I can't recall having such a relaxed, warm and comfortable night's sleep at Christmas before. The heating was right for me, and I woke up at ten to eight, grabbed my Olympus camera and went out to catch some gorgeous photos in the light of the rising sun. Sheep in the field below the house, and later when we went for a walk, discovered a dozen cows and a bull separately housed in the huge cattle near the house which I thought was empty. Come to think of it, yesterday morning there was a man on a tractor with a bale of hay outside the cowshed, the only human being we've seen out here since we arrived. Despite all the evidence of human activity, there's nobody in the neighbourhood apart from us.
We all sat down to breakfast together, coffee, croissants, muesli, fresh fruit, different kinds of bread and toast. Then preparation of the veggies and the turkey crown began, with Clare and I treated to enjoying our children taking charge of the whole process and working together with ease, discussing, with Christmas music playing in the background.
Finding a Christmas morning Eucharist to attend was not as easy as it should be. It wasn't easy to find info on-line, and what was displayed didn't make it clear if a service was eucharistic or just a 'family service' of the Word.
I found a nine o'clock Eucharist in a village about 10 miles away, which would mean setting out at eight thirty. There were eleven o'clock services five miles away in two directions but no useful indication of what kind of service, and no guarantee that phoning to enquire on the busy afternoon of Christmas Eve would get an immediate answer. I didn't want frustration and disappointment to spoil my day, so I chose to stay at Black Patch and pray on my own.
After a long breakfast, Clare and I walked down to Meeting House Lane and went north up the tree lined valley with a stream running through it. As we walked I composed another haiku about timid sheep in the field below the house. It's something special to have sheep and cattle as neighbours on Christmas Day.
Our family feast was a culinary delight with some excellent wines turkey and veg perfectly cooked, though the chestnut caserole was far too hot with an accidental overdose of paprika. We took a break for an hour to exchange presents and then ate the Christmas pudding, after dark, with an ad lib cheese course left on the table for those who wanted a nibble later on.
Owain and I watched the new Wallace and Gromit story, which was an parody of life in the world of AI and robotics and amazinging many of its sequences imitated classic movie drama moments. I lost count of how many. Brilliant! At nine we all gathered to watch the finale of the 17 year link Gavin and Stacey storyline, which has morphed into the Smithy and Nessa romance, finaly coming to closure in middle age. Brilliant acting, a happy ending too.
What a lovely day, food annd fresh air, with sunshine coming through layers of cloud and a spectacularly colourful sunset hour. So much to give thanks for.
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