A Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone and wishing you all a happy 2007!

We spent the Christmas weekend over in Kent with Johnny's Granny, and had a fantastic time. All four of us housemates were invited, so we picked up Anthony from Heathrow on the way through, and arrived on the afternoon of the 23rd. Upon arrival, we were put to work by John's Auntie Lizzie, who got us to decorate the christmas tree:

Not bad eh?


The pressure was on Johnny who had put in a big "sell" about spending Christmas at Granny's, as no-one else in our group had ever had a Proper English Christmas before. Although the weather wasn't able to oblige us with a white Christmas, everything else was just about greeting-card perfect, with the open fire roaring, good food and conversation, and of course plenty of "Christmas Spirit" getting consumed. Anth's freshly-imported Absolut Ruby Red (vodka infused with red grapefruit) was a big hit, and fuelled Johnny to a big win at the poker table - although being unemployed, he has been getting a lot of practice online these days!




Christmas Eve night saw us stringing up our stockings from the mantelpiece, prompting another photo session. That's Anthony curled up on the couch on the left, and Bec doing her nails on the right. Yep, it's all action at Granny's place! :-)

Finally the big day arrived, and Santa had managed to not only find us, but also get down the chimney with a still-smouldering fire at the bottom! Clever man. Only "Santa presents" could be opened prior to lunch however, as there were more guests to arrive for the feast. "Team Australia" was put to work again, this time laying the table for the ten Christmas Dinner guests. Attending would be Granny, Auntie Lizzie, Team Australia, John's Auntie Aly, Uncle Jeremy and cousin James, plus Jeremy's mother Audrey. All catering (including the quail-egg-and-caviar entree visible in the picture) was brilliantly done by Lizzie, with excellent centrepiece construction by Bec and Amanda.

We all enjoyed a fantastic Christmas dinner, with the first-timers gaining a real appreciation for how nice a roast turkey can be when it's only 6 degrees outside. Much drinking, chatting, laughing and pudding later, we retired to the music room for present-opening, with lots more merriment, to the accompaniment of Johnny on the piano (although possibly that was the source of the merriment).

Christmas night was spent in the traditional manner: by the fireside with eyes glazed, stomach distended, making occasional groaning noises and feeling a little sick when someone mentions food.

So all-in-all, an excellent English Christmas! :-)