Christmas parties are a no go

Every Christmas we put on a Christmas lunch with quizzes, food, raffles and Secret Santa’s gift swaps. Last year I remember driving to the wholesalers in the morning to collect all the pre ordered party food and stressing over being able to get parked back at the office. For a team of c.70 people, thats a lot of food etc to unload.

Almost immediately after the previous years party I had already written the quizzes for last year, had already planned the food shopping and started getting bits together for the raffle.

This year, of course, that wasn’t going to happen. With my team split across two shifts now, and the need to keep sharing things to a minimum, it would have been difficult to have put on the lunch. We looked at possibilities of getting food delivered, or ordering prepacked sandwich bags. Quizzes would have been difficult too as they tend to do it as teams so sitting near each other wasn’t an option, and I’d have to do it twice which wouldn’t be practical. It seemed there was no appetite for people wanting to do Secret Santa’s either this year.

But we did decide to do a raffle. Over the year I’ve been collecting bits and pieces, buying stuff and shopping for all the things we know they’d be interested in, mainly alcohol. We managed to cover the costs and be able to put £50 in an envelope as a prize and still have some left over to give to Charity.

This year we will be sending a donation to Crisis for those who struggle expecially at Christmas time. As much as it has been nice to receive prizes and gifts, it has more meaning to give to others.

One of my team encapsulated that perfectly. He (we’ll call him S) had been talking with one of his colleagues (we’ll call him R) and they had decided which prize they would most like if their raffle ticket was drawn. S’s ticket was drawn. He picked the prize that he knew R wanted and gave it to him “in case your ticket doesn’t get picked”. R’s ticket was then picked and instead of taking something else that he wanted, he picked the prize that S had wanted and gave it to him. They were both very pleased.

There is much to be said for the giving rather than receiving. It doesn’t have to be big, bold and expensive. Giving your time, or something simple like a coffee or a chat, might just be what someone needs right now.

Start the day as you mean to go on.

The start of the day really set the tone for the rest of the day. I accidentally opened tomorrow’s advent calendar window instead of today’s. Wishing the day away. Doh!

We had a virtual #bellringing session this morning that wasn’t successful either. Three attempts at one method came a cropper so we tried a different one and that didn’t want to go either. Having been ringing for around 45 minutes, we called it a day.

After lunch I baked a cake ahead of decorating it tomorrow and it sank in the middle. A bit of stealth buttercream will fix that.

Early evening the new Covid Tiers were announced and has put us and our daughter’s areas in tier 4 which means that it is likely we cannot see her for Christmas now. Her flat mate can’t go to his family either. At least if they have to stay in the flat there’ll be the 2 of them so neither will be on their own. If we can wangle it and they can come here, of course they’ll both come, we wouldn’t leave him on his own. R is, at the moment, still working until Wednesday. My fingers are well and truly crossed. I felt physically sick for a while, at the prospect of not being able to see her, or that her flatmate may have gone back to his family and she’d be alone.

I participated in another virtual #bellringing session in the early evening and there were some technical problems as well as method mistakes so that wasn’t as good as it could have been. My brain was truly fried by the end of that.

Dinner was a lovely fully loaded jacket potato with bacon, sweetcorn and some tomatoey concoction. Dinner was a bit later than anticipated as we had been waiting for a call back from R as one option would have been to drive down to get her tonight. So eager was I to eat that I took a massive bite and savagely burned the roof of my mouth and gums. I could feel the skin peeling. Then I got what amounted to a paper cut on my thumb knuckle when I peeled back the foil lid on my yoghurt pot.

After dinner it was as much as I could do to keep my eyes open. I’ll draw a line under today and move on.

Yule be amazed at what I just made

Well, probably not. This weeks bake was a caramel yule log courtesy of BakedIn. This is the 2nd recipe I’ve made of theirs which requires the making of caramel. The trouble is, for some reason its something I’ve never been able to get right. The sugar and water never seems to go a brownish colour, then when I add the cream its just a slightly dirty looking yellow colour. If I wait for it to darken, it then sets rock hard. I can never getting at a pouring consistency. However, I have sprinkled said rock hard caramel instead of drizzled it. It’ll add some texture!

