Christmas thoughts

As we sit, drinking a bottle of wine, listening to music by Michel Legrand (we like a bit of French!), out thoughts turn to the question of Christmas.

We haven't really found a totally successful formula since I had to abandon the great cook effort. The Fox had a try one year but he found it all a bit much.

Since then we've tried a few options. A couple of times we tried going away, once to Lanzarote & once to St Lucia. Neither were entirely successful. In Lanzarote we managed to get food poisoning. We still shudder at the memory of that trip.

St Lucia was more successful, but it just didn't seem like Christmas. Santa did arrive on his water skis, but that was about the only thing festive about it. The food wasn't particularly good, & we felt we missed out on so much of the festive spirit at home, the wishing our friends well on Christmas Eve, the putting up the Christmas tree, the carol service. The airports heaved. The flights were full so we ended up in economy class which became very uncomfortable for such a long journey.

A break in this country, perhaps, where things would be done in a traditional way we knew? The prices just seem so astronomical for just a few days. For the price of 3-4 nights here full board, you can go abroad for a week all inclusive. And there's no denying drinks do add up, especially at such a festive time. What is more, there's the crowded roads/trains to contend with to get there.

The last couple of years we've been out for Christmas lunch at a local hostelry, in both cases joined by friends. In some ways this has proved the most satisfactory. We are at home for all the local celebrations. We eat English traditional fare. We have good company. We get out of the house for part of the day.

With this is mind, we're thinking it's time we made a few enquiries - see who's around to maybe join us, see what's on the menu at various places, discover where still has spaces. Last year our village pub, which in many ways appeals to us immensely, was fully booked from the Christmas Day the year before!

There is also a niggling memory that, last year, PD & his wife wanted us to join them for the meal but, by then, we had already booked for a meal with Fran & Den. Are we going to be invited again?

Definitely time to put a few feelers out, to sort out what we're doing.