'Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!'  The bells are still jingling, but I will be very glad to stop the journey now.

In between working and travelling, I had a very productive day creating festive puddings and chutney.  Christmas would not be Christmas without either of these.  The recipe for the chutney never varies (it really is delicious) but the pudding recipe changes yearly.  If this one is truly delicious, I will share it with you. The recipe, that is, not the pudding!  Or if you are really wanting a slice of pudding, come round tomorrow, we should be attempting to eat it at around 8pm.

Last weekend saw us setting sail again, starting with Bristol on Friday night.  This makes me and Mr Cooper sound very adventurous, almost as if we were going out clubbing, but fear not.  
 We had a night far more suitable for those no longer young, but no less enjoyable for all that.  As we are getting on a bit, we have become creatures of habit, and the Friday before Christmas always finds us staying with Val, John's cousin, eating curry and putting the world to rights.  Ellen was there too, and this year we were also joined by playful Poppy.  She demonstrated leaping, and standing on high objects before being put into the kitchen, where she did a little sad whining (puppy, not human.)

Then onto Clifton, an area of Bristol that I love.  Each year, we walk round fascinated, enjoying the lovely shops that are there.  But each year also, we have to dine first. This year we went into the Somerset House pub, which was a lovely place to be.  Natural furnishings used really well.  We stood out a little, by being the only couple that weren't young professionals, but we enjoyed our lunch nevertheless.

 In our wanderings, we found a jewellers called The Dragon Workshop.  Luckily the shop was shut, and we had only had one pint (we aim to drink responsibly) as there was the most charming silver bracelet in the window, perfect for Christmas, as it was of jingle bells, and holly leaves.  Oh well.....

 Then off to Portishead, for an early celebration with little brother Mark, and his children.  We had not visited his new house before, and the builders had not long left, after completing an extension to his living room.  In fact, Mark had completed decorating in the early hours of the morning.  We spent a festive couple of hours cleaning and polishing the furnishings for the new room, then re-assembling the dining table, ready for the festive feasts to come!  Mark was so pleased as not only did the rooms look amazing, but he had been without a table since the summer, when the works had commenced.

Then off for a wander round Portishead, where we all had a reviving pint, this one in The Phoenix.
Not only was the pub really homely, but the beer glasses were delightful.

 This year we were joined by Mark's old school friend Philip and his wife Jayne.  Philip was in Bristol for a Karate event, so they were able to join us for Mark's early Christmas Day.  In fact, Jayne was lucky enough to join us for the cleaning afternoon the previous day!
We all got into the festive spirit, including Oakley, Mark's elderly cat.  As we all sat watching Elf (watching films really makes you thirsty) Philip captured the moment beautifully when Oakley had his own impromptu drink, whilst perched on the tin of Quality Streets.
Can it really get more festive than that?

 When we left on Monday morning, it felt very sad to be returning to the 'real world'  (Perhaps that is why I spend as much time as I can in my shed, creating paintings and my own world)
But the festive spirit lived on, and when I went to Trinity in the afternoon, we had an hour of art, then a small party, with presents!  It is just over a year ago that I decided to become a volunteer there, as a result of Juliette and Colin's wedding*, and I am so pleased that I did.
Thank you very much for my flowers, Ali, and I look forward to the next year with you all.  I was also very touched to be given a present, along with everyone else in the art group.  Everyone who uses Trinity was to receive their present during that week, and the pile of presents ready underneath the tree looked very joyful.  It was sad to think that for some people there, that would be their only present.  For some of us, Christmas is very far from a happy time.  I am so pleased to be involved with Trinity, and be a very small part of  all the work they do to make many people's lives better in many different ways.  Here are me and Mr Cooper wondering if we have made enough pigs in blankets, where, for some people, if it were not for Trinity, they would have no food that day.

I have been sitting here for a while now, not writing, but thinking how fortunate I am, and how we can sometimes take our good fortune too much for granted.
 But it's time now to return to the festive season.
Here are my flowers from Ali surrounded by unwritten cards, and clementines, next to my present from Mark, all ready for Christmas Day.  I am so fortunate to have many wonderful people in my life to share things with, so here is a big thank you to my friends and family.

