A birthday trip to Normandy - 14th to the 17th of January, 2026

A usual early start!

I had a bad night's sleep; I'm beginning to wonder whether it's the lights in our office, as this now happens whenever I go into work... I woke up at 2:21am and decided to check the route to Folkestone on Google Maps. Because of numerous road closures, it advised three hours and for us to take the M25 the other way, i.e., not the Dartford crossing side, which I was not happy about.

At 2:45am, I woke Sophie, and she had a shower. I went downstairs and checked Google Maps again, but nothing had changed! By the time we had both showered and dressed and made a flask of coffee, it was 3:40am. Keith had got up to say goodbye, and the cats were totally bemused by the goings on, especially as we didn't want to let them out until later in the morning. I felt a little off as I'd had stomach cramps since I woke up, so I'd taken some ibuprofen to help, but I have to admit I was a little worried about the journey!

We set off in the blackness and saw a fox and a muntjac deer before we got to the A43. There was very little on the road, and we drove to junction 15 of the M1 and joined the motorway. The left lane was a wall of lorries, but we made good progress until just after Luton, when all the lanes were reduced to one, and we were held up for a while.

The journey from the M25 to the M20 seemed to take forever! We passed Heathrow, and then Gatwick, and took the M26 towards Maidstone, a motorway I'd never been on before! I had never, in all the years of travelling to Dover and Folkestone, taken this route, but we had no further hold-ups, and we were checking in at 6:30am.

We could have taken an earlier train, but we both needed the loo, so we kept our booked departure. In Duty-Free, we took advantage of two bottles of vodka for £18 (well, we had to!) and then returned to the car for coffee, pastries and a granola yoghurt.

Very soon, we were called, and we were asked by a charming French border guard where our final destination was. When I said Ver-sur-Mer, he looked at me blankly! Le Shuttle was very quiet indeed, and we boarded quickly without having to go up the ramp!

We passed the crossing by napping, and we were delighted to see blue skies when we got to France! The roads were quiet, and we made good time to our first stop, the aire de la baie de Somme. We used the facilities (no toilet seats) and had a coffee and hot chocolate overlooking the cold canal. It had turned grey and misty, but we didn't mind! We like it like this!

Lunch with a frog

Our journey continued, and we spotted three buzzards on the fences and loads and loads of mistletoe balls in the trees. We stopped at two tolls and then drove over the Pont de Normandie bridge. Below us was the Seine and the port of Le Havre.

We had decided to stop for lunch in Honfleur and parked in the usual car park. As the time was getting on, we picked the first restaurant we came to, La Grenouille (The Frog). We had looked at the menu outside and picked the set 24 euro menu. Inside, it was warm, pleasantly busy, and the staff were lovely and friendly.

We both chose the terrine to start, followed by chicken in a cider cream sauce and frites. I ordered a 50cl pichet of Muscadet de Sevre et Maine to accompany the meal. By now, we were both hungry, and our breakfast at the shuttle terminal seemed an age ago! The food was very good - simple but delicious!

 

For dessert, Sophie had "floating islands", which was a dollop of meringue on top of a pistachio cream. She'd never had that before! I had liquid cream cheese topped with a fruit coulis. It was a lovely lunch, and just what we wanted!

We paid the bill, about 60 euros, and had a quick look at the harbour. The time was getting on, so after a quick look at the boats moored up, we made our way back to the car.

The Frog restaurant

My main objective now was to fill up with petrol, and I'd spotted two stations on the way in. We backtracked and filled up the car with fuel, so that was one worry alleviated. I could hear Keith's words in my head saying, "Don't let it get too low!" but we hadn't wanted to fill up on the autoroute because it was a lot more expensive.

Collecting shells

We then took the coast road to Deauville, as we did last year, and saw the sea and the industry around Le Havre, which I'm sure we hadn't noticed last year! The tide was a long way out, and we decided to stop at Houlgate again to collect shells.

We carried along the coast road, enjoying the beautiful scenery and stunning houses. This is just one example:

A lot of the beach houses were well and truly shuttered up; some of them were gorgeous! There was sand on the road, and when we stopped at the beach at Houlgate, a digger was pushing back sand from the promenade back onto the beach. We both felt it was because of Storm Goretti last week, as it must have affected this area quite badly.

We both found shells and crunched our way over to a large church that is being renovated into apartments. I took a photo of the estate agents handling the sale to find out more information later!

