OT; Seasons greetings

[The Medway Handyman]

Happy Solstice, may 2015 be all you wish it to be.

[spuorgelgoog]

Thank you.

I'd settle for it being everything I'd hoped 2014 would be as far as the 'jobs done' list is concerned. Still, I have started plastering round the kitchen socket I chopped out last December.

May the interleaving on the sticky pads of all your wireless doorbells peel off cleanly.

Owain

[Tim Lamb]

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

+1

How many others can admit to not buying a present for their wife?

[Adrian Caspersz]

Just checked a lottery ticket I bought a couple of weeks ago. Damm, blast... oh well, 2015 better have other ideas (please?)

Oh, and Merry Christmas, it's a part of me that says that to anyone, no matter what :)

[John Rumm]

Sounds like a good plan. Greetings to all, have a good one!

[Tim Watts]

I hate Xmas (as in the modern commercialised bollocks) but I like cooking the food and giving the kids a decent pressie each.

Son's getting meccano (so Santa says *cough*) - lets see if that sets him on the right path...

Got my nephew and niece over - nice to have visitors.

Ingredients laid out, postits everywhere explaining that I own the kitchen tomorrow and only use of the kettle is permitted by the uninitiated.

Even have the cooking schedule in Google calendar with start times of each component

[Chris French]

In message , Tim Lamb writes

Actually, we often don't bother with presents for each other, but this year I happen to have got her one.

Happy xmas everyone

[Jim Newman]

"Typical yellow pages handyman; turns up 4 days late" :)

Probably have to be glad he turned up at all though!

Season's greetings to all

[John Rumm]

Yup tried that on our youngest last year... its been denounced as "too complicated" for the moment and he is sticking to the lego!

My kitchen job for the morning is master of red cabbage and then mulled wine... after that I will focus on consumption rather than prep!

Internet down, no food on the table ;-)

[harryagain]

+1 And a happy and prosperous one.

[stuart noble]

Most people I speak to can't stand Xmas, but for some reason we all behave like sheep and put ourselves through it year after year. What bothers me is what other silly things we might be persuaded to do given the right amount of brainwashing.

[Tim Watts]

Black Friday apparently.

[Huge]

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practise religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2015, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that the UK is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

[Huge]

Put ourselves through it? We haven't been in a shop for several weeks, aren't having turkey (venison goulash, sweet potato mash & red cabbage) and only buy each other presents (no kids or parents and estranged siblings). It's just like any other day, only with more alcohol & food. Although we can't stand the Xmas the retailers portray, we quite like our quiet, private one.

[Huge]

So don't come back from the pub.

[charles]

There are two possible solutions ;-)

[tony sayer]

The main event of Christmas for me is the service on Radio 4 from the chapel at Kings College Cambridge on Christmas eve:)...

[News]

In message , Huge writes

Absolutely! Christmas is what you make of it. Here, there are just the three of us, and we live 500 miles north of family, so ours is a quiet day, with as much booze or food as anyone wants, but we don't go overboard. We didn't have the TV on. I admit to quite enjoying having Ed Stewpot Stuart in the background yesterday morning, playing such 'classics' as Nellie the Elephant and Hello Mudder etc.

Took the dog out yesterday morning about eight, and daylight was just spreading, frost on the ground, and utter silence. Amazing. Bit late today, but at least the day is warming up now, having changed from -6.2 earlier to -6 now.

[ARW]

She turned up at 2.30 and gave me and her Dad a bollocking "Dinner is being served and you were both told to be home for two o clock".

My plan worked ie we got a lift back in the car and did not have to walk home.

[Tim Watts]

Ours was good for a change - we've gone quite minimal. I cooked my **** off yesterday and it was a success.

Tip: We got a turkey crown this year - 2.4kg. It cooked in about 3 hours at 140C and cooked fairly evenly without the bulk of a whole bird.

I worried it would be short on meat for 6 folk, but turns out what you are losing with a crown is all the dross so the carcass is quite minimal and the meat forms a very high proportion of the weight.

I am totally doing this again next year!

Everyone got a couple of pressies each which translated into "1 really good one" and "one simple/jokey one".