain it to you, and if you don’t, then nothing I can say will change your mind, and I pity you.

RC 30-12-21

Feeling, I admit, a bit flat

Well, here we are – back at home, on The Other Side Of The Madness; in that strange little lost world of limbo between Dec 26^th and 31^st, that I like to call ‘Christmas, Part 3’ and which the commercial world has started calling “Betwixtmas”.
We had an amazing time at our cute little holiday cottage. All the Chesworth siblings together in the countryside, indulging in a magical little world of escapism that we created ourselves. Toys a-plenty for Mathew, food a-plenty for everyone, and drinks a-plenty, a-plenty, if that makes sense. Champagne for Christmas Day, a bottle of port for Boxing Day, and litres of wine and gin for everything else. Turkey, trimmings and tinsel; crackers, cheese and chocolates; puddings, pickles and peanuts. So many sprouts it was sickening, and so much stuffing it was stifling. Mince pies, macadamias, Milk Tray; pigs in blankets and Pringles. Gateaux, roulade, Viennetta.  Our combined weight gain over the past few days is probably 70 kilograms. It was the Christmas we never had as children, and the Christmas we were denied last year. We more than made up for lost time and I am more than overflowing with happiness. If family love was a Spinal Tap amp, then my dial would be firmly at 11.
God, I love Christmas.

RC 29-12-21

Last one before... you know...

Just a quick one from to say that I hope you have a happy and healthy Christmas!
Indulge, enjoy and wrap yourselves in the loving glow of family festivities.

And just another quick thought, as I’ve been watching the World Darts Championships this week – Why is there not yet a professional darts player nicknamed “The Bull-hitter”???

MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY!!

RC 23-12-21

Solstice Joy Be Upon You

I am a contented little ball of Christmas cheer today. I feel healthier than I have for most of December, I am relaxed at work instead of charging around like a lunatic (as with previous Xmasses) and we are so organised at home that we have literally nothing to do as far as buying or wrapping presents. The house is decorated in a full-on festive manner, everything is prepped and ready for our little jaunt away (which will go ahead regardless of anything that gets decided by the government! Sorry to sound uncommitted to the pandemic cause, but we’re all vaccinated and all being careful, and we’ve made the decision as a family group NOT to avoid each other. The risks outweigh the alternatives, we feel) and Mathew is being suitably wound up – by me – to get him as hyper as possible now he is starting to understand the concept of Santa!
His birthday, yesterday, was wonderful, by the way. We had planned a little party at a soft-play area, but with things being as they are, and with the soft-play area being so enclosed and unventilated, we took the decision to cancel that, much to the relief of all other parents concerned, I think. Instead we had a great day at home, making an absolute fuss of him, making sure he understood that he was the centre of attention, and why, and generally enjoying the joys of a joyous family day together.

Let me update you on advent calendar pictures…
I think you’ve missed out on a sprig of holly, a pine tree, a reindeer from the neck up, a cracker, an elf, a Xmas card and an angel.
Only 3 more windows to go!!! (as mine is a traditional one and ends on Christmas Eve, as all the best advent calendars should).

RC 21-12-21

Ten days til Xmas Eve!

I’ve been a bit lazy and low-key with entries so far this month, so I’ll try and make this a longer one.

First today – the moany bit. I’ve been feeling poorly AGAIN. Either that bloody ‘supercold’ came back at me again, or I’ve picked up another cold just a few days after shaking off the remnants of the previous one, or its not a cold at all and is something else entirely, which is manifesting cold-like symptoms that keep returning on a weekly basis. I’m trying not to think too much about Option 3 there, but I do have some deep-rooted hypochondriac tendencies, so it’s difficult not to worry.

Philippa has had her booster jab, but I haven’t. I want to try and get one in the next week or so, because we don’t want our family Xmas plans scuppered by the pesky Omicron. I’m not going to mention any more about that though, because quite frankly I’m sick to death of the whole bloody thing and don’t want to waste any more sentences on it.

