The Traditional Christmas Summary

Obviously, while staying with my folks, my internet access is limited - I need only ask, of course, but their machine is so slow and its location offers no privacy, so blogging is entirely out of the question. Most years, I take notes... This year... let's just say it wasn't completely uneventful, but I hardly felt the need to write anything down to jog my memory.

Things kicked off a couple of days before Christmas, when I realised I wasn't sleeping very well. This would either mean I was going to carry on sleeping badly, the situation exacerbated by the game of Musical Bedrooms we'd be playing, and probably falling asleep during Christmas day, or just that I was overwhelmed by Christmas Spirit, and just really, really excited.

The former is more likely, isn't it?

I'd also failed to pack properly before the morning of Christmas Eve, so much of my morning was spent cramming things into the larger backpack I'd borrowed to carry the largest, heaviest present. One present, my clothes (3 days worth, in case I had to stay an extra day due to the train strike) and my washbag took up all the space in the backpack, so the remaining presents were slung into a large carrier bag.

After turning off my boiler - a very mild winter suggested little risk of frozen pipes within the two or three days I'd be away - I actually managed to leave my flat without realising I'd forgotten something and having to unlock to retrieve it... It happens, once in a while. Normally I leave the flat at least twice before actually setting out.

Getting over to my folks was no different from any other day, other than the huge weight on my back. Considering the trouble I'd had putting the backpack on, I didn't fancy taking it off for a seat, only to have to put it back on only a few minutes later, so I stood with my carrier bag and my backpack. When I decided to put the heaviest present in the backpack, I knew it was the best option - the load would be spread evenly, and I wouldn't have to keep switching it from hand to hand. What I hadn't figured on was that, having been largely inactive for most of a year, even carrying such a load on my back made walking the short distance (not quite half a mile, at a guess) between the station and my folks' place one of the most exhausting things I've recently done. Lucky for me I didn't decide to play it safe and take the long route... Sure, my Grandmother got mugged once, walking the quick way, but it seemed unlikely to happen to someone of my age and size, in broad daylight... And the local population has changed quite a bit since then.

When I arrived at my parents' front door, I was very eager to shed my load. It has hampered somewhat by my winter coat being a bit large and getting in the way of the straps, but I got there eventually, and a profound sense of relief flooded my entire being. The chances of having to head home with anything like the same load were exceptionally slim, since I had more than a shrewd idea what I was getting.

My mother was already buzzing around the kitchen, preparing her schedule and ensuring Christmas Day's foodstuffs were in the process of thawing. My father had been dispatched to the local shops to acquire a wide roll of foil for the turkey, because they only had a small amount of the standard roll size. While awaiting his return, my mother told me about a 'possible almost break-in' when last they'd visited my sister's family. Apparently a pair of 'youths' had been turning up on doorsteps with some cock-and-bull story about the gas supply. Neighbours both sides had sent them packing, but one neighbour had heard some commotion at my parents' front door, and called our other neighbours to ask if my folks were around. Since they weren't expected back till the next day, other neighbour popped outside and told the youths to clear off. Neighbourhood Watch in action.

My father eventually returned with not one, but two rolls of foil - one of the larger, 'Turkey Roast Size', the other standard 'just in case', because he wasn't sure the larger size was large enough. The local supermarket had been cleaned out (one shop assistant told my father "there were three rolls on the shelves not an hour ago!", clearly underestimating how fast things move in retail. On Christmas Eve. When everyone realises they don't have enough foil for the turkey.

And that's about as eventful as it got on Christmas Eve. There was so little on television, I joked about grabbing the VHS tape of the anime adaptation of E.E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensman series (heavily truncated, heavily Star Wars influenced, and far heavier on tentacles than I remember the books being), only to be told that there was no longer a working VHS player in the house.

Of course, it turned out that plenty of vaguely interesting stuff had been on in the afternoon...

While I hate to admit it, I starting thinking quite soon after arriving that I should have left it later before heading over... it's far too quiet over there, unless there's lots of news to share.

I went to bed in my old bedroom, feeling it rather warmer than I remember it being when I actually lived there. In fact, part way through the night, I ended up kicking off the duvet.

Christmas Day was very much a case of 'same old, same old', but with the addition of a very lively, loud and bossy toddler. My young niece is speaking much more clearly every time I see her, but now tends to talk through her dummy (not quite sure why she still has a dummy, but there we go). Grandmother had very little to say for herself - I suspect she was a little overwhelmed, considering she left quite early in the day, but it could also be that she's talking less because she's aware that she does tend to repeat herself... who knows? My brother-in-law was keen to show off his new phone and netbook/tablet thing.

