Christmas Day

(26/12/21)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone! Wishing you the best for the season.

G & I have done well after a very short night, mine even shorter than hers! The turkey went into the oven at 9 AM, and there was time to do the last things to get the flat ready and wrap presents. A most unusual Christmas, I have to say.

Jeff and Margaret were able to come earlier as the turkey (cooked to perfection, I have to say) was ready a whole hour early! J&M had said they would bring the Christmas pudding, but they couldn't find any, so I nipped out, and thankfully, M&S in Wafi had several. Phew!

We had a lovely Christmas lunch with time to clear up and rest (for some) before we headed out to EXPO 2020! I would normally never do anything like this on Christmas day, but EXPO had been advertising that the London Community Gospel Choir were scheduled to be on the same stage that Riverdance was, so we all went to support them.

Thankfully, the place wasn't heaving as I expected; in fact, it is the least busy we've seen it. Being December, it was also noticeably more pleasant, although I wouldn't say it was cold. G & Catherine went into Sweden, while Jeff, Margaret and me headed to the Al Wasl Dome to catch the Christmas show (my main blip) and then we had a look in Kuwait before meeting up with G&C for the concert.

So, on the bill was Joe Stilgoe, Lea Salonga and the LCGC. It became apparent quite quickly that only two acts would be taking the stage. Argh! Fortunately, Joe Stilgoe was very entertaining, and as for Lea Salonga, I could see why the place was so packed. She is an award-winning singer/actor who was the voice of Princess Jasmine (Aladdin) and Mulan! She is also from the Philippines! Her fellow countrymen had come to support her en masse! She is an incredible singer and a super performer. She connected really well with the audience. Best of all, she finished her set by singing three ABBA songs, helping us leave Jubilee Park on a high!

My second extra is of the five of us. I got an innocent bystander to get a photo of us. Yesterday when we were in Wafi, we noticed a store selling masks with a Christman theme. We immediately thought how cool it would be for us all to wear "Christmas" masks. Pleased to say there were no adverse comments or protests to the suggestion!

We started to head back around 11:15, but as we had to catch a bus back to the car and I ended up on the D72, driving right through Business Bay, we didn't get home until nearly 1 AM!