What have you missed re: advent calendars? Well, I’ve given up on the chocolate one, as every day was a square of Dairy Milk and it was getting a bit samey, and the non-chocolate one has fallen out of favour a bit, although I’m continuing to open the windows. It concerns me that the main picture is a lovely, traditional nativity scene, yet all the daily pictures are of the commercial side of Christmas. In the past few days I’ve had a sleigh, a Santa hat, a stocking, and some tinsel. Next year I might just make my own and be done with it. Or get someone else to make one for me, so the pictures are still a surprise.

Work has been a great deal of fun. The last two weeks have been like the last few days at school – we’re all in cheery mood, no-one is working too hard and there’s lots of Christmassy treats being brought in on a daily basis. January will be busier as we sort out permanent residents vacating for their annual month away, but that doesn’t need tackling yet and is not impeding on our relaxation and enjoyment of December. There may have been odd days of stress and pain this year, and there may have been long times where I felt completely clueless and out of my depth, but I’m so glad I made the career change.

RC 14-12-21

The Past should remain just that

I’m still getting my head around the fact that I don’t have to work myself to death through December, like normal. Everything is so relaxed at the holiday sites now, and there’s so little to do compared with the madness of March to October, and compared to the Yuletide madness I used to encounter at the garages. I feel like I’ve got so much time to do everything. Family hours at home, Christmas shopping, decorating the tree and the house, wrapping things, getting prepared for our days away – it all seems to be happening in good time and with very little stress. It’s unheard of. I’m not used to this nice, relaxed pre-Christmas period, and having time to build up to The Big Day. I’m normally rushing around like a madman and having 357 different things to deal with as a manager. If I ever seem tempted to go back to that kind of work environment, kindly shoot me in the head.

The Dairy Milk advent calendar is getting a bit samey now, but the traditional, pictures-only one had a silver bell behind the door today, which was nice.

RC 8-12-21

Rory's Weirdreams Return

Yeah – I had another one of my unbelievably unbelievable overnight dream scenarios play out in my unusual subconscious sleepworld last night.
Somehow, someway, I had carved a career as a manager for a rock band that was made up of a group of nuns. They sang four-part harmony versions of well-known hymns with a full-on rock rhythm. We were in the process of putting together a promotional tour to help sales of our album of Christmas carols, and the band were called “Wet for Jesus”.
Sometimes even I wonder what is wrong with me.

RC 7-12-21

The Christmas spirit is strong in this one...

My evening can be summed us thus: “festive fun hanging gaudy shit on a fake pine tree”.
Bloody marvellous, and I can’t wait to see Mathew’s reaction when he sees it in the morning!
What was behind my advent calendar door today, I hear you ask?
A picture of a mince pie….
And I’m now about to eat one. How apt.

RC 3-12-21

Advent Calendar Update

For the past few years, working as I was in the exciting and soul-destroying world of retail and fuel supply, I had a plethora of advent calendar choices open to me. It was so easy to grab a Cadbury’s Heroes Reward-A-Day Special, or a ‘Mum’s Favourite’ Maltesers one (with the added bonus of extra doors to open all the way to New Year’s Eve!)
This year, being away from all that non-religious, commercial-driven tat and pap, I have been able to make a more reasoned choice. There’s a posh arty place not too far from our home, which sells pricey trinkets and home-made craft gubbins and occasionally display paintings by local artists. We popped in last week and I was delighted to see they were selling traditional style advent calendars; the ones I used to have in my youth; the ones WITHOUT any chocolate or gifts. Even though it was £8.99 for something that was essentially a bit of cardboard, I happily purchased a nice nativity scene calendar, and it is proudly displayed next to our television at home. So far, behind my daily windows, I have seen a nice image of a holly wreath and a bright, silver star, and I have been immensely proud of myself for being old-school about it all and not indulging in a daily excuse for chocolate.
And then, on the way to work, I stopped for some petrol, and found myself impulse buying a Dairy Milk calendar for a fiver.
Make of that what you will.

RC 2-12-21