It Must Be Christmas

On Friday, I meet my brother for lunch. So it must be Christmas. We go to the Five Lamps where we struggle to get served and are told there’s a ninety minute wait for food. Yep, it must be Christmas.

I go to the gym after work. I’m tempted to say... so it must be Christmas... but do go at least three times a year.

It must be Christmas because L arrives home bearing a very large book token from her boss. It's about the only time of the year that she says she’s pleased to see him.

We parkrun at Alvaston on Saturday and I power round in 8^th place and a time of 21:06, which is a new parkrun PB shaving 5 seconds off my time at Aviemore. It’s all the lad’s fault.

In the evening we go out in Derby for a drink, so that we can pass judgement on their much maligned Christmas lights. We think they’re actually really nice. 

(Saturday 21^st December)

Railroaded

On the bike! Blimey! It’s been a while and it’s only my second ride in December.

It’s also the pub today and festive venison casserole. L is not so lucky. Half a ham roll (white), half a mini scotch egg and a slice of manky pizza as she gets railroaded into yet another fuddle she wasn't expecting. Christmas is guaranteed to bring out the best in slag food.

She was looking forward to her own homemade soup for lunch. Bah humbug etc etc. She’s says her New Year's Resolution is to cheer up.

Well at least they didn’t expect her to fuddle her soup and there’s no need to cheer up. I have a proud record of never having partaken in a fuddle that I don’t intend to relapse on.

Daughter decides not to come round for tea tonight having exhausted herself Christmas shopping, I just hope she hasn’t exhausted her bank account too. So she’s dipped out of one of my meals again, I could get a complex about this.

L says as compensation I could take her to the pub if I wanted. But if we go to the pub today, then what will we do tomorrow? Go to the pub again I suppose.

In the end we stay in and admire our new candle bridge which is just like next door’s. Don't you just hate people who copy. It was an expensive acquisition from B & M Bargains, the go to place.

(Wednesday 20^th December)

The Four Days Of Easter

It’s the first day of Easter today. Bugger the twelve days of Christmas give me the four days of Easter any day.

Easter is basically, to me at least, an upgrade on Christmas with none of the hassle. I mean unless you’re really really keen, or really really gullible, there’s no buying of presents, no buying of cards and no family commitments.

What’s more you are guaranteed a four day break from work without touching your annual leave because Easter always conveniently falls on a weekend. Then there's the fact that most things continue as usual, even the football is generally on the days you’d expect it to be, plus the pubs are open as normal on all four days. What’s not to like?

There’s even Easter Dogging which I indulge in today. It’s our second outdoor show at Grade 6 but the contrast from the Championship level show last weekend to this more local show is vast. The standard is crap basically. Not that we exactly rise above the general crapness. We have one official clear round and one unofficial one as we were 0.1 seconds out of time. I took it slow because no one else was going clear and then undercooked it.

However the general crapness of everyone else benefits us in the end when we get a rosette for 4^th with ten faults. That’s shocking, and the sort of thing you’d expect in Grade 1 or 2 not Grade 6, but we don’t turn it down. 

(Friday 14^th April)

Granny Cycling

Our local park is shut for four days this week and for four days next. We suspect this is for target practice on the deer but we're not 100% sure. Perhaps venison is in vogue this Christmas. I’m not sure how MD will cope without his park nor how L will cope for that matter.

I’m on the bus today with the intention of going to the gym tonight but I start feeling ill around lunchtime. I make it to the gym but my legs are feeling so weak that I only manage 5k of granny cycling (with all due respect to cycling grannies everywhere) and even that is a struggle. I have the same heartburn that I had last Christmas but at least I know that it goes just as quickly as it comes after a quick vomit.

First though I have to get home on the bus and hope it doesn’t happen there. It doesn’t. I make it home and crawl into bed to await the inevitable. Takes a few hours but then I feel much better again.

(Tuesday 6^th December)

The Battle Resumes

In the car today, as the weather is foul.

Battle resumes on the squash court this evening. Although my opponent suggests that they might have to widen the door to get him onto the court. Clearly he didn’t take advantage of the extra time off at Christmas to pack in extra training. Personally I thought that was what it was for.

Managed two runs, two Watt Bike sessions and a swim myself. I’m a bit disappointed with that total but the weather hasn’t been great to get out on the road bike.

He is soon 1-0 down and seemingly hampered by a back problem. Yet he still comes through to win.

Afterwards we support another empty pub, the Navigation. We are the only ones in at first but it does get busier after a while.

(Thursday 7^th January)

Christmas Is A Time For Complex Arrangements

Christmas is of course a time for complex arrangements. Son’s seem to have bypassed us, not for the first time. Drastic measures are called for and we step in where National Rail don’t and offer a decent service from Stoke to Derby.

He is in Stoke at his girlfriend’s for Christmas, so we transport him over to Derby where he is heading for his father’s via his grandparents. By taking him there we not only get to see them both but also to exchange presents in person.

Then we drop them at his Dad’s before hot footing it back to Nottingham where we meet my parents in the Admiral Rodney before we take them back to our place for a roast beef lunch and more Christmas present opening.

(Sunday 27^th December)