Hope you had a joyful Christmas! Here are a few things I’ve enjoyed today. Bucks Fizz and croissants to start my day. (I’d like every morning to start that way) A festive pony who came to say hello. (I gave him a carrot before he had to go) A ridiculous pile of presents under the… Continue reading Merry Christmas
Christmas Eve Evening
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the housethere was so much to do that I started to grouse. My day was spentas a blue‑arsed fly.Why had I left it so lateto shop, and clean,and wrap, and chop,and cook? I forgot half the itemson the shopping list(is cranberry sauce really necessary?)and hadn’t got a turkeyfor reasons… Continue reading Christmas Eve Evening
Advent
I’m not sure what Advent is about, Even though I light the candles every week. I think it means waiting. I guess for Christmas, Or Jesus for the religious ones. I could Google it but I wouldn’t remember the answer anyway. So I still don’t know but I really like the candles.
Christmas Eve Shopping
Shop 1: Oh, look at the the lovely things they have! Not a bad price. I won’t get anything now, bound to see something better in another shop. I’ll come back later. Shop 2: Dad wanted that book but I think it was cheaper in Sainsbury’s. Remind me to pop in there on the way… Continue reading Christmas Eve Shopping
The Christmas Party (Advent Story Train)
Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train where you can read through 24 stories under this year's theme, Lost. This is my first year taking part and I've really enjoyed writing again after quite a break! The Christmas Party Rita had hoped this year would be like the Christmas novels she devoured every December: snow-dusted… Continue reading The Christmas Party (Advent Story Train)
Ode to a Mince Pie
I pull you from the oven and admire your magnificence:A perfect portion of edible Christmas.Sparkling with crunchy sugar,Just beginning to melt. Your aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg fills the room;Juicy sultanas, glacé cherries and cranberries,Infused with brandy and orange.Unreasonably festive. Your rich, buttery shortcrustIs golden, crisp and crumbly;No soggy bottoms here.A triumph of seasonal engineering.… Continue reading Ode to a Mince Pie
Boxing Day
By Boxing Day, everyone had noticed something was up with Mark. He’d spent Christmas Day checking his phone then putting it face down on the sofa. He snapped at my son Arlo when he’d asked Mark to play Guess Who, which earned him a hard stare from his wife, Cheryl, before she set up the… Continue reading Boxing Day
Where’s My White Christmas?
I know we’re to blameWith our stockings full of plastic tat.Wagyu burgers, fast cars,and bargain EasyJet flights. But where’s my White Christmas? My childhood Christmas was icy and cold.We pelted each other with snowballs, built forts,skated precariously across half-frozen lakes.Thought The Snowman was a documentary. But now Christmas is all drizzle and mizzle,raining cats and… Continue reading Where’s My White Christmas?
The Christmas Bed
Last Christmas, Z and K bought Pepe a new cat bed. It was a round, fluffy thing - a padded doughnut with high sides to keep him warm. Pepe was always Z’s favourite, partly because he knew it and partly because he was the sort of cat who sat with his tongue sticking out, chased… Continue reading The Christmas Bed
Step Into Christmas
Falling snow was visible through the windows of the university auditorium as Janice did one last check as the audience filtered into the graduation ceremony. A frisson of excitement ran around the room as the gossip spread that the husband of Sir Leo Johns - global rock star, cultural icon, wearer of glasses visible from… Continue reading Step Into Christmas
Always Send the Card
At Christmasthe high street fillswith people buying presentsfor loved ones at home. The air wraps us in festivity:Jingle Bells spilling from shops,cinnamon and nutmeg,prickly holly, steaming cups,hot chestnuts and icy snowflakes. But not everyone is going home.Some don’t have one.Some don’t feel safe.Some can’t be who they really are. Care leaversin student halls,learn the sound… Continue reading Always Send the Card
Festive Aunties
I absolutely adore the jolly, free-spirited, gorgeous Aunties by Inge Löök, a gardener and illustrator living in Finland. Apparently, her illustrations are mainly inspirations from her own surroundings or life. The Aunties are my motivation for life. They don't care about looks or what others think, they just enjoy every moment to the full. But… Continue reading Festive Aunties
Christmas Chaos
