20th November 2021

With November rapidly running out, the family seem intent on ramping up their activities in readiness for the coming festive season.

Sarah had arranged to meet up with Chloe and Abby over the weekend of the 20th for a bit of girly carousing, but it didn’t end well. Chloe is the physio/first aider for Harborough RUFC, and as the 1st XV were playing in Dronfield, it seemed like a good opportunity for the three of them to watch some rugby and enjoy themselves. However, during the evening, Sarah slipped on a spilt drink in a bar and ended up in the early hours of the following morning at Chesterfield Hospital with a dislocated knee. Lee had to drive her home, as she was obviously in no fit state to drive herself. She will be working from home for the next few weeks.

On the 22nd, Sue drove me to the Health Centre in nearby Wigston for a long-awaited injection in my left eye. Usually, I would attend the hospital in Leicester, but with such a backlog of appointments, the NHS (after many phone calls) fitted me in at the more convenient Wigston practice. The procedure went well, and within a few days, my vision had improved enormously. As a bonus, I was pleasantly surprised to receive my next appointment for January just a few days later.

On the following Wednesday evening, I met up with ten chums at the Bull’s Head in Clipston for Pie Night. It has long been a tradition (pandemic excepted) that we have a Christmas meal together. We live in a very different world from just a couple of years ago, so we decided to hedge our bets and celebrate early, with pie rather than turkey and trimmings. The evening was as good as the pies themselves, though unsurprisingly not all of us managed to finish the substantial fare piled onto our plates. None of us risked dessert. I wonder if we shall have to repeat this rather eclectic celebration next year.

On Saturday (28th), Jamie and Ruth travelled through the snow to a Christmas market in Sheffield, while for the first time in two years I had lunch at Harborough RUFC. It proved to be a thoroughly unpleasant day for rugby, with driving sleet and bitterly cold conditions seriously affecting the play. Sensibly, I chose to enjoy the warmth and company of friends inside the clubhouse rather than risk frostbite on the touchline watching what was reportedly an error-strewn match. Harborough emerged victorious, courtesy of four penalties to a solitary try.

Charlotte and her family braved the snowy conditions on Sunday by travelling to Dudley Zoo. Despite the cold, they seemed to have enjoyed their day out, though I doubt all of the more exotic animals on show felt the same. On the same day, Sarah, Lee and Alice met up with Abby and her family and visited Sundown Adventureland near Retford. Instead of exchanging Christmas presents this year, they decided to see Santa and leave the decision on presents to him.

I continued working each morning on dismantling the pool. Breaking up the supporting concrete walls required hiring a Bosch breaker, which I had confidently assumed would complete the task in a couple of days. In the end, it took four full days. Thankfully, the weather was kind, and I was able to work until it grew dark. With the base of the pool satisfactorily covered in a thick layer of small concrete nuggets, I was pleased to return the robust bit of kit, hoping never to have to use one again.

Over that weekend, I gathered together the photos taken during our trip to Holmfirth and turned them into a video. In years gone by, I would have burned this onto a DVD and given each participant a copy as a lasting memory, but now I upload it to YouTube and send them the link.

Sadly, December opened with a funeral for Susan and more pool-filling for me. The lady who cleaned Doreen’s apartment had died from bowel cancer, and as Doreen doesn’t drive, Sue took her to the church in Desborough for the service. As Sue didn’t know the woman well, she passed the time having coffee with Charlotte in nearby Rothwell until Doreen rang to be collected. Meanwhile, Jeremy visited to discuss possible options for the pool. I was surprised and touched when he brought along a small framed picture of the front of Nora Batty’s cottage as a thank-you for arranging our recent bean-feast in Holmfirth. He is very kind.

Traditionally, Market Harborough holds a late-night shopping event at the beginning of December. Last year, Covid-19 caused its cancellation, but this year it went ahead. Usually, the family come together and we walk through the park into town to enjoy the free mulled wine, mince pies and entertainment. This year, Jamie, Ruth and Joey attended a Festival of Light at Belvoir Castle, leaving Charlotte’s and Sarah’s families to accompany Sue and me. As expected, the town was packed with locals eager to return to some semblance of normality, making it difficult to walk as a group. When I stopped briefly to chat with our next-door neighbours, also enjoying a bit of freedom, it took twenty minutes of frantic searching to find the family again. Sue and I had booked to see The Father at Harborough Theatre for 7.45 p.m., so when the time came, we headed off to enjoy a plot centred on an ageing gentleman slowly slipping into dementia, while the rest of the gang continued their frivolities.