Back in the car, we carried on our way, and I asked Sophie to find a supermarket so we could do a quick shop before we arrived at the Airbnb. We found a small Carrefour in Lion-sur-Mer and bought some essentials to tide us over. It was a perfect little place, and we bought all we needed.

From Lion-sur-Mer, we drove to Ver-sur-Mer, and it took us about forty minutes. We crossed over Pegasus Bridge at Ouistreham and then headed inland, clashing with the rush hour traffic. The sun was very low in the sky, making for difficult driving.

It was a huge relief when we parked opposite our little house, and that was the driving done for the day! We had been up for fifteen hours, and we were shattered! We let ourselves in with the key from the lockbox and unpacked the car before putting our clothes away. The house was wonderful, with a wood-burning stove, a comfortable dining/living room, a separate kitchen, a downstairs loo (bonus!) and two bedrooms with an upstairs bathroom. When we'd arrived, a little grey cat had come over to say hello, and he/she almost came into the house! It was very friendly!

Plunged into darkness!

It was heaven to collapse on the sofa, open a bottle of wine and decide which Netflix series to watch. After about twenty minutes of a strange Polish drama, we decided to watch a documentary on the murder of a very rich man in Monaco, Edmond Safra, which was riveting!

As we were watching, all the lights suddenly went out and, after looking out of the windows, we realised it was a power cut... I was just glad we'd lit some candles and the stove was alight, but this gradually went out. It lasted about forty-five minutes, and it was a relief when everything came back on! I dreaded waking up in the night with no way of seeing how to get to the loo!

We watched the end of the documentary, finished our bottle of El Diablo, and went to bed. It had been a long day!

Ready for the off!

I had a horrible journey to work again, and it was just Sara and me in the office until Jo and Angela came in a few minutes before 10am. Angela was stressed again about parking and had found a space a fair walk away. Our MD was also in and came to say hello as he always does (the rest of our senior management team don't bother), but that was it... where is everyone? There's supposed to be about thirteen of us in the offices, so it was like a ghost town!

Sara and I had a lot of emails to deal with, so we answered them and worked hard. We are starting to get a lot of customers calling about the end of March now, and what's happening. It's a question we find hard to answer at the moment!

The weather today has been grey and dismal, and it took me a depressingly long time to exit the hospital grounds. The traffic on the A45 and A43 was awful, so I need another route home!

When Sophie arrived home, we packed the car so it was all ready to go tomorrow! We then found time to relax before an early bed!

The Monday blues!

The weather turned mild overnight, so there was no frost this morning. It's set to stay like this all week, which is a relief as I didn't fancy driving to France on Wednesday in a snowstorm!

Keith took me to work this morning and agreed with me about how miserable the journey is. It's so dark I need the main beam on the country roads. What an awful time of year to change our place of work! He dropped me off, and I had a busy shift trying to get as much done as I could in the morning, as I was answering the phone in the afternoon with Kathy. I gave up with the emails as the phones were almost constant! It was not pleasant!

When he picked me up at 4pm, I was in a bad mood, and we queued for ages to leave the hospital grounds, which made me worse! I am not the only one unhappy with the arrangements; Sara now has to leave thirty minutes earlier in the morning and has set her alarm to go off at 6am, like me! And then there's always the worry of managing to find a space...

To cheer myself up at home, I sat and watched a couple of episodes of Ever Decreasing Circles until Sophie got home. She didn't seem that happy either, and I'm just glad we're away this week! I know that traditionally January is a bleak month (thanks Mum and Dad, for having me right in the middle!) and I will try and think ahead to Spring, which will be here soon!

Sophie cooked a delicious chicken stir-fry meal for dinner, and while she was cooking, Keith and I played cards, something we haven't done for a while!

Sunday syndrome...

The weather was cloudier today, but it still felt cold when the wind blew! We had a lazy start to the day and spent the morning catching up with some jobs. Because of the miserable weather, I think we all felt a bit glum, and Sophie and I suffered with a bit of "Sunday syndrome"! However, we both have just two days to work next week, so it could be worse!

Just after lunchtime, Sophie and I went to see Mum and sat with her for a while. I managed to sort out her television, and we popped to the nearby shop to buy her some chocolates. When we left, we took the scenic route and stopped at our usual layby to enjoy a wrap before driving home. The countryside was a symphony of greys, browns and muted greens, but it was nice to sit for five minutes and have a small picnic!

Back home, Sophie made mugs of tea, and we sat and chatted and indulged in some chocolate of our own.  There are some days when it's really needed! The cats have been in for most of the day; they seem to dislike this chilly, damp weather, and the house has been lovely and warm for them.

