Monday 25/12/06 - Christmas Day

Preparations for Christmas dinner mean we don't see our beds until about 2.30 a.m. Nonetheless, we do manage to get out of bed at 11 o'clock. The weathe rtoday is grey, overcast and windy. Temperatures peak at 9C. We start the day on Buck's Fizz [champagne with orange juice] with toast. Presents are opened meanwhile, and mrs B has a fair old collection from friends and relatives. My present was unfortunately not of the correct size. We start Christmas supper after 2pm, with parmaham and melon, accompanied by a glass of Cava. Not my favourite tipple. The main dinner is honey glazed turkey, very well prepared. This is accompanied by roast and mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and peas. A glass of red wine is spilled - into my lap, thank you. The new table cloth is inaugurated in splendid fashion. Dinner is very nice. It gets dark by the time we reach the Xmas pudding, but a candle or two help the atmosphere. Everybody is quite replete after that. We wile away the hours with the Repeat Hell that is Sky Television. One of mrs B's summerguests telephones from Australia at 7pm, where it is 6 am on Boxing Day. Also in Australia, snow has fallen in Tasmania. Across the Indian Ocean, tropical cyclone Bondo is weakening on passing down the Mozambique Channel. Spend an hour or so sorting out pictures on FlickR. The new moon is out in early evening. Later on, we have some sausage rolls and baguettes with the last of the turkey.