And talking of friends........such a lovely thing has happened to me this month.
Earlier on, I had a friends request on Facebook from a name I did not recognise, but I looked at their photos and all seemed good, so 'request confirmed.'  How lovely to find that the name I did not recognise is the married name of Anne Shuttleworth, who was my best friend for an all too brief time at primary school.  Totally unexpected, but so lovely to be in touch again!  I think it must be thirty years since we last wrote to each other.
And then, another request.  I started to get excited when I realised this person had also been to Peterborough County Grammar, so request confirmed.  And now, after many years, I am reunited with my best friend from secondary school, Deborah Ellerby!  I am just so pleased.
I think I will be spending a large part of next year writing letters, as well as a blog.  What fun!

And whilst on the subject of friendship, yesterday I saw my friend Juliette, all newly returned from her 'honeymoon cruise', which was also a cruise to celebrate her and Colin's first  anniversary.

Here she is bearing gifts, as we won't see each other now till after Christmas.  It was so funny as when Juliette handed me my gift, the beautifully adorned flamingo umberella, pictured on the left, I handed Juliette her gift, a less beautifully wrapped flamingo umberella, pictured on the right.
We did really laugh, before making sure we had glitter in our hair, ready for an exciting day at work.
Best to get the laughter in early, as the days close to Christmas are more full of hard work than hilarity.

Whilst we were laughing, Cuddles and Snooty had entered Juliettes bag, where they found their own Christmas present, beautifully wrapped by Colin and addressed to Kitten 1 and Kitten 2.  They removed the present, then proceeded to open it! 
They are going to work on improving their manners next year!

Well, it is nearly here now......it's 4pm on Christmas Eve.  The ham is coming to the end of its cooking time, and the tree has only just been decorated.  Time to stuff the turkey, and finish a little more preparation in readiness for when we stuff ourselves tomorrow.

Last year the fairy stood out a little more, as our room was red.  Now she has a more conservative colour scheme around her, all ready to impress the people who will be flocking to view our house in the New Year, prior to making huge offers, of course.

Until that happens, we will happy to enjoy our last Christmas at 'The Gables', and a little excited to be wondering where we will be celebrating Christmas next year.

I must away now, as Mr Cooper has informed me that our Christmas tree lights have just stopped working.  I know just how they feel, I might come out in sympathy!

I hope you all have a most enjoyable Christmas, with very few mishaps.  In fact, it would be lovely if 2017 was also filled with very few mishaps!.

So I leave you now with best wishes for a wonderful day tomorrow, and a last picture of the fairy on the tree, who is even older than me!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

*  At Juliette and Col's wedding I sat next to Michelle, who worked for Trinity, and after talking to her about her job, I decided I would like to work there too, as a volunteer.

In this week's blog, I demonstrate how to condense a fortnight's activities into a week.
 And I also  embark on several journeys whose destinations keep changing.

Monday saw me heading off to Andover Mind bright and early.  Next January I start as a volunteer to help run the handicrafts session, and I was going there to meet the group again.
The size of the group has diminished somewhat since I was there in September, so I will have to put together some sessions that will hopefully be both appealing, and rewarding to do.
My box of magic tricks accompanied me just in case, plus festive glitter.  I wasn't called to use it, but instead joined in with making decorations for the tree.
I think papier mâché bowls will be my first project there, complete with tissue paper decorations.
Must make some examples, perhaps start these after Christmas?

Then off to Winchester afterwards, as the Monday art session at Trinity starts at 2pm.
'Let's get there a little early, and do some quality Christmas shopping', thought I.
I saw myself visiting Winchester's magical  Christmas market and buying a beautiful 'something' from there, whilst perhaps nibbling on a frosted Christmas biscuit......
 Forget all that!  After a slow and frustrating  hour spent driving around Winchester unable to park, I ended up in Hilliers Garden Centre car park.  No frosted biscuits or beautiful lights for me, just my usual lunch of cottage cheese and nuts followed by a couple of Nurofen, before braving the traffic to drive back through Winchester to Trinity, where I spent the afternoon headache-free, and happily making Christmas cards for their market stall.

