28 December. The original plan was to go for a family walk today but then Sarah saw there was some weather outside and decided we should stay in. I took Adam for a brief fall off his new scooter, then just to prove it was skill rather than luck he fell off his bike twice as well. After that I agreed with my Domestic Manager that we were better off indoors.
The boys occupied themselves by playing with each other's Christmas presents and jumping up and down on me. The result is that both sides of my ribs are now injured and I've had to defer taking the washing machine to the tip yet again. I did replace the front brake blocks on my bike - please be sure to mention this to the coroner if my test ride down the hill tomorrow doesn't go quite according to plan.
Andrew's money-saving tips #2: To reduce your transport costs in these times of expensive petrol, make sure your friends always visit you.
Friday, 28 December 2007
27 December
[I really must come up with some more imaginative titles for my posts.]
I'm quite subdued today, after hearing that a good friend of ours died of a heart attack yesterday, in his early 70s. We hadn't seen Barrie for quite a while but had an e-mail from him just before Christmas. He was extremely wise and one of the friendliest men we've ever had the honour of knowing. I'd forgotten until just now that he did the address at our wedding. As is usually the case on these occasions it all passed in a blur and I can't remember a word of what he said, but I will never forget how pleased he was that we'd asked him to do it in preference to others who in his modesty he considered were better qualified.
One little gem did make us laugh today though: on my parents' Christmas tree are two small felt stockings, made for me and bro, initialled A and D. My fortuitous lack of imagination in choosing names for my sons means they are now reused but their origins aren't forgotten. Sarah said they stood for Awesome and Dipstick, which I was quite happy to hear knowing which initial belonged to me - but Adam repeated the words as Autumn and Lipstick. David declined to declare whether he preferred to be a dipstick or a lipstick. I couldn't possibly comment.
I'm quite subdued today, after hearing that a good friend of ours died of a heart attack yesterday, in his early 70s. We hadn't seen Barrie for quite a while but had an e-mail from him just before Christmas. He was extremely wise and one of the friendliest men we've ever had the honour of knowing. I'd forgotten until just now that he did the address at our wedding. As is usually the case on these occasions it all passed in a blur and I can't remember a word of what he said, but I will never forget how pleased he was that we'd asked him to do it in preference to others who in his modesty he considered were better qualified.
One little gem did make us laugh today though: on my parents' Christmas tree are two small felt stockings, made for me and bro, initialled A and D. My fortuitous lack of imagination in choosing names for my sons means they are now reused but their origins aren't forgotten. Sarah said they stood for Awesome and Dipstick, which I was quite happy to hear knowing which initial belonged to me - but Adam repeated the words as Autumn and Lipstick. David declined to declare whether he preferred to be a dipstick or a lipstick. I couldn't possibly comment.
Boxing Day
Boxing Day. 26th December, named after the old English tradition of coming downstairs to find the living room crammed full of discarded packaging from the previous day.
I had made a head start by filling four of our lovely blue recycling sacks with wrapping paper and enough cardboard to build a small shanty town. That left only two carcasses and a quarter-gallon of assorted animal fats on top of the cooker, plus two boys who'd gone to bed too late and were now set for another busy day.
We went to our friends' house so that a) I could see Gills v Southend with a couple of mates b) the ladies could drink copious quantities of vino c) the children could break each other rather than their expensive new toys. All three were achieved and we even managed to squeeze in some Wii Sports. I must admit I wasn't that enthusiastic about buying a Wii - partly because Sarah had repeatedly whipped me at the brain-testing game when we borrowed one a few months back - but have now approved escalated efforts to get one for our joint birthday present.
The football, incidentally, was rubbish but two of our three tickets were comps and that took the edge off it. And I'm glad to report the Southend team coach delivered the ref home safely.
I had made a head start by filling four of our lovely blue recycling sacks with wrapping paper and enough cardboard to build a small shanty town. That left only two carcasses and a quarter-gallon of assorted animal fats on top of the cooker, plus two boys who'd gone to bed too late and were now set for another busy day.
We went to our friends' house so that a) I could see Gills v Southend with a couple of mates b) the ladies could drink copious quantities of vino c) the children could break each other rather than their expensive new toys. All three were achieved and we even managed to squeeze in some Wii Sports. I must admit I wasn't that enthusiastic about buying a Wii - partly because Sarah had repeatedly whipped me at the brain-testing game when we borrowed one a few months back - but have now approved escalated efforts to get one for our joint birthday present.
The football, incidentally, was rubbish but two of our three tickets were comps and that took the edge off it. And I'm glad to report the Southend team coach delivered the ref home safely.
Christmas Day
[Well as anyone reading this will see, I'm catching up a few days' worth at once, after drafting my thoughts and then doing all the boring stuff like finding out how to actually set up a blog.]
Christmas Day: to my surprise it was quite good this year. Unlike last year, Adam took the time to look at each present before ripping open the next, and even played with some of them. Daniel seemed genuinely excited at the occasion, followed Adam's example and the two of them were, frankly, angelic. One of them even ate Christmas dinner; well, two out of two would be too much to hope for.
Among Adam's stocking fillers was a magic money box that made coins disappear. I can think of another way to achieve the same effect: marriage. And another is Christmas itself. Despite attempts to impose a reasonable budget we have once again spent the GDP of a small African country in return for two tons of noisy, colourful plastic items; most of the EU's chocolate mountain; and the world's largest cow, which sacrificed itself to keep our freezer full. But to see the genuine delight on the boys' faces and to achieve eight family members in the same room with only one argument about the great moral and political questions of our time, made all the expense and general hassle worthwhile.
Christmas Day: to my surprise it was quite good this year. Unlike last year, Adam took the time to look at each present before ripping open the next, and even played with some of them. Daniel seemed genuinely excited at the occasion, followed Adam's example and the two of them were, frankly, angelic. One of them even ate Christmas dinner; well, two out of two would be too much to hope for.
Among Adam's stocking fillers was a magic money box that made coins disappear. I can think of another way to achieve the same effect: marriage. And another is Christmas itself. Despite attempts to impose a reasonable budget we have once again spent the GDP of a small African country in return for two tons of noisy, colourful plastic items; most of the EU's chocolate mountain; and the world's largest cow, which sacrificed itself to keep our freezer full. But to see the genuine delight on the boys' faces and to achieve eight family members in the same room with only one argument about the great moral and political questions of our time, made all the expense and general hassle worthwhile.
Hello and welcome
It's Christmas Eve and apparently I don't have enough last-minute jobs to do, so I'm starting a blog. My limited grasp of hot fashions in cyberspace suggests this is a trendy thing to do, or at least it was when a certain Mr AH of Derby began his 11 months ago. Perhaps it quickly ceased to be trendy, as he hasn't posted since, an example I will in all likelihood follow.
Today I did some last-minute shopping and was reminded again that whilst working in London has many advantages, the frantic pace at which everything happens there also causes some problems. I just wanted to get from A to B in Hempstead Valley shops as quickly as possible, which was twice as quickly as anyone else because they live their lives at non-London pace. How frustrating it was... and what a banal start to my blog.
Andrew's money-saving tips #1: Instead of going for an expensive facial, stick your head in the dishwasher during the drying cycle.
Today I did some last-minute shopping and was reminded again that whilst working in London has many advantages, the frantic pace at which everything happens there also causes some problems. I just wanted to get from A to B in Hempstead Valley shops as quickly as possible, which was twice as quickly as anyone else because they live their lives at non-London pace. How frustrating it was... and what a banal start to my blog.
Andrew's money-saving tips #1: Instead of going for an expensive facial, stick your head in the dishwasher during the drying cycle.
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