On Saturday, 4th December, Sue and I drove to Tenbury Wells to meet up with her sister Philippa and husband Paul at family friend Sheila’s, to exchange Christmas presents. It was a bitterly cold day with a constant threat of rain, making it unpleasant to be outdoors for long. Sheila had recently been quite poorly with diverticulitis, so instead of visiting one of the local pubs as we had done in previous years, Sue and Philippa brought lunch for us all. We stayed until 4.30 p.m. before leaving Sheila, her cat, and a neighbour (who had dropped in to say hello) snug in the warmth while we walked the short distance to the High Street to watch the arrival of Santa Claus in his horse-drawn sleigh, accompanied by what seemed to be the entire population of the town. Sue and Philippa were keen to rekindle fond childhood memories of scrambling to catch oranges thrown by the jovial man in red. They were deeply disappointed to discover that the fruit had been replaced by chocolate sweets handed out by accompanying cartoon characters. How times change! Thoroughly chilled, we returned briefly to see Sheila before driving to our accommodation for the night at the Fountain Inn, a 17th-century black-and-white inn on the outskirts of Tenbury Wells in nearby Oldwood.

That evening we had a fine meal in the inn’s packed restaurant. Christmas festivities appear to have started early in this part of Worcestershire, as both bar and restaurant were doing a roaring trade all evening. After eventually making our way to our rooms and a sound sleep, we met Philippa and Paul again the following morning for breakfast. They were heading off to Manchester to stay with their son Simon for a few days, and we were moving on to the Wroxall Abbey Hotel near Coventry for another night. Stomachs satisfied, we said our goodbyes in a cold, drizzly car park.

We broke our journey at a garden centre to look at their large collection of garden rooms, hoping to gather ideas for what might replace the swimming pool. It was just after midday when we arrived at the hotel via a long and splendid driveway. The hotel sits within the Wroxall Abbey Estate, which dates back to 1146 and the founding of an abbey for Benedictine nuns. In 1544, following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the estate was awarded to Robert Burgoyne, who built an Elizabethan-style Mansion House. This remained in the family until 1713, when the Burgoynes sold the estate to Sir Christopher Wren. Wren used Wroxall Abbey as his personal retreat, with members of his family frequently staying there. Though his body is interred in Westminster Abbey, his heart is buried within the estate church, which we read had once been granted cathedral status. The estate was eventually sold to James Dugdale in 1861, who built the present mansion house. It later became Wroxall Abbey School for Girls in 1963, before being sold again in 1995, and eventually became a hotel in 2000.

We were too early to check in, but as usual had planned a walk, so after changing into hiking gear in the car park (Sue trying out her new walking wellies!) we set off on a short 2.7-mile ramble within the estate grounds. The route itself was unspectacular, but it felt good to stretch our legs; it was the first time I had rambled with Sue for quite a while, she having been fully occupied with U3A activities and I with gardening duties. The ground underfoot was very wet, and pools of water had to be gingerly negotiated at most of the stiles. At the end of our trail, we passed the abbey church (St Leonard’s) and, seeing it open, took the opportunity to enter. There we saw the flagstone set into the aisle floor, beneath which lies the heart of the great architect. Arriving back at the hotel, we were keen to sample the bottle of Prosecco we knew would be waiting in our room, and as a thirst-quencher, it didn’t disappoint. This could become a tradition.

We took our evening meal in the hotel restaurant and, possibly due to the effects of the earlier wine, I rashly ordered the cheese board for dessert. Expecting four modest cheeses, I was not prepared for such large slabs, amply accompanied by apple slices, chutneys and a vast array of crackers. In comparison, Sue’s three scoops of ice cream seemed rather parsimonious, though I was grateful for her help with the apple and crackers. Thoroughly stuffed, we finished the evening seated in the lounge bar chatting with the waitresses about the history of this beautifully restored building. It was later, on retiring to our room, that Sue discovered she had left her pyjamas at the Fountain Inn. After a quick call to Sheila, arrangements were made to recover them on our next visit.

After a sound and very pleasant sleep, we had a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It seemed quite novel (and risky) to serve ourselves again after nearly two years of socially distanced, waiter-served meals. It was raining heavily when we checked out, and it continued throughout the entire journey home, discouraging any impromptu sightseeing stops.

The girls in the family could not wait to start their Christmas decorations; Sue and I can wait a little longer!

Winter walks seem to have been popular, even with the younger ones. Joey accompanied Jamie in his search for a new car. I think he is planning on a Lamborghini for the new year.

With Covid-19 infections rising again in Harborough and the spread of the new Omicron variant, I hope the festivities are not too severely affected this Christmas. The family will be celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here at Willow Bank, though our usual visit to the greyhound racing and a pantomime will not be taking place. However, as the photos demonstrate, family members have enjoyed the annual light show at Belvoir Castle and the switch-on of lights in Market Bosworth.