Christmas

It's passed midnight so it must be Christmas! Well have a good one wherever you are. If all goes to plan, the kids will get up at 7am (bets on that Isabelle who normally doesn't surface until 11am will forget she is a cool 12 year old and be first out of bed waiting to open the pressies).
7.15am after a cup of something hot and wet open a few and take the dog out and make a start on the dinner. We have go 20 coming for lunch, although some are minors and never eat what you give them anyway. They would be better off with a packet of crisps, a bottle of coke and a Fab lolly than eating proper food.
9am read all the manual for the latest gadgets and test my knowledge of the Korean language.
10am Off to Spott Church for the Christmas service. Yes Spott is a place and it is a nice spot. Truth be known, this sister church of Belhaven where we worship starts earlier, which fits better for the rest of the days activities. Plus it has a choir that does a few carols to make it feel like Christmas has arrived!
11am Emma's mum and dads for coffee with all the relatives. I say coffee...that usually follows various other drinks on offer. Most of which have some levels of alcohol.
1pm head home by foot or motor (depending on what tipples we have had) and start the dinner.
3pm Family arrive, more drinks, more food and eventually sit down and eat. I nicked a couple of tables from church to fit us all in. i also picked up a bale of hay for the guniea pigs. It had been used fo rthe nativity and was going to waste. Bargain!
5pm Washing up or recline to the back room with the men, but it depends on whether they bore me to death with credit crunch conversation or not. I have been known to wash things in alphabetical order to kill time whilst the 'what about these immigrants' conversation passes.
6pm Around about now it's the Dr Who special. Hopefully silence and even a snooze.
9pm and any time thereafter everyone goes and leaves us to it.

That's the plan, but anything can happen.

Happy Christmas!

Vicar of Dibley

I had one of those Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special moments today. You know the one where she ends up having several Christmas dinners. Having just finished a fairly large sunday roast lunch at 4pm, I was at the Methodist Church at 6.30pm for a Christmas supper. I was expecting a few egg sarnies and sausage rolls, but on arrival it became clear this was going to be a full sit down meal of steak pie. However, as an invited guest i could hardly turn it down. I felt like one of those geese that are farmed to produce foie gras as yet anothe rmince pie was pushed down my throat, washed down with a glass of tangerine fizz!
After the feast, it was into the church for the carol service and nativity play. The play was written by one of the kids and involved all the local kids who did well in front of the packed church. The highlight had to be the band. 3 old blokes in black shirts, one strumming a bass, one strumming the drums, and one pressing the 'play' button on his midi file playing keyboard. The sound was as cheesy as my socks, and they kept putting the wrong one) one. At one point we were trying to sing 'Away in a Manger' to the tune of the Calypso carol ('See Him Lying on a Bed of Straw'). Yet, this informality made for a great service with lots of laughs and a different way to mark the festivities.

He's behind you!

Just got back from the annual sunday school trip to the panto in Musselbugh. It's a good local show, not like these big name things they have in big venues. The cast has been more or less the same for the last 5 years. I always like to read the programme to see what these actors do all year round. Under the section 'tv work' they all read "Take the High Road', 'River City' 'Taggart' and extra's in Chewing the Fat. But who cares, they put a good show on. We had really good seats, just 2 rows from the front. Good, that is, until the bit in the panto where they are looking for a victim to go on stage. Guess who was sat on the end of the row and effectively easy pickings for drag queen on stage? Guess no further, it was me, and before I knew it, I was on stage doing a fitness routine that involved me bending over in front of the queen. The phrase, 'he's behind you' had a new meaning for me. I then had to kiss her/him....heshe...all in front of my sunday school and minister...no tongues you understand!

Of course in days of old, the shoe was on the other foot. I don't mean I had sexuality issues, but I performed in at least 2 panto's, including one where I was playing an ugly sister. Love them or hate them I am glad to see they are still going strong. I think the most memorable one I went to was with Jonny Wooldridge, when we went to the Mormon Church Panto. He was on the pull and she was the lead role, and at one point he ended up singing 'Careless Whisper' to her on stage. The Mormons don't drink caffine, and but how was I to know when I asked for a cuppa at the interval!