To the End of December 2016

In the Midlands, we are well accustomed to the lack of snow or even frost over Christmas, but I can’t recall a warmer Christmas than this one. On the plus side, it has meant that the family haven’t been stuck inside, afraid to venture out into the chilly British winter. Double-figure temperatures have ensured that thermals have remained firmly in the drawer.

Sue and I have had ‘the bug‘ (along with many of our friends) that traditionally does the rounds at this time of year. I sometimes wonder if there’s a laboratory in some non-Christian country producing new strains of virus specifically designed to take the edge off the festive period and bump off a few potential missionaries. On second thought, it might just be a marketing ploy by the pharmaceutical companies that produce the flu vaccine. What a great initiative to preserve your market share. What a great conspiracy theory!

I took to my bed on the 20th with hot water and soup, letting my antibodies do their work. Sue chose a different strategy and ignored it.

By the 22nd, I was well enough to attend a Christmas dinner at the Angel with the guys I play pool with each Thursday. This time, I managed to avoid any gate-diving incidents and completed the evening in the same state I had started it.

The following day, Sue and I watched ‘Schindler’s List‘ on the lounge cinema system. We decided to watch the film after visiting Schindler’s factory in Krakow in November. Using a gift voucher, I bought the video from Amazon and streamed it through the projector. A long film, but superb. The events portrayed produced an overwhelming sense of poignancy, with recognition of the various locations exacerbating the feeling of shock and horror at the inhumanity of it all.

The whole family arrived on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. First activity was a visit to the ice cream parlour in town for the boys, followed by a visit to the Nelson pub for the grown-ups.

Returning to Willow Bank, Charlotte and Sarah prepared a couple of curries for the evening meal. The rest of the evening was spent playing amusing games until everyone retired to await Santa’s appearance.

As expected, the boys were up early, but they’re old enough now to sneak downstairs quietly to check that ‘he’ had been. Satisfied, they relocated to Mum and Dad’s bed to investigate the contents of their stockings.

Presents were opened after breakfast, and as usual, it was a somewhat drawn-out affair, made even more so by the presence of our beagle, Mia, who now receives more gifts than most of the adults!

Christmas Day was the same wonderful family affair as always, a day much like those enjoyed by anyone fortunate enough not to be suffering under one catastrophe or another. A delicious lunch was followed by a calorie-burning walk around Foxton Locks, and then a leisurely evening spent playing with freshly opened surprises and trying on new clothes. With such strife rampant in the world at the moment, we count ourselves as the lucky ones.

Late that night, Sarah and Lee drove to Cottgrave to celebrate Lee’s birthday with his parents on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day for us meant the traditional greyhound racing in Peterborough. As with last year, we’d booked a couple of tables to guarantee seats, as it’s become quite a popular outing. We arrived just before the first race and were soon settled with food and drinks, placing bets and discussing how best to spend the ‘certain’ fortune coming our way.

Sue was the only one to finish in profit and, true to form, refused to disclose the exact amount, though she seemed to win on most races!

The following day, we drove to Braunstone to collect Lee and Sarah, then carried on to Abbey Park to let Mia and the boys stretch their legs on what turned out to be a wonderfully warm late-December afternoon. Returning to Braunstone, we enjoyed a lovely chicken casserole before heading to Leicester and the Little Theatre in Leicester for a performance of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

The following day, we woke to a very cold and foggy morning, so we naturally decided to stretch our legs again, this time around Pitsford Reservoir. Visibility was poor both on the drive there and during the walk from the dam wall to the café at the far end of the lake.

However, we weren’t the only foolhardy ones who thought it was a fine morning for a stroll. Plenty of others were out and about, whether on bikes, in running shoes or wearing hiking boots.

We spent nearly an hour at the café, warming ourselves with hot

drinks before setting off along the opposite shore back to the cars.

About halfway through the walk, the sun finally broke through, revealing everything we’d missed earlier. It had been a magnificent day all along, just hidden a few metres above our heads through the fog.

As we drove home to Harborough, the winter sun began to set, casting long, spooky shadows over the countryside.

The Rothwells returned home just before New Year’s Eve, and peace and quiet once again settled over Willow Bank.

It seems likely that 2017 will bring more turbulence both nationally and internationally than recent years, though it could be argued that 2008 was the real game changer. Brexit and Trump remain unknown factors yet to play out, and, of course, there’s ISIS, earthquakes, and asteroids to contend with, all equally unpredictable. Perhaps the discovery of life on another planet, or even more astonishing, a visit from such life, might shake things up and put everything into perspective. Not likely, I suspect, but one can hope.

However, reality is about to catch up with one of Jamie’s former friends, Tansley. Some time ago, Jamie’s apartment was burgled. Along with personal possessions, his bank details were compromised, and the burglar used them to empty his account. This crime led to a charge of fraud from the bank, which pursued the offender. While the bank bore some responsibility and compensated Jamie fully, the culprit denied the burglary and theft of Jamie and Harley’s belongings, though he admitted the bank fraud. On 5th January, I accompanied Jamie and Harley to Leicester Crown Court, where they had been called to give evidence. Upon learning that Jamie and Harley were present, the defence barrister advised his client to plead guilty, which he did. He will return to court for sentencing on 26th January, a sobering experience, no doubt.

Last Saturday, Sue and I went to ‘Ha Ha Harborough’, the monthly comedy club at the local theatre. As expected, it was a hilarious evening. However, I must be getting old; the headliner wasn’t to my taste. While Sue and the rest of the audience roared with laughter, I found the comedian a bit too crude. To my mind, certain topics just aren’t funny, no matter how many expletives you sprinkle into the act. I’ll leave it at that.

Yesterday, I entertained Mia. Peter and I took her for a long, rainy walk followed by lunch at Foxton Locks. We came back soaked and exhausted; you could say we were all dog-tired and slept soundly that night.

In May, Jamie and I are heading to New Zealand. We’ve rented a camper van (similar to the one we had in Australia) for 13 days, with a couple of nights in a hotel in Auckland. We’ve yet to finalise our itinerary.

Also, Sue and I are off to Nepal in a few weeks, and we will be visiting Kathmandu, Pokhara, Sarangkot, Chitwan, and Nagarkot. I’ve booked us a flight to see Mount Everest. Once, I dreamt of climbing it. As age crept in, I lowered my ambitions to reach base camp. Now, I’m content to fly around it.

Jamie has a new girlfriend, Ashton. He’s brought her to Willow Bank a few times, and she seems lovely. His currency trading business is doing well, and there is a rumour, he and Suraj might be going into business together.

Suraj has started his new NHS job, which seems less demanding than his previous role and, for now, not much of a challenge.

Surprisingly, Charlotte’s little gardening business is still keeping her busy, perhaps thanks to the mild winter. She’s game for anything, though; the other day, she was laying floorboards in a client’s loft!