Day 2

Up and at it today - well, ish. I went down and made a tray of tea as Darling left for London at 5am (no idea?) and then because it is so cold in this house, took the tray back up to bed. I have one of those beautiful wicker bed tables with legs that double up as book holders which enables me, if I am in the mood, to sit there looking not one tiny bit like Barbara Cartland and write letters. Today it was christmas cards, which was a major error. I was stuck there for two hours, the tea went cold, there was hail lashing against the windows, the (internal) shutters were banging in the draught, the room smelt of dead mouse and the whole experience left me utterly dazed. The full scale of what I have failed to achieve on the christmas expectations front hit me right between the eyes. I decided it was all someone else's fault and picked on my GP and wrote him a rude letter which contained the line 'like offering someone who has just stepped on a landmine an elastoplast' which I quite liked.


So,I abandoned the christmas card chore and went to let the hens out and hoovered up the deep litter Quality Street wrappers in the sitting room. At this point my pulse was racing. I had half an hour left of the morning before I was due at another celebratory lunch and I was still in my jim jams and there were no black lines through the list of Things To Be Done. And then my Father in Law arrived. My Father in Law is remarkable. He is kind, he is generous, he has an infantile sense of humour and dresses and speaks like David Niven and he was clearly little surprised to see me still in my PJs. I decided it was best ignored so made no reference until the purpose of his visit was revealed. He was just leaving (now) for Scotland, where we will be joining them by EasyJet on Christmas Eve with one 32 kg bag so could he take the presents with him? Total meltdown. I haven't bought 'the presents' let alone wrapped them up and and and and I was due out to lunch NOW! Child 12 says I shouted 'Feel my head' at him... I wonder now what I expected him to feel? The madness?

Kind man is returning at midday tomorrow. I have a 24hr extention. It was a wonderful lunch. Quite brilliant, in fact.