On Tuesday, instead of leaving at 6.50am for a day of washing up, I was looking forward to seeing Sonia from Shake Culture, to meet the team I would be working with, in the creation of the community cookery book.  Since learning that I was to write and illustrate this book, including 16 full pages of illustrations, I have been excitedly thinking of potential ways to create the images.
So there I was, rushing to greet Sonia when I heard the knock at the door.  You just know when a meeting is taking an unforeseen direction, when Sonia's opening line to me was  'Just invoice me for the time you have spent planning for this book, I really don't see how all this is going to work'
But fortunately, after talking, tea drinking, and a slice or two of iced ginger shortbread, Sonia left, saying 'We'll go ahead with the book, but with a different direction '
And so that is what we will start to do, in January. The outcome has changed a little, as has the planned route towards it, but we are still very much off on a culinary adventure, and there is still a book for me to write and illustrate, and be paid for doing so! Hurrah! (I think)
  It is a good job I am flexible.

 Sonia left with one of my cake illustrations. A taste of things to come, perhaps?

As  I had taken the day off work to meet with Sonia, I had some time to spare before hitting the road at 4pm, ready for a shorter session at the sinks.

What better way to spend my time than to complete a commission from chef Neil, another design for a tattoo.  This was a really fun design to put together.

And then to paint and varnish 3 signs for our local, 'The Traveller's Joy'.
Less fun to do perhaps, and what you would call a bread and butter job.
 But as I was always told when growing up, 'Life is not always swings and roundabouts' and you definitely 'Have to take the rough with the smooth'
In fact, as I am not completely grown up yet, I am still told this by my Mum, just in case I haven't quite understood that concept......perhaps she is concerned that I haven't had enough 'rough' in my super-smooth life yet?

And with the festive season fast upon us, at least the customers in 'The Travs' will be heading off in the right direction, after their food and drinks!

No matter how busy life is, there is always, for me anyway, a little time to read.
If you read and truly enjoyed the 'Jeeves and Wooster' books by P.G Wodehouse, this book is a must.
It is written so delightfully well, and is so in keeping with the style of Wodehouse.  Just the concept of this book filled me with excitement.  Wodehouse and Faulks? Wow!
The book was a real joy, and what I liked best of all was it's conclusion.  I liked it so much that I shed a few tears...... of happiness, of course.

But don't bother of you don't like P.G.Wodehouse, leave it for those of us who do.

Wednesday, early committee meeting for the Chichester Open Studios Art Trail.  Good news here, at least 140 artists have registered for 2017, so it is all systems go.
The committee members very kindly agreed to an early meeting so I could then dash down the road to Tuppenny Barn for a treat.....a Creative Writing session. http://www.tuppennybarn.co.uk/events-programme/
It is well over a year ago now that I attended the first session there, not quite knowing what to expect.  And now, you still never quite know what to expect, but I am always heading there with excitement.  Thanks Lizzie.
After 4 hours considering, and writing about 'earth', the element, I left the group chatting and whizzed into Chichester.  Shortly after your 50th birthday party, the NHS send a different type of card, and regular mammograms become part of your life.  The first was decidedly peculiar, starting with being in a mobile unit in a car park.  But now, it is a doddle, and the nurse said I had been her 'number one patient' that day, and was 'very flexible.'  Praise indeed for someone in their 50's!  Then back for a banana and off to 'Bodyblast' and 'Arms and Abs' to maintain my amazing flexible form.
Apparently, when I have had my 60th birthday party, the NHS will give me another surprise present.  Can't wait for that one!

