Well, that was a lot of fun. We had a marvellous Christmas with the additional bonus of a visit from Ben, Brex-Anna and Max. We had a great New Year’s Eve at ours with all three boys, their delightful and beautiful wives and our four marvellously gorgeous/handsome and extraordinarily intelligent grandchildren. Absolutely priceless.
We said “good-bye” on Friday afternoon to Ben et famille as they flew back to LA after their short yet very pleasant visit. They had just about recovered from the jet lag of their arrival so it was time to go home and go through that whole process again. They also took with them the coughs and colds we so kindly gave them – you’re welcome! Aside from the weather being pretty grim for most of their visit, the closure of many of the attractions to which we might have taken Max, and the wholesale rail strikes which precluded a visit to London, for example, it was a great few days and we will look forward to the next time we can all be together again.
We all spent New Year’s Eve at our place. Nick, Lucy & Annabelle and Adam, Ava, Jessica and Julieta came for a magnificent evening meal. In spite of the pelting rain, I was put in charge of barbequing a leg of lamb for the meat eaters which was just about cooked to perfection, if I do say so myself. This was not due to any particular skill on my part but more to do with Nick’s excellent supervision. (On a side note, it looks like my Weber gas-fired barbeque will need to be retired – there was a strong smell of gas throughout the cooking process. I was a bit concerned that the whole thing might go up at any time!)
On Monday last week we all met up at Nick and Lucy’s for a few snacks before embarking on the light trail at Warwick Castle which was excellent. It was bitterly cold but thankfully no rain. Jessie and Max in particular felt really cold by about the half way point but we made it all the way round before sprinting to the cars and back to Nick and Lucy’s for more food. A really lovely evening.
On Wednesday evening we all met up again, this time for a final dinner together at The Leopard in Bishops Tachbrook. Lovely meal with great company made even better value by the voucher Lucy kindly shared entitling us to a 25% discount – what could be better than that? And, last night, after the dust had settled, Ms Playchute and I went out for dinner at The Cromwell Cottage just up the road in Kislingbury. More vouchers! This time a buy one, get one free deal! I could get used to this discounted dining but, on the other hand, I appreciate that it’s due to the hammering the hospitality sector has endured over the past few years – Covid, a lack of staff due to the stupidity of Brexit and a horrendous cost of living crisis. Happy to help out where we can.
Perhaps this a fitting point at which to share with you one of Susie Dent’s words of the day:
Yep, my belt is just about at its limit.
And so, to the first You Could Not Make It Up of the year. The government has awarded a £200K contract to RE:ACT, a disaster relief charity to provide humanitarian aid to lorry drivers stuck in traffic jams in Kent while they wait for a Channel crossing from Dover. Essentially, this is an admission of failure, having to make contingency plans for future delays because of the government’s dismal failure to secure a Brexit which works for anyone other than the hedge fund managers and bankers.
The government’s incompetence around the border has resulted in them having to bring in companies more used to providing humanitarian support for people in war zones and in the aftermath of natural disasters. That the government has turned to them shows the scale of the chaos unleashed by their failure to deliver a Brexit that works.
Nick Smith, MP for Blaenau Gwent
And finally, I stumbled across the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the People’s Choice Award. This is always one of my favourite photography exhibitions and we used to go up to London each year to catch it. You’ve got until 2 February to cast your vote.
And finally, finally, Daisy decided to help as I was taking down the Christmas tree yesterday. Surprising how difficult it is to disengage the tree stand whilst your face is being licked all over.
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg