After the Festival
29 December

Well, the mid-winter festival passed easily and well.

We had our usual tree in the front bay window. Although it twinkled and glistened with the best of them, we shall probably not buy our tree from the same source next year. Once out of the netting, it really looked as though it had been bashed about quite a bit and had already started shedding its extremities through dehydration. The tree lights have also gone on the blink so we'll need to buy some new ones for next year.

Ross constructed a cake. The verb is not misplaced. It was enormous. It was part of our contribution to Christmas with his family. Ross said he would do it to take the pressure off his mother in a small way. However, I have to note that we brought most of the cake back with us. Producing a large cake may be a family tradition but it's one that needs looking at.

The actual festival days went well. Journey to North Lincolnshire went well. Accommodation was fine. Food was excellent. Meeting the in-laws was occasionally uncomfortable for a shy soul like myself but everything passed well.

We played games a couple of times. I don't think that they'll invite me to do that again. I won everything in sight. I don't see myself as particularly competitive until it comes to games and then I just think that you have to do your best.

Finally it was home again. Journey back was problematic. Much rain over the Pennines and then a massive tailback as we approached North Manchester. Luckily I took a decision and got off the motorway and onto the East Lancs Road. I think I saved us many a frustrated hour by doing that. We were home in the light (just) and the cats were pleased to see us.

Since then, we've been relaxing, waiting for the New Year which will bring a lunch with my parents and enjoying each other's company.

I've been reading Making History by Stephen Fry. This has all of his usual wit, erudition, lively intelligence. What it also has, which others of his novels that I have read did not possess, it a thumping good plot idea. What if you could change the past? What if you could prevent Hitler from having been born? Would you do it? And what would the consequences be? All of these are teased out and to say more would spoil it for any prospective readers. So, I'll just say that it was a good entertaining read.

Ross asked me to buy Children of Dune for him for Christmas. We've been catching up with this, one episode per day. I have to confess that it is not really my thing. I have watched the first series with Ross. I dunno. I just find the storytelling grandiose without the necessary underpinning gravitas. As seems inevitable at the moment, the cast included James McAvoy - a very young version it must be said and I do wonder how he came to be involved. Still, he took his top off a few times and that was good.

As with all holidays, it's pleasant to wake early and to know that you don't have to do anything; there's no compulsion to set the day in motion. I've been getting myself a hot drink and returning to bed to listen to my set of BBC tapes serialising Tolstoy's War and Peace. It's been a massive undertaking over ten episodes and I'm just approaching the final hurdles, Borodino has taken place and Andrei is about to die (sorry if that spoils the plot for you).

One other major improvement to my life in the past few months has been the use of candles in the bedroom in the morning. I'm up at 6am and it's dark. Ross is (usually) asleep. Getting dressed can be problematic - the old two legs in one knicker syndrome, for example. At this juncture, candles are brilliant - quite literally. They give enough light for me to be able to see by but are not so bright that they disturb Ross from his slumbers.

I have been using the power of the Internet to catch up on some of the television that I have previously missed. For example, I've watched the first couple of episodes of Shameless which has given me the chance to catch up with James McAvoy's naked bottom once again.

I've also been watching The Tudors and have caught up with Henry Cavill's naked bottom.

Grateful thanks to the Internet and unofficial downloads.