Thursday was hard work, but started with high hopes.  The Greyhound were hosting a charity event that evening, for the Alex Lewis trust, and Tom Kerridge and his team were coming over to cater for this event, producing a 4 course meal for 70 excited guests.
I was looking forward to meeting Tom, and washing up for his crew.
Our chefs provided the canapes (and very good they were too) and then it was over to Tom and his team of 3.
At midnight, when I had been working furiously for a few hours, I was thinking that a 'thank you' would not have come amiss.  And indeed, from The Greyhound's front of house team, perhaps a cup of tea too!  Next time there is a pop-up event, I might just pop out instead for the evening.
 When people ask me 'What was he like?' I can safely say he has large legs.

But all that hard work and gloom faded on Friday, as me and Mr Cooper set off for Leeds, to spend the weekend Rachael, Ben and Henry.
As we had not seen Henry since August, we were really excited, and this excitement managed to last although the journey got longer and longer, with more and more deviations.  However, 7 hours later, we were there, and it really was the beginning of our Christmas festivities.
And here is Henry on his Christmas card, heralding the start of them.

It was so lovely to be there, and so lovely too to play with Henry.
Mr Cooper was in his element as 'Grandolph' (Rachael's idea, not his!) and I enjoyed my supporting role as Nana Sue.  Henry enjoyed chewing his toys, examining wheels closely, and trying really hard to crawl.  I should imagine that he will be crawling, when they come and stay on Boxing Day.

In our mini break we did a whole load of fun things (walks with Banjo, pub visit, meal in Pizza Express, intense wheel examining) but one of the best was the visit to the Chinese Lantern festival, at Roundhay Park in Leeds.  http://www.magicallantern.uk/?gclid=CKzkqa6y-NACFeGT7QodBLAAJg
When we knew we were going, both Mr Cooper and myself imagined that we would be walking through trees that were hung with Chinese lanterns, of the sort you could make from instructions you would find in an old Rupert Annual.  In fact, I thought we might run into Tiger-Lily and the Chinese Magician.  We did think that there would have to be an awful lot of lanterns, as apparently it took an hour to see them all.  But no, the world has moved on, though at times it seems that me and Mr Cooper have not (but we are very happy together in our low-tech, Rupert Bear-infused world)  Chinese lanterns are really illuminated forms and figures.  A bit like a wonderful carnival procession, but static, and in the dark.

I took so many photos, but fear not, I am adding just two for you to see.  The insect below was well over 8 feet tall........

.......and this magical garden was also on an impressively large scale.

Thanks you Rachael and Ben for such a fun weekend, and here are Mr Cooper and Henry in their respective starring roles.

Just a final image to finish with.  Chef Neil loved the tattoo design, but wanted a couple of additions.  The rabbit was to be a Chinese rabbit (as he was born in the Chinese year of the rabbit) and was also to be sporting also a meat cleaver.
I think the end result is a little closer also to Neil's personality, as this rabbit looks far more dangerous to know!  A rabbit with attitude.

So after a week of twists and turns, I am looking forward to a smooth path leading to Christmas.  Well, lets be a little more realistic, and just look forward to a little smoothness amongst the mayhem that is called 'preparing for Christmas'.
It's time now to stop paddling at the edges and just put on a Christmas swimming costume, jump in at the deep end, and swim along with it all.
I hope you are able to 'go with the flow', and tick things off your list whilst appearing un-ruffled.
Christmas itself is over so quickly that we may as well include the preparations as part of the enjoyment..........staying afloat is indeed a good outcome!
I will let you know how 'ruffled' I am, next week.
Till then, drink plenty of water and remember to breath, and to buy a Sellotape dispenser.

This has been a week of festive feasts, with friends and family.
In fact, on the 'entertainment' front, my life has gone somewhat from famine to feast.
So lets start at the beginning of my '5 feasts in 5 days' week.

Just a little warm-up photo first.  When I took my 'Food Hygiene Certificate Level 2  exam, I had to choose which answers were true or false.
The answer 'Cats in the kitchen help to keep the workers happy' was said to be false.
But here is proof that it is actually true.  Cuddles and Snoots* are enjoying a bowl of kitten milk on George's kitchen table.  George is out of picture, but looking on with fondness and pride.
In fact, the only time he takes them off the table is when he is painting something on it, and doesn't want their delightful paw prints on it.

