Greetings

To those of my friends in the Blogworld and elsewhere I send you greetings for 2024.

I hope that you are all well. I apologise for yet another absence. On this occasion I may have some difficulty catching up with all the posts I've missed to the extent that I hope to read but may not comment.

For the last two Christmases and Januaries I have been ill with chest infections or viruses. This year I have so far been absolutely hale and hearty.

However prior to Christmas my son was unwell with what we now assume was influenza. My son and daughter-in-law host Christmas for the two families because they have a house and dining area which can take us all with ease.  The 22nd December was my grandson, Brodie's, 6th Birthday.  He had a get-together. Two days later on Christmas Eve he found himself for the second time in three weeks in hospital. The first time he had needed intra-venous antibiotics so was an in-patient. This time the tests showed that he had 'flu. As there was nothing to be done needing hospital treatment he was allowed home. 

However Christmas lunch was postponed. 

In any case his maternal aunt and grandfather had both succumbed. 

As it happens a friend of mine of half a century also had her Christmas cancelled so she came over to me for a couple of days bringing duck (instead of turkey) and excellent Champagne. So we settled ourselves down and had a couple of very quiet and very overindulgent days.

I hastily got out my Christmas Candles and cards and my Christmas Trees made by Catriona of my New Zealand Family when she was about the age of my Grandson which adorned my home in New Zealand. Instead of using one of the dining tables we used the 'dinner wagon' given to my parents on their marriage nearly ninety years ago. Together with the huge snowflakes crocheted by Marcheline. 

Christmas Day 2021

It's Christmas Day afternoon.  I wish you a very Happy Christmas (or what's left of it). Of course I would expect you to be concentrating on Christmas Day wherever you are rather than reading blogs so it may well be that my benediction is too late. anyway.

Most of my friends and family at this moment will be either tucking into or still preparing, or just possibly have eaten, Christmas Dinner.  In the normal course of events I would be one of those people sharing one of those meals. As it is I'm sitting looking out at the fading light of a cloudless sky towards the Scottish Mainland. The wind is abating. It's been a beautiful, if cold and windy, day on this Island paradise.

I am drinking a cup of hot coffee and eating a Lebkuchen. I've spent much of my day drinking hot water with lemon and honey, coffee or Earl Grey tea and nibbling one thing or another. I have to admit that the very last thing I could have coped with today would have been a Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings. And, however much, those who'd invited me said they wanted to see me, believe me they wouldn't.

I've got a dreadful cold and cough: a real doozie. I had a PCR yesterday and got the call late afternoon - negative. Regardless of that I'll not be going anywhere for a while.

The Lebkuchen are a special treat from my family who were over at the Hamburg Christmas Fair. For many years in the 'Eighties our Berlin friends sent the same box for Christmas. I love them.

Booboo

No. Not boohoo. I have boobed. I have been making Christmas cakes ever since 2000 when I had a heart attack and was confined to barracks (in that I couldn't drive) for six weeks and suddenly decided to make a Christmas cake or two for Christmas presents. I have made 6 most years since then - even when I was living in New Zealand for half the Scottish winter. Basically it take me a day free of any major distractions to make two cakes. So I set aside today for the purpose and, after having written a couple of letter cards to get into this morning's post,  I started measuring everything out. At that point I had a lightbulb moment. I didn't put the dried fruit to soak in brandy last night. Ah well. I will get everything ready and first thing in the morning will use the by then well-soaked goodies to complete the task.

So I had a mince pie and cream and did a cross-word with my coffee and will spend the day as productively as I can doing other things.

Boxing Day

Well that was Christmas. This morning Scotland woke up to new lockdown statuses. The Outer Islands have gone from Tier 2 to Tier 3 and everywhere else is now Tier 4. The only difference for me is that I won't be able to meet family or friends in their houses just in a café. At least I saw The Family on Christmas morning however, as only two families are allowed to meet in one house I left my in-laws to enjoy the day with their family and, for Christmas Dinner, I went to friends close by my home who were alone because their family is in Edinburgh so unable to visit the Island. 

After I retired from being a bureaucrat I went full-time into our pottery business and ceased to wear ties. The pottery involved a mixture of manual jobs as well a running the business which at it's busiest (ironically at the time when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer) had 22 staff.

Since lockdown I have started wearing ties again - happy ties. I'll show you some time. 

However, I have always worn plain socks (blue, black or brown). Yesterday my Goddaughter surprised me with her family's Christmas present. So in future I shall be wearing happy socks too (except at Lewis funerals!). The following was taken after Christmas dinner yesterday in front of my friends' roaring fire. 

Some of you still haven't been able to see what the fox was looking at so here is the solution: rabbit or hare ears:

A Christmas Tractor For Adrian

Just Saying...