Christmas morning arrived in a flurry of peace and quiet. No grandchildren bounding into the bedroom at 5am to show us the contents of their stockings. No presents ripped opened in squeals of excitement, wrapping paper flying across the carpet. No last-minute panic about whether we had enough potatoes. Our son and daughter-in-law were going… Continue reading Christmas Chaos
Christmas Carols
The chapel welcomes us With flickering candles and twinkling lights, The organ softly playing. We shift in our seats with anticipation, As we wait for the choir to begin. The lights fall low, And the first words of Once in Royal David’s City Ring out alone and pure. Then we join in, the sound bringing… Continue reading Christmas Carols
A Cotswold Christmas Caper
So this is the first chapter of the cosy murder mystery I mentioned the other day featuring Muriel Button and her niece Jane. I actually managed to finish this one which was quite an achievement for me! Re-reading it, it could do with some serious editing but this month is just about sharing my writing… Continue reading A Cotswold Christmas Caper
Secret Santa
I can't stand Secret Santa and this version I read about, when you don't even know who you're buying for, sounds even worse! Just say no, folks! Dear esteemed colleagues,Let’s have some fun!A Secret Santa with a twist for everyone.Please place your gifts into our big festive sack,Then take one at random, no giving it… Continue reading Secret Santa
Muriel’s Merry Hangover
Today's post is the beginning of a light-hearted diary form novel I wrote featuring Muriel Button (70, married multiple times, never managed to hold down a job) and her nephew Colin. Muriel also appears in another novel about her niece Jane, who inherits a country house hotel from Muriel when reports of her death are… Continue reading Muriel’s Merry Hangover
December Diaries
Christmas is coming, It’s so exciting! Black Friday spending, Advent calendar opening. Big brass band concert, London trip to see the lights. Choral choir and dinner with the girls. Theatre trip. Can we have a night in? Cheap mulled wine and Aldi stollen, December blogging. Holly picking, lights unravelling, tree decorating, Card writing, gift wrapping,… Continue reading December Diaries
Christmas (Barbed) Words
There are many strange and fun words to describe festive feelings or actions, such as: Belly-cheer: feasting satisfaction Crapulence: sickness from overeating Scurryfunge: rushing to tidy before a guest arrives Having enjoyed learning these, I decided to add a few of my own: Fir-tigue: you’ve got all the decorations out of the attic but are… Continue reading Christmas (Barbed) Words
Christmas Cards
Once my walls were festooned with red robins, white snow and green holly, Blue skies, gold crowns and Santas looking jolly. Bright shining stars, nativity scenes, ribbons and glitter, Now all I get are festive texts and my walls look a lot…more stylish.
The Turkey Who Found a Christmas Miracle
Toby was happily pecking at some seed in the farmyard when he overheard Farmer Potter talking to his wife about a forthcoming trip the turkeys were taking to ‘the abattoir’. Listening intently, Toby learnt the awful truth about what Farmer Potter called the best meal of the year. Toby didn’t intend on being anyone’s Christmas… Continue reading The Turkey Who Found a Christmas Miracle
Festive Family
It was less than eight weeks after my mum had unexpectedly and very suddenly died that Christmas rolled around. None of us were up to shopping, cooking or hosting a big Yuletide feast, but my aunt and uncle bravely stepped up to the not-inconsiderable task of hosting six sad, teary bereft extras and a King… Continue reading Festive Family
Cliché Christmas
I opened the front door to be greeted by silence. ‘Mike?’ No answer which was odd because he worked from home and his car was outside. He was planning to make a special anniversary dinner later so maybe he’d walked into town for some last-minute bits? I swapped my trainers for fluffy slippers before making… Continue reading Cliché Christmas
Advent Tale
I've been inspired to start writing again so am challenging myself to write a story, poem or essay every day until Christmas. No procrastinating or editing. Just get it done. Here goes. Not just for kids anymore. No simple image behind a cardboard door. Instead, it's chocolates, jams, coffee and candy, Whisky, beer, wine and… Continue reading Advent Tale
What I Treasure
This was a submission for the 'What I Treasure' feature in The Simple Things magazine. I never heard back from them but patience is a virtue, apparently... I’d always coveted my dad’s gold nibbed fountain pen and was delighted when he gave it to me for passing my 11+, just as his mother had passed… Continue reading What I Treasure
