Friday 24th December 2010

And here we are; Christmas eve. All the shopping is done. Gifts are wrapped. Cards have been sent. The shops are now closed. And it is all over. We just have to get through tomorrow.

I guess I am lucky in that I have been away from home for a few Christmases, working in the RAF or on the high seas, and in truth there is nothing else I would rather be doing than being with Jools and heading over to her Father's place for a huge family dinner tomorrow.

Our plans to head to our local church for candlelight carols and then the pub opposite for beer and mince pies have hit the dust for another year, as we have lit the fire now and are looking forward to a dinner of fine rump steak, mushrooms and hand cut chips. We might watch a film on TV, or we may not.

So, yesterday, Jools headed to Canterbury early on to finish our shopping; I stayed home with the kittens and wrapped the presents I had bought and to make mince pies.



In the afternoon we settled down to listen to the radio as Dave Lister took over Radio Two to play some tunes and some banter with listeners. And then Simon Mayo played two hours of requests, Christmas songs and non-festive ones.

The evening was spent with Mulder and Scully and Mulder and Scully as we and the kittens lay on the sofa and watched a couple of episodes of the X-Files on DVD. The kittens did not seem impressed.

Today, we had a few things to get, and so we headed into Dover before the crowds before driving along the coast to deal to watch the waves crash onto the shingle beach at spring tide.

we went to the pier and had bacon sarnies and a cuppa; we went back to the car to read a bit whilst the tide reached it's maximum. with a strong wind, the waves crashed onto the beach and against the pier. All under a leaden sky and in a cutting wind.

A quick drive to St Margaret's Bay to the Coastguard for a pint of porter of two, and then back home for some stinky French cheese and some tomato bread bought from No Name Shop in Deal.



And then sit on the sofa listening to the penultimate Mayo and Kermode film show on the radio; with Jason Isaacs again; what more could we ask for?

And so darkness has crept over the land, and NORAD informs us that Santa is in Wulumuqi, China and heading westwards dropping presents and gifts at an astonishing rate.

Good old St Nick!

Merry Christmas.