Camilla's racing demons

I was invited to a Christmas Eve meal with John and and Liz and a few of their friends. It was a wonderful feast and I managed to not drink very much. On leaving their classic remote stone hillside house, as I drove away along the narrow lane two small deer browsing in the hedgerow stopped in their tracks, before turning to escape in the other direction. I slowly followed them in the car until they managed to find a low stone wall they could clamber over to safety. It was lovely to see them so close to.

This morning I headed off to Camilla and Sridhar’s home on the Slad valley side of town. Camilla heard that I was alone this year so she invited me to come to a Christmas lunch with them and several of their family friends, whom I also know. It was another lovely gathering, especially so after the constricted lives we’ve all had to lead for so long.

Having eaten large amounts of vegetarian delicacies we had coffee and then pulled crackers. Camilla started to play skittles on the table with her cracker’s gift. I had a turn and was hopeless. From somewhere she then brought out these small ‘racing demons’, which came from a different game, which involves winding them up to race each other along a little track. We rested that track, and just let them loose on the table. They ended up in a huddle when they ran out of steam. My camera had emerged, not long before.