I went into town today. The Christmas cards are out. I'm told that the mainland Garden Centres have all their Christmas stock out. 

I've made two of my Christmas cakes. Only four to go. 

Looking on the bright side there's only 96 days and it will be the shortest day and the days will start getting longer again. I realise that that doesn't work for my readers in the Southern Hemisphere. Sorry about that. 

All this is strange in that my 'summer holidays' won't happen for another three weeks when I 'go South' to see my brother and sister-in-law.

 

Christmas Decorations

Those of you who know me (and, I suspect by now those who don't will have realised) also know that I am not a Christmas person and the one and only time I have had a Christmas tree since I have lived alone was when Friend Who Knows Too Much said she would only bring The Girls (her two wonderful daughters) if I put up a tree. So I did. I also put three sets of lights on it (it was a reasonably sized tree) and plenty of decorations. During the morning two sets of lights went out and then as they walked in the third set expired too. None of the spare bulbs I had would fit any of the sets on the tree and they were all different from each other so I couldn't even pinch from one to mend another. So the tree sat there in a shadow of what should have been its glory. The tree went out and the decorations went to a charity shop. That was the last time I had a tree.

Actually no. That's not correct. The first Christmas I spent in New Zealand Catriona was only just 5. She made me a tree. Each year that tree has come out and has been on display as it is this year:

 

 Together with another one Catriona made for me:

This year I thought I'd make a bit more effort. Not entirely my own effort I have to admit. My little Santa (gift some years ago from FWKTM) is next to the candle and the glass piece centre top is a gift from the USA and the glass tree from a friend in Glasgow who is a very talented glass artist.

The mobile, bottom right, is a reminder of the large one my family acquired when we used to stay in Berlin and Bavaria in the '80s.

In addition I have 

I must be getting mellow in my old age.

Christmas 1/4 of a Year Away But....

Last week before I came away I received in the same post my first Christmas card and my Boots offers for Christmas purchases. I also received an email from Marks and Spencer suggesting I might want to order my Christmas food. I'd already been to the Maybury Garden Centre where Alison had her Christmas display out. I actually bought some stuff.

ARGH!!!!!!!!

It's That Time Again

This year seems to have been unbelievably and very enjoyably busy.  Recently I've been helping my son, Gaz, who is having a house built on the Island and who is doing some of the work himself which has it's difficulties for someone who is away sailing around the world for a living two months out of every four. This is, and has for several generations been, a very common situation for the men on this Island.

Anyway we had Sunday off and I decided that it was time to make the first two of the six Christmas cakes I make. It's a very rewarding experience and it starts the day before when the fruit is soaked in brandy overnight. It then takes most off the following day because they are baked for a long time at a low heat.

They might not look very appealing now but after six weeks of being fed with brandy and then iced they should be quite edible.

Christmas

I am not a Christmas person.  I'm not quite a miserable bah humbug type but I have 'views' about Christmas. Although I have no religious beliefs I am quite happy to accept that other people do.  However Christmas seems to have almost nothing to do with religion these days and given how PC we have become as a society I'm surprised that one is even allowed to say 'Happy Christmas'.  It would be interesting to know how many people in the UK now know the true significance of Christmas.  And no, I don't mean its pagan origins.

It seems to me that what we now really worship is the god of Christmas trade.  The news doesn't say anything about how many people went to church but just how much money they have spent in the shops.

Anyway the last time I had a Christmas tree was back in 2004 or 5 when FWKTM brought her children round and made it a condition that I had a tree. I even had three sets of lights on it and lots of baubles.  The first set of lights went kaput when I switched them on in the morning. The second went about half an hour before they were due to arrive and the last set went off when they were walking up the drive.  The lights were disposed of when the tree came down.  I gave the (quite large) tree away after that but kept the decorations for sentimental reasons.  I looked at them this Christmas and now they,too, have gone to a more appreciative home.

However I still have two trees and they mean much more to me than any other tree could ever mean. One was given to me by Catriona (my New Zealand Family's daughter) when she was knee high to a grasshopper and she gave me the other more recently.  The only decoration I have is my Father Christmas given to me years ago by FWKTM. 

So over the next few days I shall enjoy the companionship of friends, eat too much and have to walk  the mile home from Christmas Dinner in weather which will likely be less than pleasant.

Anyway for all that I hope that you enjoy your festive season whatever you believe.

Only 93 Days Until Christmas

So I decided I'd better get a move on and make Christmas cakes.  So on Saturday I bought the ingredients and yesterday I soaked the fruit in brandy and this afternoon I set too and made the first two.