Supper this evening was the soup we should have had last night, and it was delicious! Sophie had pureéd the vegetables and added the frankfurters, and it was a really hearty meal. Luckily, there was enough left for our lunch tomorrow at work!

Photos of Mooney, courtesy of Sophie:

A taste of Germany

We awoke to clear skies and a frosty morning, with beautiful patterns etched in ice on the conservatory roof again. We have been putting the heating on all day at the moment, and I dread to think what our gas bill will be! The house is horrible when it's cold, though! Keith ventured out to get a newspaper, and we settled down to watch a little of Saturday Morning Kitchen.

Sophie and I spent the rest of the morning packing and sorting out things for Normandy. The weather is going to turn milder with rain forecast, so it won't be bitterly cold.

Sophie also bustled about peeling vegetables for tonight's supper of German soup - we decided to go the whole hog and have frikadellen and dark rye bread to start as well! It was lovely to stay at home and keep warm and not go anywhere. I caught up with a lot of jobs and by mid-afternoon, we had time to indulge in a face pack while watching television. First thing this morning, I started watching The Roses starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, so I finished watching the film this afternoon. It was enjoyable, and I didn't realise it was a remake of The War of the Roses starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas from 1989.

Before dinner, I sat and watched a couple of episodes of Ever Decreasing Circles, and Sophie finished her latest book. She then prepared our starter of Frikadellen and bread, served with mustard and cornichons. In the background, on the computer, she played a YouTube video of a walk in Berlin in the snow, filmed shortly after we were there. It was wonderful to see, and the walk went from Alexanderplatz to halfway down Unter Den Linden. It was fantastic to see the Nikolai Quarter in the snow and Museum Island, which we haven't really explored much. It was like being back there!

The starter was so filling that we decided to postpone the soup until tomorrow, and we continued watching Berlin videos all evening! 

Snow gone!

The snow had stopped last night, and overnight, the roads turned slushy. Sophie was able to work from home, and we sat and watched a documentary about a train journey in Norway with a coffee. I forgot I had to leave earlier and went screaming up the stairs to shower at about 6.45am! I was still able to leave on time with Keith, though, who needed the car to go shopping. He dropped me off, and I told him to go to the same place to pick me up at 4pm. It was a better journey today, with both of us in the car!

My shift passed pleasantly, and I seem to be getting used to the bright overhead lights and the mediocre view from the windows! One of our soft play centres was forced to close because of the storm overnight, but that was the only casualty for us.

I managed to clear all the emails and put on the February playscheme places at just one of our centres (one we're keeping hold of). The prices had been reduced and early and late pick-up times introduced to encourage parents to use it, so we made the decision to revert to the old system. I wish we had known earlier!

Keith was waiting for me at 4pm, and we trundled home, managing to arrive at 4.30pm, which was a bonus! I have quickly learnt to get out at 4pm exactly to avoid a queue! Sophie went upstairs to have a quick shower when she finished work, and I caught up with a programme on Discovery + about twin sisters who tackled unsellable houses in Seattle and made them look beautiful. How many programmes deal with this, though? I remember a similar format in the late 80s/early 90s when an American woman called The House Doctor did the same thing!

Keith went to the pub while Sophie and I watched a disturbing Netflix documentary about a female influencer in Utah who had such a hold over another mother that she committed terrible child abuse on two of her children. Both have been jailed, and I hope they're never released.

Dinner tonight was an old favourite: chopped tomatoes, bacon and crusty bread. Afterwards, Keith and I finally enjoyed the Christmas pudding we'd bought in Lidl ages ago. It was delicious with Brandy cream!

Sophie and I stayed up late to watch Graham Norton, which I enjoy, but I always find it a bit "luvvie", with a lot of self-congratulation and showing off!

Storm Goretti

Sophie went to the gym as usual this morning, and I left the house again at 7.10am, managing to park easily and walk in. My short shift passed uneventfully, but I said goodbye to Sue, who won't be working with us after today. She has taken on more shifts at one of our other centres, which will be operated by Everyone Active from April 1st.

The weather until 2pm was grey and cold, and when I left, I decided to go home first to see Keith before visiting my Mum. I briefly spoke to Vince and Sue from next door, who were getting ready to see their daughter and granddaughters back to Australia. They had been visiting since mid-December, and Vince and Sue looked a bit worn out!

I popped over to Kettering to see Mum, who wasn't with it today, and we had a long chat with one of the senior carers. I tried to sort out her TV set as she wasn't receiving some channels, but failed. It was turning out to be one of those days!

