The shape of things to come

Christmas was a fun day and not without some typical Rock HQ incidents (read disasters) some of which were down to yours truly's lack of spatial awareness, but most due to animal behaviour. Animal antics included Aunt Montana sitting on the dining table and knocking off and smashing the table decorations (God knows what prompted her to think she was suddenly allowed to sit on the table!) Hetty, or Apollo fell asleep on a deep bed of straw, not a problem save for the plight of a poor Ryeland lamb called Berry who bagged the sleeping space first. Christmas morning feed routine was in the nick of time and Berry was dragged out from the straw and away from the tunnel of light that she was just about to follow. Shes ok, a bit slow and stiff, flatter, wary of large sleeping animals and on the way to a recovery. The Christmas cake was not able to be rescued after the attentions of a large ginger cat called Nemo, like most visitors to HQ said, "I didn't know cats liked Christmas cake!" neither did I and he didn't. What he did do after pulling the cake tin off the doomed dried fruit creation was experiment with the contents, chewing the edges off, digging a hole in the centre (presumably in the hope of finding concealed cat treats) and then sleeping on the remains to ensure no attempt was made to ice over his crime.

My fault leaving it out only protected by armour plating. I had a minor seasonal panic as the piece of beef I bought would not fit the oven, it being the size of a small pony (the meat not the oven)With all the shelves out it just fitted, with the emergency turkey crammed it as well (just in case 9 kg of beef wouldn't feed 7 people) sardines have more leg room. This put paid to any ideas of roasting all veg etc but in the end we managed. He who cannot be named introduced Rock HQ to the delights of Hendrick G and T with a slice of cucumber and soon all culinary worries faded into insignificance in the quest for the perfect Hendricks. People were far too generous with their gifts and a big thank you to all of you, highlights include little T getting his first proper walking boots, he has no choice, he will climb every mountain (his big sister climbed to within 500mtrs of the summit Mt Blanc aged 13, a tough act to follow) and hopefully I can keep up with his early challenges. Knowing that I am a repressed anorak Father Christmas brought me an airfix spitfire and as soon as I am allowed sharp craft knives and glue it will be assembled (unlike the collection of unmade kits in the workshop)

Dinner was finally placed in front of hungry guests and we made a bit of a dent in the beef. There was one space at the table though, Techno decided not to join us but was delivered a selection of the Christmas feast in the early evening. This was a highly entertaining venture as I had consumed more than my fair share of Hendricks and other concoctions, luckily Beth was a designated driver and chose to walk around the Bonsai Mountain with her dear old dad and stop him wandering off into the wilderness. Techno was happy to get a food parcel but has yet to move into his new lodgings. We got back in time for the cheese and port race, a vital part of the festive occasion, almost as traditional as the Queen's speech.

Little T had a definite favourite present. An envelope. Merry Christmas!