More Festive Fun and Games

Archie and Meriel have gone home to West Yorkshire now. We had fun throwing the inflated rings onto the inflated antlers. Also the guess the drawing game was highly amusing - all those years at art school were not wasted!

29th December - Limboland

These few days between Xmas and the New year are rather odd - you never know where you are or what the day is? I think its Tuesday but it feels like a Saturday. Archie and Meriel are still here and yesterday we enjoyed a game of Suspend that our friends in Wales sent us. Its a weird game where you take turns throwing a dice with colours on which allows you to pick a wire dooddad that you have to place carefully on the previously chosen wire doodads hanging precariously from a tripod thingy. Its a bit like that wood blocks game where you have to remove blocks without knocking down the tower. Sadly you soon run out of wire bits an you have to wobble the table to make the whole thing come crashing down!

Nantwich

Nice wander around Nantwich this morning despite the drizzle. Thankfully it stopped after 30 mins. or so. Got a few stocking fillers in the charity shops and market. Nver seen so many elves and santas around the place! A lovely festive vibe going on ith a brass band playing in the market. Lots of flags , bunting a fairy lights brightened the whole town up. Popped into the charity warehouse on the way home. Hazel found a jar for her candles that used to contain Uncle Joe's Mint Balls. Also more Xmas lights.

December

Here we are in December already and nearly the festive season. It soon comes round when you are full of colds and bugs. Its been a nasty few weeks of Covid and now man flu ( or lady flu ? it's hard to tell them apart ) The booster jabs have little or no effect. Anyway I wont go into the gory details. Lovely to have Archie home for a few days - here he is with his Mom - lighting up the traditional fuse. Or trying to. Soggy paper? Soggy fuse? maybe just a impregnated doily? A coaster? We shall probably never know. Anyway we shall attempt to eat drink and be merry despite all the germs and bugs. Same to you!

Xmas Fun

Putting up the decorations and lifting the tree from the garden to the house is always fun. Archie and Hazel enjoy it anyway. I was official photographer and used a special app that made everything look like it was from the 80's.

Chester

We usually go to Chester in December every year to see the festive decorations and do some Xmas shopping. Not many bargains this year alas. It was a bit drizzly to start with but soon brightened up thankfully. Nice busking from a young man who had a lovely voice - light opera etc. Apparently he sings with the John Boys Choir from Wales who won second place in a recent Britains Got Talent. Other buskers included a rastafarian bongo player and a man absailing down the cathedral walls after scraping moss from an ancient gargoyle! We sat mesmerised as we ate our al fresco vege sausage roll nearby. Most of the charity shops seemed to have closed which was a shame and the new market is a bit too pricey. We preferred the down at heel old market with its book and records stalls. Popped into the Grosvenor Museum but nothing really worth seeing at the momemnt - an exhibition of Roman wigs and headgear!

Marbury Country Park

Nice wander round Marbury this afternoon with Hazel and Archie whi is home for a few days. Went to get the Xmas tree and some plants from the garden centre and then a slow walk round the lake and the bird hide - spotting robins , blackbirds and twitchers! 22nd Dec. 2022.

A Game Of Dixit

We had a game of Dixit yesterday afternoon. Can't really explain the rules as they are long winded and complicated. It's fun though - better than Monopoly or Ticket To Ride!

Exquisite Corpse

Family fun making "Exquisite Corpse" drawings and collages.

Archie Home For Xmas

Hoorah! Archie is home for Xmas and already constructed this personage from an old dummy body and a hairdressers Mexican wrestlers masked head.

Covid Christmas

 A bit of a weird Xmas Day this year for obvious reasons.  Went over to Hazel's Mom and sister's for a socially distanced shiver in the back garden> Hazel took a pile of logs and sticks and she made a fire in the mexican stove.  Pulled some crackers through the slit in the door.  Ate some mince pies.  Home for some cheese and crackers.  Had a nice zoom chat to Archie and Meriel who are hunkered down in Fulham.  The usual nut roast and all the trimmings later in the afternoon.  Bucks fizz and crackers.  Watched lots of nonsense on the telly.  Hopefully next year will be back to normal.  Fingers crossed!

Tree Gone

Yes, post Xmas blues - that limbo between the nonsense and the New year. The tree is back in the garden where it belongs - all bedraggled and covered in bits of tinsel. The lights are strung up all higgledy piggily. Archie has gone back to London so all back to normal now. Fridge it still pretty full amazingly. Still some beers left! Yesterday we went off for a walk after dropping Archie at the station. Whitegate Way in the sunshine. Squelchy through the mud and leaves. A few dog walkers said hello - some ignored us - full of post Xmas grumps!

Crimblemess Day

The usual traditional trek over to the next village and Granma Jones's and Audrey's house for Xmas dinner and present opening etc. The nut roast was made the day before and the Marmite gravy transported in a saucepan precariously balanced on my knee in the car! The usual fretting over the sprouts and roasties etc. We invited them to our place to save them the hassle but they like to suffer! Anyway, so ate too much and did tons of washing up. Played a silly game and nodded off in front of the Queen's speech on TV. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! More photos to follow.