It’s a bit unnerving, that I’m so up together for the time of the year.  Last year, when all the shopping had to be done in the space of a week has evidently taught a lesson – it wasn’t quite that this year but, apart from a flurry of activity at the end of November, I kept mostly to my good practice of not dealing with anything Christmassy until the beginning of December and am still sorted out.  I miss the last-minute wrapping and flurry around the last posting date (that’s still going to happen when people unexpectedly give me cards), but usually I haven’t started by now.  It’s a sign of age. The excitement of winging it until the last moment doesn’t cut it so well any more.

But it’s all fine.  We went out to lunch this week and had a very good meal at the local café, Tim having a crayfish pâté with – I’m not sure what the extra flavours were – and I had a swede and carrot tart with sage and walnuts, with seasonal salads.  There was a Puy lentil, beetroot, mandarin segments and a few sultanas, a couscous and chickpea salad with a lemon dressing and salad leaves, which were not from a supermarket.  I couldn’t actually identify all of them, they were good.  All delicious.  We are so well provided with lunchtime places in Yagnub.

I had supper with friends last night; basically a thoroughly retro, delicious cheese fondue.  I took cake, other people took other things, it was a long and convivial evening.  And tonight we took ourselves down to the very local little brewery, run by the son of friends, and had a very enjoyable hour or so again there too.

We’ll probably be wiped out by 10 o’clock, old dears that we are.