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I breakfast together with my family and then fed the ducks and doves with my Dad before he and Mum left after morning coffee. A lunch of Christmas leftovers and then a futile attempt to find a garden centre open before shopping in St Neots and then watching a space film on television with Daniel and his friends. Then watching ‘Anne of Green Gables’ with Di and Debbie this evening before listening to the aftermath of the Lockerbie tragedy, where rows of coffins lined up in the town hall as a makeshift mortuary. The US applies more trade sanctions by way of tariffs on EEC food imports, but the Briton held in Iran has been released.
I slept well enough and, for once, Diana did not keep us awake all night coughing. I was the first one up this morning and so I got the morning drinks and brought Diana’s as well. My parents had also slept well, and we all had breakfast together and then Dad joined me whilst I fed the doves and ducks. A slow coffee and a long chat in the lounge before they left at midday. The weather was mild and dry again today, as we said goodbye to my parents. We had a lunch of Christmas leftovers (there was still a fair amount of turkey available) and then we drove out with the girls and tried to go to a garden centre. Willington, Sandy and Eaton Socon were all closed and seem to be intending to remain so all week, which was a pity. We ended up in St Neots, looking around the sales and I bought a bird’s nest fern in Woolworths as a consolation. Home before dark, the doves and ducks again, and then I sat in the lounge and watched a Space Film on TV with Daniel and his friends Gary and Steve before and after tea. This evening, I watched the first two-hour episode of ‘Anne of Green Gables’ with Di and Debbie and quite enjoyed it, but there are two more episodes still to come! Della was sweet and fed the fish with me this evening. She really enjoys the conservatory and pond which is some consolation for Di not liking it. The news today is of the continuing Lockerbie tragedy. A line of hundreds of people from Lockerbie watched the body of the first US victim being carried away from a town hall where rows of coffins are being stored as a make-shift mortuary.
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With my Mum and Dad still here, and then Diana’s relatives arriving for lunch, we had 13/ 14 sitting round our extended table in the kitchen. More games before and after dinner with my family but Diana was ill and tired such that we had an early night after watching a film together. No evidence of structural failure was found of the Pan Am aircraft in the Lockerbie air crash
We slept in for a while after a late night and then Mum and Dad were also awake by 9am so that we had breakfast together. I tended the ducks and doves and then we all had a game of monopoly in the Garden Room whilst I did some housework. It was nice to play with Mum, Dad, Debbie and Daniel but the game was not over when Di’s relatives arrived for a Boxing Day lunch; first her Mum, Dad, sister and then her brother with their family. There was some 13 /14 and of us sitting around an extended dining table in the kitchen, but we managed. They all had a good time and, after they left, we resumed our game and it was nice to see Mum win a close-run contest with me as the narrow loser. Unfortunately, Di was tired, ill and felt a bit left out and there was a misunderstanding over tea. With lunch taking until 3.30pm, we were not ready for tea at 5pm. It all ended happily as we opted for an early night after watching a film together. Not much news, but from the air crash scene comes the comments ‘no evidence of structural failure found’.
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The mildest for 40 years - when the children woke early, and my parents arrived later after which we played games in our new conservatory before and after a fine Christmas lunch and a more relaxing afternoon and evening watching television films. 239 bodies have been found after Lockerbie air crash, with 30 still missing, and the shipping accident on Christmas Eve has affected 10% of British North Sea oil production, as three platforms are shut down.
I stayed up very late waiting to complete the ‘Father Christmas’ tradition and then retired to bed shattered. Di’s bad chest only just allowed her to cope and we slept soundly after that. Daniel was awake by 3am, Debbie by 4am but I laid in until 7am. The children started to open their presents and I must record that they behaved very well – perhaps the best year yet. We had our breakfast and then waited for my Mum and Dad to arrive. They had intended to arrive by 10am but it was after 11.30am by the time they got here. We had coffee and chatted and they both took a good look at the conservatory with its fish and pond before we had a nice Christmas lunch afterwards. The turkey was a fresh one and, by being turned over during roasting, stayed moist and tender. The Brussel sprouts and other vegetables were tasty. The only problem was the Christmas Pudding, as the accompanying cream had gone sour. This afternoon, Di and I washed up and then the family played a board game with Nanny.
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Today was Christmas Eve, the mildest for some 50 years, and for me it was time to have coffee in the conservatory, tidy up my office and then take the family to St Neots for a Beefeater meal. The Queen issued a special message of consolation for the victims of Armenia, Clapham Junction and Lockerbie as the search for bodies continues. A Waterloo blaze leads to an evacuation.
I awoke quite early and was up on time to a nice fried breakfast – Di had decided that we would have this meal this morning so that tomorrow would not be too much with the Christmas food as well. I did not do a great deal this morning, having coffee in my conservatory which was nice. The most that I was able to achieve was the tidying of my office and bookshelves and an incomplete job at that. For lunch, I took the family to a pre-booked meal at the Beefeater in St Neots. I was not very pleased by the table, the service and the fact that they had suspended the non-smoking section over the Christmas period. I suspected the numerous cigar-promoting posters that had something to do with it! We did a bit of last-minute shopping after and I then got some picture hooks to put up when we got back. This afternoon, Diana flaked out with her bad chest and I had to get the tea for the children while she was in bed. She was up later to help get the presents ready for the morning. The Queen issued a special message of consolation for the bereaved relatives and friends of those people who had died in the three recent human disasters of Armenia, Clapham Junction and Lockerbie.
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