They came out of the oven at 11.30pm and can cool overnight. Tomorrow they will be fed and wrapped up in silicone paper and then silver foil and all that I have to do is feed them every so often until it's time for them to be iced (or given away for the recipient to ice them: it's not my forté).

Christmas Reindeer

I know that I'm in New Zealand but one of the advantages of Blogland is that it is virtual and non-geographic in its reach.  So if I didn't tell you then you would have no idea where I am.  Sorry about the  mixing up of tenses.  Anyway I read Librarian's post Salzburg Sunrise this morning.  The last photo is of a reindeer in a very proud or haughty pose.  It's full of life.  When I saw that it made me realise what a dull and pedestrian structure is the one in Argyle Street in Glasgow which I photographed the day before I left for New Zealand.  With a little bit of thought it could have been so much better.

On Chocolates, Knees and Outer Mongolia

Amongst other things.

How do you eat a chocolate?  I mean the individually wrapped soft-centered Cadbury's Roses for example (sorry I've no idea what the US equivalent would be,)?  The easiest way is to pop it into one's mouth whole.  That's what I would do if I were in company.  When I'm on my own I bite bits off so that I can make them last right through my mug of coffee which is the only time I would ever eat one.  I used only to eat hard centres but now I eat soft because the hard ones can do too much damage to my molar crowns.  The problem with biting bits off is that the soft centres then run out and invade fingers, desks and anything else they can lay their stickiness on.  This has got to stop!  No more after this tin is empty.  I only had it by accident in any case - bought as a 'spare' present and not used.

John and Sue, Donnie and Cath and the latter's steamer trunks (reminding me very much of The Tourist's Trunk in the first couple of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series) have arrived in China after having left Paisley and travelled by train (except across the North Sea) via Moscow and the Trans-Mongolian Railway.  When they arrived in China Sue emailed to say that she couldn't access her blog.  No.  You can't access anything Google in China.  So the postings are being emailed and posted from here.  If you fancy an amusing ride you can visit it at Gilmour Street to Hung Hom. 

I visited the Royal Mail website this morning.  The first thing that met me was 'postal dates for Christmas'.  Arghhh.  If I'm sending cards from New Zealand to the UK and US I have to send them almost as soon as I arrive at the end of October.  Of course I always leave it later and have to pay accordingly.  Of course there is a wonderful twist to this.  Post early and the card will arrive shortly after because the big rush hasn't started.  By Christmas it will have been mislaid by the recipient who then wonders if their family has been struck off the list.  Post late and it may or may not arrive on time but it will cost a fortune.  I'm just not a Christmas person.  Never have been (as an adult).  Probably never will be.

I woke and rose this morning in the dark.  To me that means it's winter.  Actually it's a balmy 11 deg outside this morning.   It is, however, a wet, miserable, windy morning.  Only 10 sleeps.......  But then look on the bright side:  the garden is full of birds - the Stonechat family seem to have taken up residence - and Sarasate's virtuoso and very amusing violin and piano music is playing on the hifi .

Which brings me to abbreviations.  We all know what hifi is even if we don't know what the abbreviation stands for (high fidelity).  Most of us probably know what wifi is but do you know what it stands for - wireless what?  Wireless nothing actually (although Wireless Fidelity has sometimes been used).  See Wikipedia if you want an explanation.  Now there is MiFi and if you know what that is then you're a more knowledgeable person than I was Gunga Din.

For about 5 or 6 years my right knee has been a bit bothersome with arthritis caused, I presume, by a combination of an accident when I was 16 and being a fencer and fencing coach which really punished that knee.  Yesterday for the first time my left knee mentioned that it was feeling envious and has decided to join the club.  That's an irritation.

I've drunk so much tea and coffee since 0630 that I'm glad I'm not going out today!

I might even manage a blog posting before friends come for dinner.

The Results

No.  I’m not talking about today’s football nor yesterday’s tennis nor, indeed, today’s F1 GP.  I forgot to post the pics of the Christmas cakes.  I’ve made another two since the last post and they are just about to be given their first feed of brandy and then wrapped up in silicone paper and foil until the next feed:

Oven Ready or Ready for the Oven

The Christmas cakes before they spent the best part of 5 hours in the oven. 

An Early Start

Last year my eight or so weeks away in Glasgow attending The Beatson for radiotherapy meant that I just didn’t get to make the six Christmas cakes that I usually make for some of my friends.  I am determined to get back on track this year so today I started by preparing the ingredients for a mix and bake tomorrow.  The dried fruit is now soaking in brandy ready for the off.  All as per Goddess Delia’s recipe I’ve been doing this since I was confined to barracks after a heart attack in 2000 and discovered that people actually like what I did.  That’s a huge incentive isn’t it?