Bah, humbug!

Sophie and I spent most of the morning out and about and I made more inroads into my Christmas shopping. We visited the local shopping centre which was heaving with people and then we took Mikey's headphones back as they were only working on one side... We'd decided to give them to him before Christmas as the pair he had weren't working at all. I bought him another pair along with a few more little stocking fillers and then we headed back to work for the afternoon.

However, there was one more place I wanted to go - Booker's! I bought Keith a case of beer from the children and treated myself to a bottle of Port and a bottle of Stones Ginger Wine, a vital ingredient in a Whisky Mac! Well, it is Christmas! We chatted to some of the staff in Booker who were working over the festive season as the wholesaler is only closed on the 25th.

Luckily we weren't as late at work as I thought we'd be so we were able to leave at 4pm and go home. I wrapped some presents and then had a bath before Sophie made me up for my outing as Ebenezer Scrooge! She applied lots of wrinkles to my face and we sprayed my hair grey which caused a lot of hilarity in the household!

I dressed in black trousers, a white shirt, black jumper, scarf and hat and Keith said I looked great! He drove me to Lynda's and I was the first to arrive. Lynda couldn't stop looking at me and laughing so I'd obviously done something right! She was dressed as an Elf and looked great!

Fiona and Andrea arrived and there was more hilarity as Andrea was dressed exactly the same as Lynda! Fiona looked fantastic (and quite sexy!) in a Christmas pudding outfit!

We started our lovely meal with an aperitif made from Raspberry liqueur and Prosecco, accompanied by olives and melon wrapped in Parma ham. Lynda then called us through to her dining room where we had a delicious starter of different types of fish in a cheesy sauce, along with German Rye bread and butter. I want the recipe! Lynda served a gorgeous Italian Pinot Grigio with the meal which went down really well with all of us.

For our main course we enjoyed a Kerala (Indian) curry of chicken with brown rice, Sag Aloo, Naan bread and onion Bhaji. Everything was beautifully cooked and very tasty.

Before we ate dessert Lynda brought out a fantastic after-dinner game called Devilish Dilemmas...you're given two choices in a scenario and have to choose one or the other. The game had us all in stitches and I thought Andrea was never going to stop laughing...Fiona and Lynda were also helpless with laughter...

It was such an enjoyable game (and something the kids have fun asking!) that I'm determined to find it so we can all play it on Christmas Day!

Lynda served a very indulgent trifle for pudding which was absolutely delicious. None of us had any room for her Italian cheeses and I passed on the Colombian coffee and Turkish sweetmeats. I just didn't have any room!

At midnight, Keith came to collect me and when we arrived home we had half an hour of relaxation before bed...it had been a fantastic evening!