We’ve got proper christmassy today. Been into town for some last minute gifts and wrapped them up. Made said yule log. Then went for a wintery, night walk around our local RHS Hyde Hall to look at the Glow lights. It promised to bring the gardens to life after dark with festive food and drink and Christmas shopping. It didn’t disappoint.

The trees and shrubs were lit up in different colours, there was festive food and drink (although we didn’t partake) and everything was well set out and managed. And of course the obligatory stop in the shop.

Have had a thoroughly lovely day.

Bonus day off

After our weekend away I’d booked an additional day off in order to catch up with all those things that weren’t done over the weekend.

The day started with a lie in. C had turned the alarm clock off, so it was lovely just to wake up naturally and get up when I was ready to, not because I had to.

I had decided that I would go into town to finish buying the incidentals for Christmas presents. There were a few bits still to get and I needed to do it on my own, without C.

The city centre was heaving, almost as busy as a Saturday. There were people everywhere. Some shops had a queuing system, only allowing a certain number of people in. To be honest, it didn’t take long to get to the front of any of the queues and into the shops. It was all quite civilised. I managed to get everything I’d gone in for, and a few extra bits besides.

When I got home, I wrapped everything up. Everything that needs to be posted is now ready to go. I think I’m officially done with the Christmas shopping. And there’s still 3 weeks to go.

I prepped my lunches for work for the next few days. Then tackled the ironing. I watched some cheesy Christmas tv whilst doing the ironing. I need to have something to take my mind off doing the ironing but something that doesn’t require much concentration, otherwise I’ll end up burning the shirts! Then, a lovely cup of mint tea with a mince pie to complete the festiveness.

I actually feel more christmassy than I usually do and considering we’re not going to be able to spend time with the whole family. Who’d have thought.

Reasons to celebrate

The 1st of December. The start of the build up to Christmas. The first day you can legitimately have chocolate for breakfast from your advent calendar.

For the last few years I’ve bought C a beer advent calendar from Adnams, our favourite purveyors of beer. However, this year they weren’t offering one, presumably as a bi product of covid shutdowns they’ve not been able to brew the volumes of beer as they had done.

Not to be out manoeuvred though I found an alternative supplier offering an advent calendar of craft beers from different establishments. Order duly placed.

On the route out of the checking out procedure I was directed to the “customers who bought this product also bought …” section. Apparently someone had bought a prosecco advent calendar. I never knew there was such a thing. Click, I’ll have one of those too.

For some reason or another an advent calendar is the one thing that C has never bought for me. We’ve bought them for R and her various flatmates over the years, and I’ve always bought him one, either chocolate or more recently beer. But for some unknown reason I’ve never been given an advent calendar.

This year he even bought himself a tea advent calendar. I don’t drink the stuff, so it was definitely a self purchase.

Well, I’ve treated myself this year seen as though no-one is going to do it for me. I know, sob story isn’t it? First world problems.

It seems fortuitous therefore that on the first day of opening my prosecco calendar, that I actually have something to celebrate. I was interviewed for a project manager 6 month secondment role, at a higher banding, and was successfully appointed, and asked to start next week.

I shall crack open that first bottle tonight and toast a new future.

Christmas starts here

Advent Sunday heralds the start of the Christmas season. Its going to be a very different one this year.

The December calendar is usually full every weekend of #bellringing for carol services, and tradition and ritual surrounding preparations.

C and I rang our 2 bells as usual this Sunday morning. When we arrived at the cathedral they had installed garlands and lights around the south porch, and an illuminated star at the top of the tower. When we reached to ringing room there were cables and LED lights in each of the window areas directed outwards, ready to light up the Cathedral. At least they managed to run the cables round the edge of the room this time, usually we have to navigate cables across the floor where clearly they do not consider the safety of the ringers.

By coincidence, my Angel Wings candle, that I light every evening throughout the year, had expired yesterday. When we got home from ringing C went to fetch a new candle from the supply in the garage. He brought in a Christmas Cookie one. Great timing for the start of Advent. Although it’s a different scent to the usual one “Angel Wings“, the purpose is the same when I light it.

Presents are almost all bought, and the ones I have already are wrapped. I always buy C and R advent calendars. R was given hers when we last went to see her. I bought C an advent calendar of a different sort, but he can’t have that until 1st December. I bought myself one too, seen as though I don’t get one otherwise.

Christmas cards are being written. Possibly the earliest we’ve ever done that.

Here starts the preparations in earnest.