When I left, it had started raining, and the weather was awful! The storm was approaching! I had messaged my friend Sue, who was now living in Cornwall, as the region had a Red warning for wind! I told her to stay safe!

I was heartily relieved when Sophie arrived home, as the rain turned to sleet, and then big, fat flakes of snow, carpeting the roads and paths outside. If it had continued all night, we would definitely have had a snow day tomorrow!

Mundane tasks completed...

Sophie worked from home today, which made things a lot easier as Keith and I had booked the VW in for a service and MOT ahead of our trip to Normandy next week. We drove to Moulton in heavy traffic at 8am,  dropped off the car and headed home.

We then decided to go shopping straightaway and get it over with! It's been bitterly cold today, and we have a French storm, called Goretti, forecast for tomorrow, which is set to be disruptive for the western half of the country. We're supposed to be having snow ourselves on Thursday night, and we have an Amber warning in place. Let's see!

We drove to Kettering and visited Aldi first. Once the shopping had been done, I popped to the nearby Next store and treated myself to a selection of three perfumes. The previous ones I'd bought had all run out at the same time!

Keith and I then went to Tesco before heading home to put the shopping away and have a late lunch of beans on toast. Sophie was working away in the kitchen, as it would have been too cold in the conservatory!

In the afternoon, Keith and I went to see Lloyd at Jack Warwick Funeral Directors to arrange a pre-paid plan for my Mum. I did away with the notices in the papers, and a limousine for us, which brought the price down slightly. He sent me all the information by email, which will make for pleasant reading!

As the VW was ready to be collected, we headed back to Moulton and picked it up. On the way, we witnessed a minor accident between two cars, but neither of them stopped! I was amazed as I thought it was the law to stop? It was horrible seeing bits of the car and the taillight flying through the air!

At the garage, the VW had needed three new tyres, but Keith was relieved as he was worried about us having problems with the tyres in France. We had been getting warnings about the tyre pressure, so that was now dealt with.

Back home, I sat with Sophie in the kitchen until she finished work at 5pm. I tasted some more of my whiskies so I now have four left. The Advent calendar has lasted a long time!

A new way...

After yesterday's worry about parking, I decided to leave five minutes earlier and take a different route. Sophie had a horrible headache, so she didn't go to the gym this morning. She heated up my porridge for me and made my flask of coffee, bless her! That helped considerably!

I drove through Holcot and then Moulton, and picked up the Kettering Road into town, which seems a far more direct route. It meant I arrived just after 7.30am and parked easily. No snow on the ground this morning!

When Nicola arrived, she took Sara and me into the boardroom to discuss my formal request to work from home two days a week. As expected, the answer was no, but I was asked to be patient until the 1st of April, when things should be more settled. I was fully expecting this response, even though Sara's daughter works from home three days a week. Nepotism is alive and well! I have two stark choices: carry on and hope for a change or look for another job.

 

The parking issues were brought sharply into focus when Angela called Sara to say she hadn't been able to find a space anywhere. In the end, she was forced to park in our customer car park and arrived in our office crying her eyes out, as it was two minutes to 10am, and she'd left home at 9.15am (she lives about fifteen minutes away). She was angry and fed up. Jo had parked on a side street as she was determined not to pay for parking, on principle! She certainly made her feelings known!

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and I helped out on the phones several times. Next week, we're short on Monday, and I can't see anyone volunteering to come in now!

At 4pm, I hung back to talk to Jo and Angela, so I was a little later leaving than normal. It took me a good twenty minutes to exit the hospital grounds, as the queue to get out was horrendous. Oh joy!

At home, the house felt cold, and I realised that Keith had turned the heating off earlier this afternoon! Brrr! I turned it on and lit the fire in the living room! Sophie and I sat on the sofa, and I watched a lovely documentary about the Bernina train in Switzerland, which travels from the town of Chur to Tirano in Italy. The scenery was staggeringly beautiful!

After Keith's delicious curry, we watched three episodes of the Christmas University Challenge and did quite well! The questions are easier than the regular series!

Snow!

I really, really didn't want to get up this morning when Sophie woke me at 6am! Outside, there was a covering of snow on the ground, and it felt freezing! My theories (and old-fashioned ones at that) about the trees and bushes bearing a lot of fruit in harsh winters seem to be proved, as I've seen hedgerows laden down with fruit and crab apples hanging heavily on branches.