I should mention that lunch didn't go exactly to plan... Even with an extra pair of hands (mine, specifically), the schedule slipped ever so slightly, so the home-made 'pigs in blankets' weren't quite cooked, the parsnips never left the oven (and weren't even particularly browned when they emerged after the main course), and no gravy was made. Thankfully, both the turkey and the gammon were moist, tender, and full of flavour, so gravy really wasn't needed. The few 'pigs in blankets' that were served up turned out to be far better than the usual shop-bought efforts. I mean, OK, we didn't hand-make the mini sausages, but I did hand wrap each one with a quarter of a (large) rasher of streaky bacon. I may be forced to  make some of my own... though I'm not sure whether I want to do mini sausages or full-size...

In one of her more talkative moments, speaking to my niece, Grandmother made a comment about going back to 'auntie'... Quite how she thought niece was my daughter, I cannot fathom... but, then, she does seem to think she has more than one grandchild...

Presents are certainly becoming a less important feature of Christmas Day... None of ours were opened until after the Queen's Speech which, in turn, was after Christmas Lunch. I got pretty much exactly what I'd predicted (Futurama movies boxed set, Zelda: Skyward Sword limited edition, Terry Pratchett's Snuff). Grandmother didn't actually open her presents... She started half-heartedly tugging at the paper, muttering the usual excuses about it being such a shame to ruin the paper, then stashed everything in her handbag. There was a small misunderstanding with that present, in that it was delivered to its recipient by my niece, with my sister reading the attached card. When she said it was from me and "for grandma" for some reason, I thought there had been a mix-up with my present for our mother (niece's grandmother). Helpfully, my sister brought everyone's attention to my confused expression, highlighting the fact that I actually had no idea what 'I' had bought my Grandmother..

On my behalf, my mother had picked up a pair of gloves for my brother-in-law. They were a special kind of glove with contacts on the thumb and index finger of each hand, designed to enable one to use touch-screen interfaces without having to remove the gloves. Very useful... Just the thing for looking up Google Maps whilst out in the wilderness with scouts on cold, dark nights.

Niece is still being affected by what I call 'Present Fatigue', where there is a very definite limit on what she can handle being given over a short period of time. Typically, my present it handed to her after she's reached this limit, and so the kiddie-sized electronic keyboard I'd picked up for her elicited not joy but a fit of tears. She seemed to warm to it later, thankfully.

A smattering of Christmas TV was viewed, including the festive Doctor Who. At an hour, I felt it had probably been edited rather harshly - several conversations seemed quite heavily truncated - but, overall, I thought it was fantastic. Further proof, as if any were needed, that Steven Moffat is a far better writer of Who than RTD ever was: a small but powerfully touching, heartwarming sci-fi tale with genuine emotional impact... and no shouting or posturing from the 900 year old Time Lord, no big explosions, and none of the damp squib 'high stakes' of the David Tennant Christmas Specials.

Sleeping arrangements changed for my second night. Sister and husband occupied their usual spot - sister's old bedroom - while niece took my old room and I took my folks' room, leaving them in sleeping bags downstairs. Not the best arrangement, but with me living on my own while sister, brother-in-law and niece alternate between their respective families over Christmas and Boxing Day each year, it all gets rather complicated. My parents' room was, if anything, even hotter (and with a much thicker duvet) so I slept very poorly and, again, ended up kicking off the duvet.

I took the first opportunity to return home - brother-in-law offered me a lift, in an almost uncharacteristic act of generosity - and settled myself back in easily enough.

It occurred to me that my digestive system had slipped into 'travel' mode, which basically locks most of it up so I don't need to worry about visiting lavatories on planes, on trains, or in motorway service stations. Not quite appropriate to Christmas with my folks, but I guess the Boxing Day tube strike had got me more worried than I thought. Rather foolishly, I took some Senokot to help things get back to normal, but ended up waking up around 4.30am with a very urgent need to visit my bathroom. Strangely, that seemed to be the worst of it... I ate very cautiously today, but it seems to all be OK now.

Didn't play Zelda until today (er... yesterday, now)... Partly just dreading the start of another new game, and wondering if I'll have the staying power to complete it. It's looking pretty good, though... the motion-controlled sword fighting has been easier than I'd expected so far, so maybe the increased precision offered by WiiMotion Plus has finally been adequately tapped.

I'm still not sleeping properly (have you seen the time on this posting?!), but hopefully that'll clear up in the coming days. The last thing I need is another full-on bout of insomnia.