Snaux

For various reasons, which are not the concern of this blog, my first wife - the mum of my first four children - is celebrating Christmas in Kirkby Lonsdale, this year. Happily, this means that I get to see my older daughters for the whole holiday, rather than waiting for them to drive up on Christmas morning. 

Today, Izzy and Milly came up from Lincoln and we had a 'sandwiches and crisps' lunch, which the girls' favourite meal. I haven't seen Izzy for months - she only arrived back from South Sudan, yesterday - and even though we chat most days on WhatsApp and FaceTime it is still lovely to actually have her in the room and to be able to give her a hug. Well, several hugs, actually. 

In the evening, my friend, Chris, and his family came over for Christmas drinks, as they do every year. This is a tradition that makes me very happy,  especially as his children always make a point of coming, too. This year, Hannah was here as well and it is through her and Chris's son, Tom, that we all know one another; Chris's wife, Janice, and my first wife met at the GP's (I think) when Hannah and Tom were babies. 

It was so lovely to have everyone there and, really, it's times like this that make Christmas special for me; all sat around chatting and laughing, with the fire crackling away. 

After they left, we were in need of something to eat and so Dan and I walked down to the Chinese (once I'd told myself that simply giving him and Abi mince pies for dinner would not be good parenting). As we walked through town we passed Number Nine, which had a faux snow machine running!

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-9.7 kgs
Reading: 'Frank Derrick's Holiday Of A Lifetime' by J B Morrison