I said goodbye to Sophie and warned her to take it easy. When she got to the gym, she said that most roads seemed to be fine, except "cut-throat" alley in Holcot. I set off at 7.15am after making myself two coffees to take with me, and noticed that the main road through the town was the worst! 

I had trouble parking this morning, and it didn't help that the spaces were covered in snow. I parked in one space but asked the man next to me, who had just parked, if it was a disabled space, which it was. I was able to find another one, but I did worry a bit if it was a legitimate one. The last thing I need is a parking ticket!

Our parking issues carried on when Nicola had real trouble finding a space, and Angela had to park in the main car park, a fair walk away. Kathy's daughter brought her in, but this is proving to be a significant problem for us, especially those who start later in the morning.

The phones went mad this morning, and I helped out several times. I was glad that we didn't have too many emails, and I managed to get the moan report finished! Hooray! Our MD was in our office several times today and helped himself multiple times to our chocolates. It was a shame he didn't bring any in for Christmas for us...

Getting out of the hospital grounds wasn't too bad this evening, and I arrived home at about 4.45pm. When Sophie got home from work, we all sat in the kitchen and chatted, and I tried some more of my whiskies from the advent calendar. This has been sorely neglected, but I will manage to finish them all before my birthday next week! 

Dinner tonight was an easy supper of tomato soup and crusty bread, followed by chocolate trifle. Delicious!

A new year cull!

It has been a busy day today, and Keith went shopping first thing, so he doesn't have to take me to work tomorrow. This change of workplace is having far-reaching consequences for both of us.

While he was gone, Sophie and I took down all of the Christmas decorations. While Sopihe stripped the trees and bundled the branches into boxes, I carefully placed all the decorations into pretty containers to be safely stored in the space above our wardrobes. It was lovely seeing them all spread out, especially the ones from our Scandinavian tree!

I then hoovered and dusted the living room and put one of the armchairs back in its rightful place. Mooney wandered in while we were doing this and didn't bat an eyelid. Both of them have been very good with the trees and have barely taken any notice of them.

Sophie made our breakfasts for tomorrow (back to the grind), and we were all finished by the time Keith returned from shopping. After having something to eat, I tidied two of the cupboards in the kitchen and did a ruthless cull of items that we'd been keeping for some unknown reason! A new year cull always feels great!

Sophie hoovered upstairs, as well as the kitchen and then mopped the floor. It was then time for a face pack and A Place in the Sun! Bliss! I managed to have a very long soak in the bath afterwards, and we turned the heating up as it has been another bitterly cold day with snow forecast tonight. That'll be good tomorrow morning!

Sophie and I played two games of Scrabble with a cocktail, and then it was time for the dinner we should have had last night, which Sophie cooked! After eating, Keith and I watched Crocodile Dundee II. I had a heavy heart when it ended. It's back to work properly tomorrow!

A cold, cold day!

After a lie-in (bliss!) and a coffee, we all went to Northampton this morning to Benchmarx, the company that supplied our cupboards in the kitchen. One of the integrated lights has stopped working and probably needs a new bulb, and we were hoping they would be able to advise. 

This morning was beautiful but cold, and the countryside looked stunning. We were able to use the new relief road for the first time, and we managed to cut out the villages of Chapel and Church Brampton, and Harlestone, so it certainly saved time. We were astonished, though, at the number of new houses being built so close to Harlestone Firs, a lovely forested area with walking trails, which is very popular. Let's hope that no more trees are cut down.

At Benchmarx, we spoke to a rather gormless member of staff who asked when the kitchen was fitted, and then told me to email over the photos I'd taken. To be honest, I don't hold out much hope, but we need to get the bulb replaced! 

We left Benchmarx and called in at Lidl to buy something for dinner tonight. We decided on chicken burgers with salad, and we picked out some goodies to go in the trolley! We then retraced our route home, managing to avoid calling in at the pub for a drink! We had bought pastries, and I was looking forward to a late breakfast!

Shortly after midday, Sophie and I went to see Mum, but she was sitting having lunch when we arrived. We sat in her new room, which is much closer to the lounge and is exactly the same as the one she left. She was in a wheelchair because the carers said she was a bit unsteady on her feet, and when she'd finished lunch, we sat in the library with her and chatted. She seemed a lot better today, and we reminisced about when she worked for the shoe manufacturer, R.E. Tricker, in Northampton. We wondered what her old work colleagues were now doing. I even had a look online at their shoes and boots... they were charging about £600 for a pair of women's boots! I know that King Charles used to wear their slippers and they have maintained their Royal Warrant. They also used to make beautiful riding boots, and I have very happy memories of going to work with my Mum when I was a child.

