Merry Christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho, it's that time of the year again! The 'silly season' is here and as I write this I can see our friends beyond the empty plot playing cricket in the road with their grandchildren. I always think back to my early Christmases in England, my sister and I waking up and seeing the present-filled lumpy pillow cases at the foot of our beds, mum and aunty cooking huge dinners and everyone going for a walk in the park in the afternoon. My dad would quietly come home from work in the weeks before Christmas and hide gifts behind the cushions in the lounge before loudly slamming the front door, and we would rush into the hall to see what he had with him! He would spend hours in his shed in the garden making wooden toys for us with mum suddenly saying that it was too cold for us to go and see what he was doing! It's certainly a time for families to be together and it's at this time of the year that I miss my children the most. Rob and I shall be together, alone, and that's fine, we enjoy our own company and the day will be spent being lazy, (so what's new?), having a late breakfast (cooked by Rob!), and probably a braai for lunch (cooked by Rob!), but I shall spend the day thinking about my far-away family and waiting for them to be available for me to skype them.



Our little wooden tree complete with red candles.

 

I have a little wooden tree with red candles that I put up each year, and a wreath that was made for me by one of the mum's in my class about 20 years ago! A few cards on the bookcase, maybe a cracker or two left over from last year, and that's it! A few years ago we had most of our families with us here and we did the whole thing, crackers, funny hats, turkey, wine and pudding!One of the crackers contained a small plastic drum that played a Christmas song when the cracker was pulled. We laughed at it and were secretly pleased that it only played once................or so we thought! My daughter happened to drop it on the floor, and it played again! And each time we banged it on the table, or on the wall, or anywhere, the song played again! We kept it and the following Christmas Day we played it over the phone to my daughter who was spending her first Christmas in Dubai and was feeling a little homesick. She laughed, and said that it made her day! When we did the same to my son who was in London at the time, he put the phone down thinking that it was a crank call! So we had to phone again, this time minus the song!

For the last few years we have had a little choir of Carol Singers, a small group of children accompanied by two or three adults, who come from Saldanha and sing their way through the village. Everyone comes out to watch and listen and the singers go home laden with food, sweets and cool drinks.

Ho Ho Ho from Gordon Bennett!

They always leave singing 'We want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of our hearts', and that is what I wish to those of you who celebrate at this time of the year.

A very Merry Christmas, and a Happy and Safe New Year. And if you answer the phone and happen to hear 'Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, you better watch out, you better not cry........' don't put the phone down!!!!!!!!!