Family feasting

It was a cold night, hard to get warm after getting up and down to pee several times. I needed to wear a big woolly pullover to avoid heat loss in bed. I got up at seven thirty, and we had a continental breakfast in the dining room at eight thirty. 

Clare joined Kath and Anto for a walk in the sunshine afterwards. I attended the ten thirty Mass at the Catholic parish church of St Francis opposite the hotel. It was packed with over three hundred worshippers, adults with well behaved children used to praying and worshipping with their parents at Mass. A team of four teenage girls assisted two priests who concelebrated the Eucharist -  a senior cleric with a Parkinson's tremor and a young colleague, relatively new to the parish, judging by what he said in his homily, preaching a simple profound sermon full of warmth and humour. I didn't have a hymn book but could sing most of the carols from memory. There was a strong sense of quiet attentive participation in the service, good liturgy well organised with everyone playing their part naturally. Although I didn't receive Communion (given in two kinds I noticed), I felt part of the celebration, at home, so familar, regardless of the Englishness of the community, without it being CofE or Anglo-Catholic, struck by the universality of the occasion.

When I got back to Kath and Anto's lunch preparation was in full swing, with lots of Cava being sipped. By half past two were were sitting down to a full Christmas turkey dinner with three fine wines and a considerable amount of water being drunk, testimony to our rising average age, and health consciousness. A great meal with a superb Clare made Christmas pudding to conclude. Then the exchange of gifts, presided over by Rhiannon. She showed her creative ingenuity by creating a stop motion cartoon video on YouTube reminding us of last year's family Christmas at Black Patch farm in Powys. She packaged this in a photo frame with a collage which included a QR code pointing to the video. Surprise upon surprise. Impressive! 

When we finished the present giving it was dark. Everyone was starting to feel sleepy. We had a video call with Rachel, then at half past eight we walked with Viv back to the Holiday Inn where she's staying, then back to the Peacock hotel. The central heating was on,  now we have several coat hangers in the wardrobe. Hopefully a better sleep tonight.