Santa's Grotto

My job was to take pictures of the children as they visited Father Christmas at my wife's school. This is Father Christmas, waiting for the rush to begin. In reality the Grotto is a PE store, through the efforts of members of Friends of School magically transformed into something special.

Well over a hundred children went through and it was lovely seeing them interacting with Father Christmas - their reactions ranged from animated discussion in response to his questions, to complete tongue tied-ness. Reactions to the request to 'smile' were also interesting - ranging from a rictus to a genuine grin. I would much have preferred to take informal pictures while they were chatting, but it was a bit impractical getting into a suitable position.

I did manage to get at least one decent picture of every child and hopefully their parents will agree. The youngest visitor was only a couple of days old, and it took us about ten minutes to wrest it away from the elf who was assisting Father Christmas - she was really enjoying the cuddle!

Now to more disastrous matters - I don't know why I avoid Tottenham's score - it only leads to disappointment. A five-nil thrashing by Liverpool was pretty awful to watch. In fact, following Spurs is very much like following England - a triumph of hope over expectation and a great deal of disappointment. It will be interesting to see how the new manager gets on - and who it is!