There may be a lot of bad karma flying around right now but sometimes you have to stay focussed on the important things in life. Does Santa prefer whisky or brandy? It isn’t a question of whether some other beverage needs to be included in the list. It’s either whisky or brandy.
I can understand that some parents might not want to introduce their younger offspring to the concept that Father Christmas may be partial to a drop or two, not totally squeaky clean so to speak, and to persuade them that milk is an appropriate and wholesome drink to offer someone who at the end of the day (when all is said and done) is working a long shift.
It may be that he doesn’t care whether it is whisky or brandy in which place there is no way forward for this discussion. One relevant line of debate could relate to the quality of the spirit on offer. After all we know Santa doesn’t really drink it. It’s the parent wot leaves it out who knocks it back once the kids are safely tucked in and in the land of nod. On that basis it makes sense to leave the good stuff out. After all if Santa really did drink it he would very quickly become so pissed he would stop caring about the quality.
Rudolf and the gang must be quite used to carting a totally senseless Santa around the skies. Maybe it’s the elves that actually climb down the chimney and do the biz. It’s certainly not a one man job. I know this from experience as it took me and my dad to assemble the trampoline in the back garden all those years ago.
The concealment of said substantial piece of garden furniture took some organisation. On Christmas Eve Anne took them off out somewhere for the afternoon whilst the trampo came together and upon their return it was soon dark, a fortunate deep mid winter feature of the latitude at which we live.
Anyway I’m a brandy man although I don’t have any particularly good stuff in the cupboard. It’s v expensive and doesn’t last very long for some reason 😉
Now only two days to go and time to get really focussed on Christmas. I must say that our tree, which is a good shaped piece of wood is fast losing its needles. I’m wondering whether this is because we have the heating on a lot more due to having my dad staying with us although the living room where it resides doesn’t seem to be inordinately hot. Did I not put enough water in the base? I dunno. I think it will just about last.
Most of the Christmas prep is done. I will need to check the veg sitch today. Just one more trip to Waitrose and then maybe another tomorrow to get the bread. I also have a bit of work to get out of the way sometime today. A frame agreement with one of our biggest customers. Oh and also dad’s tax submission, Urgh.
Tomorrow morning it’s golf with my sons Tom, Joe and John. Just a bit of fun around the 9 holes at Whisby. Nothing too serious. Back home by lunchtime and then get in the zone. Maybe prep the parsnips in parmesan cheese. A few other bits like that. I need to dig up the parsnips which I’ll do today. The last crop of the year. Might even find the odd remaining carrot in the raised beds. Exciting eh?
Then as afternoon eases into evening I listen to 9 lessons and carols. It’s the right thing to do. This year in the absence of a pub to go to we are gathering for drinks in the shed early doors. Then it’s a Swiss cheese fondue followed by carol singing around the fire in the front room. Hannah has brought her flute, Joe will be on piano and horn and John on sax. The timing for the evening is somewhat governed by the carer arriving at 19.30 to get dad ready for the bed. He won’t want to miss out on any of it. Maybe we do the carol singing tonight. V shall c.
We have our traditions at this time of year. Not all of them we will adhere to in 2020. As I write it makes me wonder what others do around the world? What will the staff at the Venice Beach Hotel where we stayed in February be doing on Christmas Eve? Is it a big thing in LA? The hotel is probably closed and the staff holed up at home with no cash to celebrate anything. Tough times.
On a totally different note they got the Lincoln Eastern Bypass open in time for Christmas. It was supposed to take perhaps 20% of the traffic off the road in front of our house. This is clearly a good thing but I have no sense as to whether this has actually happened. The combination of covid lockdown and the time of year where most people are probably already on holiday means the traffic is lower than normal anyway. Also most of the lorries are probably stuck in a queue outside Dover due to the French having closed their borders with the UK. Fair play.
Anyway it’s 6.30am and I have to go and make the tea. Oh and the right answer must surely be brandy. Remy Martin XO as a minimum 🙂