Happy New Year and I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. For the first time in a few years we actually had Christmas at home. L had managed to sort out bunny sitters, so hopped (see what I did there?!) on a train and arrived here at 3:45 on Christmas Eve. E drove from Bristol and arrived later that evening, so we all celebrated en famille, which was lovely.
Presents this year were done by Secret Santa. L arranged the draw and, with a maximum limit of £20 and only one present to buy, Christmas was quite a frugal affair. I did cheat a little and did the girls a stocking as well - having my babies home for Christmas again, I couldn't resist! L's partner, V, had been given my name and I received a beautiful handmade project bag, embroidered with my name and a daffodil. L had also sneaked me an extra present - a skein of West Yorkshire Spinners' Christmas yarn in the colour 'Nutcracker', bought in Scotland over the summer and saved for the festivities. The skein fit the project bag beautifully and is sitting waiting patiently for me to cast on a pair of socks.
As well as Christmas, we have also celebrated 3 birthdays. R's came first in mid-December. As it conveniently fell on a Saturday this year, we went away for the weekend to Stratford-upon-Avon. I had booked one night's stay at the Swan's Nest Hotel in the centre. It was very conveniently located, overlooking the theatre and a few minutes walk across the bridge and into the centre. Our room was fine, and if the hotel itself seemed a little, shall we say, weary, they did a fine vegan, gluten-free breakfast, so it was a win in our book.Arriving at lunch time, we parked and checked in, before wandering into the centre in search of food. What I hadn't realised at the time of booking was that it was the weekend of the Christmas market. The streets were quite busy, but the stalls lent a festive atmosphere and added to the occasion. Lunch was a 'Ghost of Christmas' panini and a rose latte (R had an Americano and a vegan burrito) here:
Then we nosied round the market stalls and took a walk along the river to pay our respects to Shakespeare at his grave in the Holy Trinity Church. Here, we had a wonderful surprise. I think I have mentioned before that R doesn't think that the Christmas period has started until he hears Handel's 'Messiah'. By happy chance, there was a concert of that very piece being held at the church that evening. Whilst we had other plans, we were lucky enough to be able to sit and listen to the highlights in the last rehearsal before the concert. It was perfect!
Dinner was an Indian meal at 'Thespians', before the main event - a performance of 'Twelfth Night' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, with Sam West playing Malvolio. 5 minutes into the performance a manager took to the stage. She announced that they were having a few technical problems and begged for our patience whilst they sorted it out. Having been to 'The Taming of the Shrew' at The Globe recently, where one of the actors appeared to spill a drink on a member of the audience at the start (it was actually another actor and part of the play!), I was initially sceptical about this 'technical issue'. More fool me, for they were indeed having problems, with the wall of the set refusing to rise enough. 10 minutes later, all was fixed and we were off. I loved it. Sam West stole the show in his natty, cross-gartered yellow stockings and the rest of the cast were superb as well.
After breakfast the following morning, we took a walk along the river. Just as we passed the church, the bells started to ring for the Sunday service. It was a heavenly moment. We sat on a bench, listening to the church bells (love me a church bell!) and watching the swans and the rowers go by.
After our walk, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Charlecote Park - a National Trust 16th century house and deer park, about 4 miles east of Stratford. The young males were practising for the rutting season.
They even had a kitchen! :O)
Boxing Day saw us taking another walk, this time around Peasemore and Leckhamstead.
The 27th was spent in town, finally sorting out a few change of address issues with E's old Building Society account. They don't make it easy!
Next it was my birthday. One of those scary ones ending in a zero! Actually, getting older doesn't bother me at all. I've lost too many friends before their time to see another birthday as anything other than a privilege and I wore my shiny badge with pride. R had initially booked me a giraffe feeding experience after seeing Mary Berry do it on a recent TV programme. The only problem was, he had left it to the last minute rather, so, being booked up, it would just have been me whilst the others looked on. It was booked for early in the morning ....... and it was at Longleat, which is quite a drive away. E is never the best at getting up before the prick of noon on a non-work day, so I made an executive decision and, whilst being very grateful for the thought, I called it off. Instead we waited for E to rise, before heading to a little local gem:
I loved it all - the plants, the birds, the free-ranging 2 toed sloth called Cinnamon, and best of all the armadillo, whose digging ability kept us entranced.
R bought me a Moomin jigsaw puzzle, a new fermentation jar for my kimchi, after the last one broke falling out of a cupboard, and 2 books: Ferdia Lennon's 'Glorious Exploits' and a travel book for a holiday later in the year. I was very spoiled. Dinner at a local Thai restaurant finished off a lovely day.
E's birthday in the new year completed our celebrations. She and L are off to experience one of the Dinosnore sleepovers at the Natural History Museum later this month.
A couple more happies of 2024: Jaffa Balls made to the Happy Pear recipe. I like to persuade myself that they are healthy, despite the chocolate coating!
....... and 2 jigsaws. The car one was a complete delight and we have kept it to do again another day. The other one went straight back to the charity shop after completion. A sea of pale blue snow does not make for a relaxing puzzle experience. It took quite a while!
Well, that's all for this post and 2024. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and peaceful 2025. Is it just me who can't believe that it's a quarter of a century since the Millennium? Tempus certainly does Fugit.
Toodle pip for now. x
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