I already mentioned my birthday in brief, although that was before opening my one pressie, from
hermorrine, which was a set of grooming products from Next. I spy a subtle message ;-)Family Christmas was, for the first time, at my parents' place in the south-west of France. I had a little trouble with the outbound flight, but nothing much - although the signage at the other end was screwed and the rest of the family weren't expecting me for another hour. It was the first time I'd been to the house since my parents moved there full time, so things were quite different - plenty of familiar furniture from Top O' The Hill, plus work done on the kitchen and bathroom. Outside, tiling on the pathways and patios made for a vast improvement, and the pool is there (although, needless to say, I didn't use it). There's still a lot of work to do on the gardens, and I look forward to seeing the place again in a few months' time.
The whole stay was very much our traditional family Christmas - plenty of food, plenty of booze, and generally lots of fun. One French Christmas tradition we've picked up on is the 13 desserts (where a dessert can be as little as a nut, date, fig etc), which were pretty much a fixture the whole time I was there. Christmas morning we took a gentle stroll while the Goose cooked, and encountered the most doleful donkey I've ever seen, which followed us eagerly along the sides of its field, and then looked very sad as we walked away. Lunch was a mostly-traditional Christmas dinner, complete with crackers and party poppers (leading to the usual contest to get your streamers hanging from the light fittings).
Xmas booty haul: A set of rather nice wine glasses, a miniature digi-cam, a bizarre froggy bath mitt and some chocolate (but not salty) balls.
In the evening, British television decided that since we were in France, this would be an excellent time to give us French movies. First up was the decidedly surreal Belleville Rendez-Vous. I'm really not sure what to make of it, and not really something I feel any great need to rewatch. This was followed by the fabulous Amélie - a movie I've seen before and love to bits, so that was much better.
Other Xmas recollections: Dad nuking the xmas pudding left-overs by microwaving them for as long as they should be steamed. My outstanding
hermorrine called (Cluedo I had less success with). Much fun with the 100 Greatest Musicals. The horror of dial-up internet speeds.The joy of my trip home has already been recounted elsewhere.
