Christmas 2013
Boothstown then Haddington
Just over two weeks before Christmas Day and Daisy was already getting into the spirit as we put the tree up (see more pics on her own page - just scroll up).
The next day, we were cordially invited to a Christmas meal at Ringway Golf Club, courtesy of Suze's dad (Mr Smith to me). I rode roughshod over the dress code by being clad in denim jeans (and possibly Paul Smith too?). Anyway, here is the whole caboodle, for whom fitting round the table was ultimately a bit of a squeeze. Daisy, bless her, couldn't be bothered turning round (she wasn't 100%), then moving left we have Lynne, Suze, Rick, Evie, Ellie, Fran, somewhere-in-the-background Leo, Dan, Mr Smith, Mrs Smith, Paul.
As previously mentioned, Daisy was less than 100% (bit of a cold, as usual), so she got in a bit of a strop and went to get some quiet time.
There was some entertainment on, though, and Aunty Suze went to accompany Daisy and the twins in the midst of the action.
Slowly but surely she came round and began to partake.
At the end of the performance, Santa Claus crawled through an unfeasibly small hatch in the back, bringing with him a big selection of presents. He had been given (it turned out, although it took me a little while to work out the process that must have occurred) a list of all children present as well as presents for them to be given. Daisy's name wasn't called out until near the end, so she had to patiently wait for quite a long time before going to the front, but patient she was. Her present was a Hello Kitty dominoes game.
Even Leo had a present for him, although I'm not too sure how aware he is of the concept of Santa Claus at his age.
A few days before Christmas and Daisy tries out a possible Christmas Day outfit. I'm not sure whether it's the flash or the tightness of the cat mask which is making her eyes narrow. She has certainly nailed the look that I expect to have after a few beers on Christmas Day. Maybe without the necklaces.
All the way through December, Daisy opened two advent calendars dutifully each day, although occasionally forgetting with one of them - the one with chocolates in. She didn't forget this one, though, since if it contained small toys for each day, including squirrels, birds, foxes, etc. This is the completed advent calendar that gave her so much joy.
It's finally Christmas Day and Daisy is very excited to have such an impressive stack of presents. It's taken an inordinate amount time to get here, but finally it is. And she is of the age that she can actually appreciate Christmas, if not the effort that goes into it.
Her present opening skills are fully developed. Inevitably, though, the box inside was trickier to open and thus required adult assistance. Each one must be opened, although sometimes we resisted.
An early popular present was the Play-Doh ice-cream maker.
The destination for Christmas Day lunch was Waterdale Close in Boothstown - a day with the Allens and Barlows, basically. The conservatory was classily decked out in readiness.
The tree in the lounge was necessarily drowned in presents at its base.
In the kitchen, Matt the chef was busy at work, stirring and chopping, chopping and stirring; cursing and drinking, drinking and cursing.
The division of labour was fairly clear. Those who wish to cook, cook, those who are heavily pregnant, sit and get waited on. Which is fair enough.
Daisy entertained herself with toys old and new.
Katie had ill-timed 'flu or something, both looking and feeling rough as a buzzard's crutch (to steal a Paul Calf phrase), clinging to a can of Coke Zero by way of pepping her up.
Two tables pushed together made for an unusual shaped, if pleasantly adorned, dinner table.
I was broadly on drinks duty, filling the buckets with ice, cold water and as many bottles and cans of beer, champagne and soft drinks as I could. And then I put more in.
Daisy looks to torture her the doll: "give me a biscuit or the hair gets it".
Roasties ripe for roasting...
...and some form of chicken nuggets (bought rather than homemade, and one of the more questionable decisions for Christmas nibbles).
This is better: olives and peppers with a herb coating (not that I'm particularly keen on olives, but it's a bit more classic as an opening gambit).
Even Katie's slippers have a bit of a cold.
Daisy settled down for an afternoon kip with her doll.
Ah look, the Barlows have arrived! Master Mark is dexterously displaying his two new CDs (by the Beta Band and the Django Djangos) while AJ is opening presents too - more on this later.
