Quiet day

Today we have done almost nothing at all except watch Doctor Who and some other stuff on the TV. Rosie is back to work for a day tomorrow and Jennie is in pantomime for the afternoon performance.

The Christmas whirl

This is about the first time I have sat down and had a little time to myself for a week. Rosie is catching up with some sleep by going to bed at 6.30pm, for an hour or so. Jennie is in the bath relaxing and I am typing my blog. We have had a great Christmas, much of it with Chris Jackson of the Welsh Mountain Zoo and his two sons, Rob and Ben and Rob's girlfriend, Claire. There is not news on this front, but that can wait.

We had Christmas dinner at Chris' house and he gave us an excellent and delicious spread of pork with wonderful crackling - even if he did forget the stuffing, about which he was ribbed for much of the evening.

The day before yesterday Rosie's brother, Andy, and his wife, Joan, arrived from near Bolton with their two daughters Gemma (the one in the Royal Navy) and Kitty (the one living at home and trying to select a university). We had a great time with them, including going to the pantomime to see Jennie acting as one of the seven dwarves. We took Chris and Ben with us for this too. Good fun and not too long.

Last night Rosie's sister, Elspeth, joined everybody else at our house with her two offspring, Hannah and Alex. Her husband, Neil, was ill in bed. We all feasted on a buffet at home and the younger generation went to the pub. The YG got back sometime after 11.30pm and retreated to bed and the older generation stayed up to about 3.30am putting the world to rights, as you do.

Kitty's boyfriend, James, joined us yesterday too. He had been galavanting around, sharing his time between various parts of his family elsewhere.

Today was our turkey dinner, which I cooked for about 4.00pm. Success. Now everyone is replete and has gone home and Chris has phoned complaining of a sore throat and saying that Rosie gave it to him. Ah, well, what would we do without family and friends?

Royal Naval Auxiliary Service RNXS

I was just looking at the photo of me which I used to have on the 'about me' section on this blog and I think I looked really grumpy so I have changed it to one of me in a Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) uniform, probably taken about 15 years ago. They closed the RNXS down in some random round of defence cuts not long after that. Odd really, as we were all unpaid volunteers. I suppose the base in Llandudno must have cost a couple of pounds a year to maintain, but nothing much. We used to run ports and anchorages and there was an 'afloat unit' at Menai Bridge which had a vessel like the one in the photo here, I think.
I guess the Royal Navy may manage without the RNXS, at a push.

Christmas and New Year and Toc H

Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner. Are you ready? We aren't! I am also not convinced that we will get all the cards written...

As there are a couple of comments about Toc H on this post, here is the movement's lamp to which I refer.

Top Cash Back - again

Further to the earlier post, there is a very positive write-up of Top Cash Back in the January 2009 Which? magazine.

Christmas greetings

An early Happy Christmas - Nadolig Llawen
Rather than writing one of those Christmas circulars to old friends and family I have decided to include this blog address with Christmas cards. People will be able to keep up with goings-on if they choose, and not if they don't. Freedom of choice is what it's about.
We have been trying to get our Christmas cards written this weekend as there are just too few days left before the big event. Also, the tree needs to go into the drawing room and it will need decorating and I said I would roast a chicken this evening too. I think I may be running out of time...again.
Talking of hens, we are still mulling over whether to keep some in the garden.

Gemma passes out

Our neice, Gemma, passing out into the Fleet Air Arm as an Air Engineering Technician in 2007 (I know it is out of chronological order), but just got this picture from her father, Andy. She is the one in the middle at the front. She is now qualified and working on the Lynx helicopter.

Horwich

We find ourseves in Horwich celebrating Rosie's brother's birthday and messing about on the computer. Jennie and Joan are making arty crafty things and looking very industrious...

I think we have now sorted out Christmas with Andy and Joan coming on Boxing Day for the pantomine. Turkey will be a day late therefore. We are with our neighbour on Christmas Day itself, with his two sons.

WCVA

I said I would let you know which WCVAs I know. They are the the Wales one and the Winant Clayton one.

Good news from my father

I have been a little worried about my natural father, who is an American in his mid 70s living in Redmond, Oregon. He was complaining of various ailments which led him to travel to the Portland VA Medical Center for checks. As he is a veteran he gets this treatment free, which is a rare treat in the USA. Fortunately they found nothing wrong with him so we can all relax again...

How is he a veteran? Well he served in the US Airforce in England in the mid 1950s. Hence, me. I'll get round to explaining all that sometime.

He and his wife had a great Thanksgiving weekend by the sound of it.