What are you all up to

We will see him again in February hopefully as I have a 'significant' birthday.

I bet you are looking forward to claiming your pension eh Millie?

Did our Christmas food shop very early this morning. Good job too as they were marking various places out in the car park to start repainting white lines and zebra crossings. Great day to pick to do that! 

Back home, hot drink then off to give a blood sample. Home for lunch then took MiL into town to Opticians. Town is heaving. Will pick her up in about half an hour.

Hopefully that will be it for shopping and running around until after Boxing Day.

Enjoy your lazy day Bakers. Check your spam. You never know.

Yep, some nice memories out of a tragic situation, we were same with Dad. Mum needs help with eating now, but she gets plenty down her, and we still share a good laugh every so often.

A real let down for you K, hope it’s all sorted soon. Good to hear Mr MH is back home. 

All the best to those I might have missed, and yes, let’s hope 2024 is going to be kinder to all of us.

Travelled down to Cornwall for our Christmas break yesterday. I had checked the motorway details just before leaving so, unfortunately, knew that the M5 was closed between Cullompton and Exeter due to a lorry overturning. We'd normally leave at about 6 so would have been there about the time it happened and been stuck for upwards of 4 hours!  Luckily,  for us, we'd decided to leave it till later so knew the diversion via Tiverton and Exeter which wasn't too bad apart from the little village of Bickleigh where a very narrow bridge was having to cope with diverted traffic in both directions. Added about an hour to our journey, so could have been a lot worse.

(Apparently the lorry, which was carrying potatoes had collided with the central reservation resulting in several chips and the police giving the driver a good roasting! Sorry - I'll get me coat!)

Food shopping completed today, out for our early Christmas dinner at our favourite local tonight and then it's all downhill to Monday I think.

Best wishes to everyone recovering from or awaiting operations or suffering from seasonal maladies - Mrs M still waiting to hear if her hand will need operating on, but is keeping it well wrapped up until the Christmas Day washing up has been completed (doubtless she'll be able to supervise! 

Have a lovely Christmas M, down by the sea! Jealous? Me? Not half🥳

Bright but a very windy shortest day here with temperature of 13C.

Brother still in hospital.  Staff are fantastic.  Have cancelled 5 of his appointments in the hope that others will benefit.

Christmas greetings Mr and Mrs M. Hope you both have a lovely time. I know that bridge in Bickleigh very well. I spent many happy childhood holidays in that area on a small holding with a lovely old lady that my father had made friends with during the war. Apparently she was a widow and her sons had been conscripted into the army so the soldiers used to help her out on the smallholding and she then gave them a lovely meal in return. My Mum stayed there sometimes during the war when she could get time off to see my Dad. 

Dropped son off at the station ready for his journey back to NI this morning. I parked in Waitrose car park as it is right next to the station platform. It was heaving!!

Glad to hear that your brother is getting good treatment in hospital OP. I have nothing but praise for all the hospital staff while OH was in hospital earlier this week. They do a fantastic job.

B2, Hope th enjoyed your reflexology today, and are now set up for a restful weekend.

Millie, so pleased that you OH's OP went well and that he is back home now. Good to read that your son got away for home ok, although I guess you will miss his assistance now that he has gone.

R&R, you certainly did the right thing by going to Sandringham a day earlier than originally planned. It seem that many sites are less busy than in previous years. I guess the hike in site fees will have had a lot to do with that, and members are limiting more than ever the number of nights away over the holiday period.

Enjoy your time down in Cornwall, Moulesy, and hopefully Mrs M will soon get word about whether or not she require an operation and, if so, that they can fit it in soon into the New Year

It was a bit rough through the night due to the wind, with the van rocking so much that I got up about 4:00 and moved the car around to the windward side to give us a bit of protection. We didn't sleep too well, and I got a little damp on the first walk with Flyte this morning, just getting back before a torrential downpour. It has been blowing hard and raining on and off since then. Hope that the wind does down a bit, and it stops raining, by the morning as we move across to near Jodrell Bank to our Xmas site.

I know the Bickleigh bridge well Moulesy, I used to travel to Exeter very frequently that way for work. It’s difficult enough on an ordinary day, especially when more than half way across and some numpty decides to try to come the other way. I can just imagine what it was like with the diversions. Enjoy your break in Cornwall.