We stayed for over an hour and then popped to Mawsley for milk, even though we'd been in Lidl earlier. We are dimwits! It was an excuse to buy some nibbles, and we both bought a Dairylea snack box with cheese, ham and crackers and a bag of Monster Munch! Talk about processed foods! Well, it was a naughty treat, and we pulled into a layby along our favourite stretch of country road to eat our impromptu snack in the car with the heated seats on! I told Sophie that I'd once confessed to a man I had a bit of a crush on that I liked Monster Munch. The look he gave me said it all, and I can't remember the last time I indulged in a packet. They were deliciously vinegary!

Back home, we made mugs of tea and tried to warm up. It has been so cold today! We sat in the early evening with a Negroni cocktail and decided that we didn't really want the dinner we'd planned, so Sophie and I had cheese on toast, while Keith had a turkey sandwich! The turkey is lingering on!

Back to work...

In the end, Keith didn't go shopping today, so I drove myself to work and parked easily. It was bitterly cold, and the roads were frosty, so I took it easy when walking the short distance to the building's entrance. I could see Sheila's car already parked, but the office lights weren't on.

She was in the kitchen when I arrived and unlocked the office door for me. Sara was working from home today, so it was just Sheila and me until Kathy came in at 9am. There weren't masses of emails, but I had to send off the box office returns, which took me a fair while to do.

Sharon arrived at 9.30am and had parked easily as well. Today hasn't really been a typical day, though, as a lot of people are still off for Christmas. The phones were busy, and I had to pitch in and help several times.

The day did fly by, though, and 4pm came quickly, thank goodness. Getting out of the car park was easy, and I was home by 4.30pm. Sophie had been out with Laura and Daisy all afternoon and had eaten lunch at The Telegraph in Moulton, so she didn't want dinner. Keith went to the pub, we opened a bottle of white wine and watched an excellent documentary on Netflix about the Australian woman who poisoned four members of her family by serving them Deathcap mushrooms. Three of them died, and it was a miracle that the fourth member survived. It was riveting viewing, and I remembered the case being in the news. 

Keith came home looking frozen, and we enjoyed cold slices of turkey and the trimmings from yesterday for dinner. We watched the last episode of the documentary after eating, and then Sophie and I caught the first episode of Amanda and Alan's show about renovating a house in Corfu. It was a great end to a busy Friday!

A new year beckons

We weren't late to bed last night, and didn't have loads to drink, so we all woke up with clear heads this morning! Keith was worried about one of his credit cards that he had tried to use in Berlin, but had used the wrong pin number, so I suggested we drive into Northampton and visit a cashpoint machine where he could reset the number.

The roads were quiet when we drove in, and the town was deserted, with just a handful of people walking about. I remember one New Year's Day going into the town, and it was a depressing experience! This morning, we drove up Bridge Street, and it wasn't a cheerful sight! The whole street was rundown and tatty! Keith managed to sort his card out, and I drove to my new place of work to show him where he needed to pick me up tomorrow, as he was going shopping. 

Back home, we decided to eat at about 5pm, and I prepared the red cabbage well in advance. We'd asked Keith to buy it already cooked, but he wasn't able to find any, so we had to do it ourselves. Sophie had shredded the cabbage and sliced an onion for me while we were out, which helped. Keith had also prepared the vegetables and the pigs in blankets.

I sweated the onion, before adding the cabbage, a teaspoon of cinnamon, cranberry sauce and white wine vinegar (the recipe had called for red wine vinegar, but it had to do!). While this was simmering away, I diced two apples and added them. The aroma smelled delicious, and I let it simmer away all afternoon.

Sophie and I started on the Champagne while relaxing this afternoon, and my daughter hoovered and tidied up. Once the turkey was in the oven, we were on countdown, and we all pitched in to help with the meal. We sat down at 5pm and enjoyed our turkey, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese and red cabbage. Phew!

While we were eating, we discussed this Christmas and toyed with the idea of going out on Christmas Day for lunch. I used to go out with my parents when I was growing up, and a favourite restaurant was The Falcon in Castle Ashby. It was a real treat to get dressed up and go for a sumptuous meal!

After eating, we cleared away and collapsed on the sofa with the remnants of a bottle of the Biddenden white wine, Ortega. Our viewing choice for tonight was Crocodile Dundee, and then it was early to bed for me as I am back at work tomorrow. Groan!

Happy New Year!

 

Wishing everyone a fantastic 2026!!!