Best laid plans

The plan was, at a high level, simple enough: The Minx and I would spend the day wrapping, bickering, drinking a moderate amount of mulled wine, shopping and eating, before having some friends 'round for further mulled wine consumption. And, actually, in retrospect, we did do quite a lot of those things but the significant exception was the wrapping.

It was a lovely day but a lot of the joy was derived from the fact that various combinations of my kids kept dropping in between shifts at work or while their mum was going shopping and this was not conducive to sorting out presents and getting them wrapped, although it was a lot of fun.

We had a great time with our guests and then - in deference to my laziness as opposed to the Minx's get up and go approach to life - we went out to the Royal for something to eat. So, when we got home, there was no real likelihood that any wrapping was going to take place but I did have the presence of mind to remember that a photo needed taking.

It's been a year now that I've been trying to get technically better with a camera and, not least through taking photos at gigs, I'm getting better at taking photos in low light, which I'm quite chuffed about, especially as my shaky hands preclude the use of slower shutter speeds. Here, then, in a darkened room, as my fairy on a spring,