Christmas Over

As I’ve said in previous years, I’m no great fan of Christmas. The few days before are great but then after the frivolity of Christmas Eve and to a lesser extent Christmas Day everything just drops off the cliff a bit, for me at least.

Boxing Day as ever starts with the Furnace Run on Darley Park in Derby. The Lad makes his debut this year with me, while MD runs with Daughter.

Then we drop Daughter at her father’s with her treating us, as last year, to a ‘Baileys’ in the Nags Head. Although she is the only one actually drinking Baileys.

Then we’re free of family and able to do our own thing. We had promised ourselves to do our own Christmas Day today but that’s not as easy as you think. The few curry places that were doing Christmas Day don’t seem to be doing Boxing Day and anyway, I ate that much yesterday I’m not sure I could do it justice.

So instead we walk the dogs over to Beeston, which is something we used to do years ago when Doggo was still a fit boy, and we go in the Crown. It’s quite busy though and we’re squashed in a corner in the back room, but the Lad still has a great time... so we don't overstay our welcome. 

(Wednesday 26^th December)

Reindeer Casserole

This morning it’s the traditional Boxing Day run at the Furnace Inn in Derby. We take Son and Daughter over with us, so that they can both head over to their father’s. Not that either looks particularly enamoured to be up at this unearthly time... 11am. I think both have unwittingly left their Christmas spirit back home asleep in bed.

I run the 5k attached to both Doggo and MD but forget the ‘dual lead attachment’ thing and have to cobble together a replacement using MD’s halti. They are also rather difficult to handle at the start. Doggo is hyper, which is making MD hyper and when MD does hyper, he does hyper with knobs on. We stand in the next street but not only can all the other runners still hear their barking, most of Derby can.

My lead replacement doesn’t work very well and just seems to glue the two dogs together. Which isn’t too bad but I worry that it prevents Doggo trying to stop when he tires. So I keep stopping and untangling them, while checking that Doggo in his advancing years is ok. He seems fine and we even have enough in the tank to overhaul a terrier near the end and perhaps be first dogs across the line. Although we’re only 84th, so not sure if anything else with four legs was further up the field.

After a couple of drinks in the pub we head home for a bit of post-race and reindeer casserole that L has concocted. It was very nice. We don’t save the boys any despite the fact they’ve both been after a bit of deer for years.

(Wednesday 26th December)