Anyway, let's go in search of a table in a restaurant now, to find good food and good company.
Before meeting my former head of department in Chichester, I spent a most productive hour wandering around, exchanging pieces of coloured paper for various goods.  This happens rarely for me, but I understand that many people like do do this weekly, for enjoyment!
Then onwards to Wahaca, in south Street, to spend a very pleasant lunchtime with Jeanette.
http://www.wahaca.co.uk/locations/chichester/

We spent a long time catching up, aided by really tasty food, and Margueritas containing tamarind.

Then back to 'The Gables' on the bus.  This was almost as enjoyable as the meal....one comes along every 20 minutes, and for only £2.30, I was dropped off just over the road from The Gables.
 Even more convenient than catching the train (which I couldn't, as they were on strike)

Then back for a slight rest and two exercise classes (yes, really, I had just the one Marguerita) and then onwards to Porters in Southsea. http://www.porterswinebar.com/food-and-drink/
Wow, I could get used to this, thought I.... but probably not twice each day, plus shopping!
In the morning I was exchanging pieces of paper for goods, and these transactions sort of continued into the evening.  I was given some pieces of paper as payment for 'The Swimmers' from it's delighted new owner and my wonderful friend Diane.

And then I shared my initial ideas and sketches for a commission that I am very excited about.
The commission is for another wonderful friend, Janeese.

Here are my initial sketches, and already more thoughts are spilling out, and colours and types of flowers have been confirmed.  Think ranunculus, and pinks, reds, greens and yellows. Fabulous!

I was boring Mr Cooper the other day, talking about art.  (He is very kind, and manages to appear interested)  I was trying to explain that so much thought and emotion goes into the planning of each painting, and this emotion continues to become part of the work as it progresses. The result of this being that they become very precious to me, and it is wonderful when someone else finds them so.
I am really enjoying seeing 'The Swimmers' looking so happy in their new loving home.
And it is very exciting to be working with Janeese, to create just the painting she wants.
 Next step, apply paint to canvas!

After the excitement of Wednesday, it was back to normal for Thursday.  Frugal food and lots of washing up.  Well, almost frugal.  As I was feeling a little 'tired' when I got to work, (going out is both mentally stimulating and physically exhausting, especially when you are 'getting on,' as I am) chef Neil very kindly made me poached eggs on toast to help with my recovery, and at 6pm I enjoyed my usual staff dinner, a large and delicious smoked salmon salad.

Then back home ready for Mr Cooper's big day, as he became older and even wiser on Friday 25th.
I had booked dinner for us at The Richmond in West Ashling, and we had the whole day to ourselves before that.
 How we laughed when we remembered one of Mr Cooper's birthdays when we popped out for a little lunchtime snack in Gunwharf Quays, before dining out that night at Raymond Blancs, in Chichester.
We started out with good intentions, as always, but after enjoying a selection of tapas teamed with a selection of lager, we went on to purchase  2 purple artificial Christmas trees, a pair of Levis plus other luxury items, before catching the train home and wishing we hadn't eaten so much.

'Let's not do that again,' we laughed to each other as we went to the Horse and Groom in East Ashling for a little light snack.  Thank goodness this time we were sensible!

Then after a few hours recovery, wishing we had been a little more sensible, we put on our finery and set off to The Richmond Arms, where I exchanged bits of paper I had received for 'The Swimmers' for an exceptional  dinner for two.  http://www.therichmondarms.co.uk/
Mr Cooper looked a little sad at the size of his starter, but by the end of the third course, he was heartily glad it had not been larger.  Such delicious food, in a lovely, vibrant atmosphere.

The next day saw us driving to Peterborough, for a weekend with Mum.  We had with us ingredients for that night's meal, and it was when I started to cook that I realised that one of us needed a little guidance when buying fish.  There is a distinct difference between a whole fish and fish fillets.
Sadly, as Mum regards a sharp knife as a lethal implement, I was unable to fillet the whole fish which one of us had bought as fillets, but it all turned out rather well.  It reminded me of the time I had asked Mr Cooper to buy two whole fish of his choice for me to cook at night.  When it came to baking them, I found four plaice fillets in the bag, and Mr Cooper insisting it was a whole fish, as it has come from a whole fish...........

