Apologies for the gap in my diary schedule, but I was having too much fun over Xmas to worry about writing diaries! Now I just have to remember everything that happened…
After a sober, but still reasonably fun, office Xmas lunch on the 18th December, I drove down to Essex to enjoy an early Xmas dinner with my Dad’s family, picking up Philippa on the way. We ate a very nice duckling, wore silly hats, opened some presents (disappointing Tristan slightly as his present was in Canada), and played silly games. I got a very cute brass F1 car clock, a coffee grinder, some mugs and some books.
On the 20th, Dad drove me to the airport for my 1PM plane to Montreal. After walking halfway around terminal 3, we found the end of the check-in queue and joined it. An hour later I was handing my documents to a stern Air Canada rep, who refused to even entertain the idea of an upgrade. Resigned to economy travel, I headed for my plane.
Six hours, some nasty food, and two crap films (Armageddon and Wrongfully Accused) later, we descended on Montreal. It had snowed the night before, so fresh snow still carpeted much of the city, giving a Xmas postcard view from my window.
Those areas in airports where everybody congregates to meet new arrivals is one of the few times in life when an non-celeb like me gets to know what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Struggling down the people-walled corridor with a trolley, every eye is on you, and it’s very bewildering. Eventually I found Jen, yacking with an old school friend she’d stumbled across, and who she promptly abandoned when I arrived.
The next couple of days were spent relaxing, and not really doing much at all. We went shopping for last minute gifts (and gloves and boots for me!), visited Lisa and Kevin for a pre-christmas gift exchange, ate junk food, and generally made slobs of ourselves. I drank too much tea, Jen drank too much coffee; felt like I’d never left! It rained and the snow melted, which wasn’t very nice.
On Xmas Eve we headed up to Jen’s parents’, picking up her Aunt and Grandmother on the way. As we were driving up, it started snowing again, and we started seeing snow on the ground. By the time we arrived, it was a real white Xmas again, and the farm looked like a winter wonderland. We were joined later by two of Jen’s cousins, and were all set for Xmas.
Christmas Day dawned with Jen running up and down the stairs squeaking ‘Santa came! Santa came!’. We had pancakes and maple syrup, and rummaged through stockings, followed by opening the tree presents. I got a cool aquarium which will soon be featured on the Lambicam, and an excellent knife made by Richard, as well as lots of other fun bits and pieces.
A quick afternoon walk in the snow gave us an appetite for a gorgeous turkey dinner, with turnip and apple, cabbage and bacon, carrots, and mashed potato. We rounded off the day with a game of Dictionary and some drinks.
We headed back to the city on Boxing Day, but returned to the country two days later for Jen’s Mum’s birthday, and enjoyed more excellent food, and great company. The weather had turned cold, down in the minus twenties, so we didn’t go out for very long walks!
On New Years Eve, we joined Lisa and Kevin for a Chinese meal, played more silly games (Planet Hollywood), and saw in the New Year with David Letterman and Prince. There should be some fun photos coming out of that evening!
The next day we spent ages looking for a decent restaurant that was open, failed miserably and ended up in a bar. A satisfactory, and very filling roast beef sandwich later and I was looking at the prospect of heading home. Slightly depressed, we headed for the airport, where we joined another massive check-in queue. An hour later, I was waving goodbye to Jen and boarding my plane.
Back in England, I was met by Dad and driven to his house. From there I went to my Mum’s for another round of gift giving (I got a microwave!). After a pleasant day and evening there, it was back to Dad’s again to give Dad and Tristan their gifts (boots for Dad, a GPS scanner for Tristan), before heading home. I was most pleased to find I hadn’t been robbed, the house hadn’t burned down and everything seemed to be in order. Except, that is, for a pint of milk in the fridge which appeared to have undergone a slow motion explosion.
Life is back to normal now, so don’t expect more than a three line entry next week!