The festive blogging schedule remains erratic I’m afraid. Here’s the story so far. We spent saturday morning preparing for the trip, with the cats getting more and more distressed as it became obvious what we were up to. We hit the road at about 2:30 in the afternoon, under a dreary, rainy sky. The rain did eventually let up after a few hours and the drive was mostly uneventful. Being a saturday, we were a bit worried we’d run in to some gilets jaunes issues. We did have have to make one diversion outside of Caen due to a blocked road, but soon got back on track.
We reached the terminal at 8:30 and had a well-deserved beer and a bite to eat. They started loading us on to the ferry just as we finished our meal, and we finally set sail around 11pm. We decided to have a nightcap before bed and noticed that the ferry didn’t seem too crowded. Neither of us got a great sleep in the cabin, which was far too hot and quite noisy. The morning alarm went off before 6am in any event, so we got up, had a fried breakfast of dubious quality and then found the car.
The last time we took the ferry to the UK, it was also the 23rd of December and the traffic was shocking, so we were braced for a bad journey. However, being a Sunday it was actually a breeze this time. Although there were quite a few cars on the roads, there were no hold ups and we reached Olney at 9am – just over a two hour drive. It had oscillated between drizzle and rain the whole way, but that was the worst of it.
We were both tired from the journey so had a quiet day chilling out with the parents. In the evening, we were joined for dinner by Nan, Dave, Amy and of course, little Elvie. This was a pared down version of a family tradition of getting together on the 23rd to remember my grandfather. Usually the whole family would come, but it was getting to be too much of a logistical challenge.
The star of the show was Elvie, who was in fine form. She was just a couple weeks old when I last saw her and the evolution is amazing. She is now all smiles, mumblings, giggles and wriggles. She’s also drool monster as she’s teething. She had a few wee meltdowns but was generally in a great mood and enjoyed having an audience.
Dad made us all a delicious meal that started with smoked swiss cheese and cod fishcakes which were delicious. The main was a garlic-rich chicken dish with chills and dates, called a chicken bastardo, and the dessert was a sorbet – all home made (including the bread) and all delicious. Nan left us around 11pm and the rest of us all went to bed soon after, including D, A and Elvie who were staying over.
The following day, Christmas eve, was surprisingly bright and clear. We took it easy in the morning and Dave, Amy and Elvie headed back home. Matt and I very nearly went to MK shopping centre in the afternoon as Mum was taking Nan for some last minute shopping. In the end, fearing the crowds, we decided against it in favour of getting out in the sun. We took a mostly cross-country walk with Dad to a village a few miles away called Weston Underwood. It’s a cute place with an even cuter pub so we rewarded ourselves with a beer and then retraced our steps to Olney.
Auntie Tracey, uncle Frank and Nan joined us for dinner that night. This was another chicken dish made with grapes and tarragon. It was nice to spend some time catching up with Trace & Frank and we stayed chatting for a bit after the meal.
Mum and Dad usually play host for the big day itself, but Dave offered this year, so dad swapped cooking duty for designated driver duty. We started at Mum and Dad’s, opening the presents we’d got each other. We then stopped by Nan’s to exchange gifts with her. She presented me with a lovely wooden box that was hand-made by my grandfather in 1956. It’s a beautiful item and apparently won him a prize.
From there we drove on to Market Harborough, getting to Dave and Amy’s at noon. We were the first to arrive and got some quality time with Elvie who definitely seemed to be enjoying her first ever Christmas. We exchanged gifts over champagne as the next guests arrived. This was Amy’s sister Marsha and her two small girls, Emily and Chloe. We’d met her once before at Dave and Amy’s wedding, so it was nice to catch up.
After champagne,we moved on to vodkas so I’m a little hazy about exactly what time it was we sat down. Dave took care of the whole meal and it was an unqualified success: turkey, gravy, potatoes, brussels, bread sauce…all perfect. We had a cleanser or two after the meal and were joined by Marsha’s husband James. After a while, we headed back to Olney in a bit of a stupor.
We relaxed at Mum & Dad’s for a while and then went up to see Trace and Frank. My cousins Stu and Jo were there, with Em and Michael, their respective partners. We had some utterly unnecessary and quite feisty drinks and launched into card games, with mixed results, before coming home.
On Boxing Day morning, Dad and Matt joined Tracey for a big 12km walk that neither Mum or I felt up for. After lunch, we upheld our tradition of walking to the pub for a drink or two. Rather than our regular, we decided to try out the two new pubs that have opened in Olney recently. The first isn’t actually new – it was an old and not-so-great pub that burned down a few years back. It’s since been totally revamped inside, and they’ve done a great job.
The other place used to be a nursing home, set in a lovely old building. Someone must have realised it could make more money re-imagined as a swanky bar-restaurant, so they went for it. They may have gotten a little carried away with the money-grabbing though, as the identical round was 30% dearer than the previous bar.
Nicely oiled, we headed back home for a very welcome comfort-food meal of gammon, chips, eggs and beans. We decided to veg in front of a film after the meal. Partway through, Matt was ill, having been feeling increasingly ropey all afternoon. He proceeded to have a rough and feverish night. The next morning, Dad went down with the same thing. There had apparently been a 24-hour type bug doing the rounds, but that was several weeks back. Whatever it was, it was severe but shortlived. Nonetheless, it still effectively cancelled the 27th, which dad spent in bed and Matt spent in a daze on the sofa. Mum made she and I pizzas for dinner while Dad and Matt had some chicken soup.
The pair of them were much better the next day, but still not 100% (Matt’s lunch today was toast, bananas and apple purée). Luckily Matt was OK to travel and Dad was OK to drive us to the airport, so we set off after lunch, along with Mum who came to see us off. We made our goodbyes, checked the bags, got through security with relative ease, boarded quickly and ended up landing in Limoges 25 minutes early – virtually unheard of.
Francoise had offered to come and get us as she has a friend in Limoges so went there for a meal beforehand. As we were early, we had a short wait for her and we sheltered from the bitter cold until she arrived. We recounted our trip to her en route and she told us about her stay at Port 80. This all went well, except she inadvertently freaked out the Smoo one evening by making a loud banging noise when we was in the vicinity. This was mid-trip and he was apparently suspicious of her the rest of the time – so she bonded with Louis instead.
Lighting the fire was the first order of business when we got back as it was a mere 15,5 degrees. It was slightly warmer in the bedroom where the pusses were curled up together. They seemed a bit shell-shocked at first but soon joined us upstairs for some lap time. We were early to bed and would have had a very long, deep sleep but for the two rascals who weren’t able to control themselves. They were on the covers, under the covers, biting noses, and generally being a nuisance. We expect more of the same tonight. Right, I shall stop here. Tune in for the NYE entry next week, featuring Gerald!