Far safer to go back to eating out, and that is what we did, when Mark joined us on the Sunday.
Safely sitting in Maccaloo, we excitedly chose our food from the 'specials' board, as all the specials featured were Polish.  I think as the restaurant is owned and run by a Polish family, on Sunday they add Polish foods to the menu.  I would definitely go there again on a Sunday.
After the usual catching-up chat, I excitedly told Mum and Mark about next year's project, when I would be working for Shake Culture to illustrate and write the community cookery book.  After congratulating me, Mark said that Si was also writing a book, and he thought perhaps he should now write one too.
Si's book is, I think, about management (I have got to catch up with him) and Mark was wondering whether he should jump in at the deep end with his book, and write 'How to Solve World Hunger'
(We did indeed outline a few good ideas here, but we were probably looking at it from a different angle, as Chapter Three was headed 'now eat This Book'......problem solved!
We decided perhaps to start with things you are familiar with, and a title 'Tim Ted Goes Spinning' was felt to hold many possibilities.  If it took off, who knows what Tim Ted could get up to next?

Well, that was the end of the five feasts, and Monday found us heading back to normal life, or what is normal for us.  At Trinity on Monday afternoon,  we began to make Christmas decorations which will be sold in the Winchester Christmas market.  It is a long time since I have used Fimo, and we spent a fiddly but fun two hours.  I made the snowman pendant with the red scarf, but I loved the gingerbread men pendants.

On Wednesday, I went for my induction with Andover Mind,  http://www.andovermind.org.uk/contact-us/ where I will be working as a volunteer with the handicrafts group on Monday mornings.  That will be very exciting, as it will involve planning and running the projects.  This will begin properly next year, and I am even now getting excited, thinking about papier mache, tissue paper, printing........  I think some people are said to get excited thinking about handbags and designer labels........how weird!

As Juliette and Colin set sail soon on their honeymoon cruise to cold lands, I reached for the balls of tinsel wool to knit Juliette a 'Happy First Anniversary/honeymoon/cruise scarf.  When we met before work Thursday morning, it was to excitedly exchange presents, as Juliette had bought for me a December gift, a pair of gingerbread men earrings!  Thanks Juliette, they are fab!  And when did you become a mind-reader? That was were the treats ended for Thursday, as, with the new menu being launched, there was an awful lot of prep, plus Christmas parties too, which left me with an awful lot of washing up.  Still, it will give me bits of paper to exchange for all sorts of wonderful things, like new tyres, car tax, petrol, gin, truffle oil......

Back now for one last food-related paragraph, before I leave you all to prepare some food, as I am cooking a feast tonight for some friends.  Apples need to be poached and caramel needs to be sharded before sieving soup and lovingly adding truffle oil.  Not to mention making pastry with suet and butter....plus starting to sew my outfit for Sarah's wedding.  What better way to spend a day!
 Did I mention Radio 4, too?

When I was at Mum's, looking for things like frying pans and sharp knives, I found a plate from long ago.  We three all had a set of a dish, plate and mug.  Si's set had a design of clowns, Mark had Pinky and Perky, and I had forgotten what was on mine.  And here it is, the sole surviving plate.
I remember it now, particularly the naughty toucan.  Perhaps this helped to inspire me with my lifelong love of pottery.  Or, looking at the toucan, perhaps it explains why I used to drink a Guinness a day, when John and Sam were small!  Be warned when buying gifts for small children!

Just off now to be creative in different directions.  I hope you are enjoying being creative in December, or just building up to be creative.  Enjoy the feasts that beginning to happen now but, as with drinking, eat responsibly.  Remember, 5 feasts in 5 days is the exception, not the rule!
Looking forward to seeing you all soon, after a week of cottage cheese and fruit.

*Real names, Commander Cuddles and Lord Snooty.