And here is the other Barlow, head of the house Graham.
Mum seems very happy with this liqueur and cream combo. Or maybe it's a fake smile.
The brussel sprouts are on the go, with some of Matt's homemade garlic & herb butter. That means it's definitely Christmas.
Another one from Matt's pre-Christmas dinner repertoire. This time it's breadcrumb-coated cheese, accompanied by a classic backdrop of half a lemon, some fairy liquid, a pepper mill and some tomato ketchup - they made an interesting dipping sauce.
Kate's illness was such that there was only thing for it: neat vodka (a Christmas present).
Aunty Janet, meanwhile, was delighted to receive a ("Randy") corkscrew, a present from Matt, who evidently clings on to the tradition of filth that still endures.
It wasn't long before she was up and dancing to a slightly bewildered, lolly-sucking Daisy. Mark did me no favour by leaving his knee in the foreground.
Another Christmas Day tradition is for Uncle Graham to guzzle an array of unusually-coloured alcoholic drinks, and this delightful concoction.
Mark, meanwhile, seemed to be drinking from a very small glass, for a reason I cannot ascertain, much to the amusement of his mother.
And I think that will do for now.
It's me, I'm back again. Just in time for the mini golf drinking game, another present for Matt, this time for Graham.
The first tie thrown up was Graham vs Daisy, which rather scuppered the drinking element (and indeed we never actually bothered playing it after this). Graham looks faintly silly holding such a small club...
...but the size suited Daisy, and she turned out to be quite good at it.
A few hours later, after the Christmas lunch (which I didn't actually take any pictures of - too busy eating), it was time for more playing. I'm not really sure what she's offering Uncle Matt in this shot.
In the lounge it was, rather appropriately, lounge time.
Matt looked a bit spaced out, or perhaps a bit angry, on the sofa, grasping his huge camera.
Daisy was happy in her own little world, recreating Despicable Me (at that stage, she had not watched enough of Despicable Me 2, but that has taken over as her favourite film) with her Minion action figures, a present from Aunty Katie (along with the other main characters - she quite often play-acts with them all, perhaps scripting Despicable Me 3).
Meanwhile, it was all action of a different sort in the conservatory, as Mark read through the (unofficial) Pointless board game (of which I don't mind mentioning that I sneaked a win over AJ in the final) while Mum sipped on a cup of tea. It doesn't get much more rock and roll.
I did try and make things seem a bit more psychedelic, almost like a photo from the '70s.
A traditional scene from later on a Christmas evening - a cheeseboard, a can of lager, and Matt being abusive. Probably.
After Lynne and Daisy went home, I stuck around for the later evening's frivolities, and we were also joined by Jordan.
We first played charades, with Matt maybe doing an impression of a bird, or something...
...and Jordan pointing to his eye for a reason I cannot fathom. Is there a "looks like"?
And that was that; Christmas over for another year. Matt's interpretation of Boxing Day seems a little too literal. (In fact, this was a fancy dress creation for a friend, specifically a Sky Sports TV recreation, with a screenshot of Chris Kamara and a remote control attached.)
Later on Boxing Day, we headed northward to Scotland for the double whammy, stopping off here at a service station for a cheeky but rare McDonald's.
The reason for going to Haddington was to surprise Granddad Graham for his 60th birthday (we actually arrived the day before, but in the evening, which was pretty much the optimal solution). And surprised he was, as this rather staged photo demonstrates (although it was a pretty faithful reconstruction of the original jaw-dropping moment). It had been a few weeks in the planning for all parties concerned, and Avis in particular had spun a web of mistruths throughout the day (I was supposed to be in bed hungover, for example, rather than driving the tricky evening stint in the dark on unlit and unfamiliar roads. It all seemed worth it, though.
Daisy soon settled in to one of her many alternate toy worlds (i.e. where grandparents have set up temptations galore for their grandchild, or grandchildren), immediately getting out all of the HappyLand kit.
That's it for now.
And you shall now be taken on to a second page.