December - run up to Christmas!

I made steady progress through the month with presents, cards and newsletter.  I now send only about 15 cards, to people who don't have an email address, and all the rest are sent as E-cards with a link to my Christmas Newsletter.


I did one more of the advent calendar cross stitch designs to make 7 and then made them up into Christmas cards for the ex-Kettering Tax Office ladies I lunch with each Christmas.


We had quite a nice lunch at the Thornhill Arms in Rushton although some people thought their food was cold.  It is always lovely to catch up with everyone again.  I travelled there and back by train the same day - and treated myself to first class as it was only a fiver more each way and it guarantees a carriage which is not crowded and some peace and quiet.



Mike and I found an evening to drink the Bollinger he had been given for his birthday and celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.

John came to London for the weekend - I couldn't get over to Carolyn's to see him because it was the weekend of the Cantanti lunch - and he went with Lorraine and Ollie to The Shard.


We did all the usual things in the run up to Christmas - handbells in Barnes High Street for late night shopping, collecting £148 for Spinal Research which was the most we had ever collected.

Handbells at the old people's homes in Barnes and at the Convent in Chiswick  - after the Carol Service at St Nick's where we sang in the choir. I was 50% of the alto section!  Amanda and the kids came to the service for a short while (too long for children).


I got a last minute place in the choir for Messiah at the Festival Hall - slap bang in the middle of the second row of the altos.  It was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it - Monica was able to have Suki for me.  They watched the election results together!

Popped up to Guy's to pick up a jigsaw Caroline had for Mike - and we treated ourselves to a nice lunch at Tas.  When Mike saw the jigsaw he couldn't wait until Christmas and did it straight away (3 hours).  It was a Wentworth wooden one and almost every piece was a whimsy or funny shape - very difficult.

There were Christmas concerts by Chiswick Choir and Cantanti Camerati.


Amanda, Sam and the kids had a week in Tenerife to attend the wedding of Sam's brother and then came to us to stay in our house over Christmas.



Amanda did Christmas at our house (we went to Devon) - Lorraine and Carolyn came over for a few days and Leanne and the boys came on Boxing Day.  So for the first time in this house we put up a tree and a few decorations.



Ollie and Aidan had new school photos done


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