Sunday 22nd December 2024

Woke to alarm at 0800. Got up and porridged. I then packed the car, and we managed to get away before 1100, although we had to turn back as we realised we'd left the cheese in the fridge. Stopped off at Toddington Services on the M1 for a coffee, and swapped drivers. Aki drove us on to Trowell Services, where we stopped to eat our packed lunch, and swap back for the ride across the tops to Holmfirth. 

Quite windy, especially over the tops, but got to Holmfirth in one piece, and found a parking space on Underbank Old Road. Jim and Katherine were busy getting ready for guests. Sat and had a catch up with Barney, and then Rob and Ro appeared, having arrived from Cayman yesterday...a pleasant surprise. The guests turned up pretty much en masse at 1830...the usual suspects bearing assorted foodstuffs. Katherine’s lamb tagine was as delicious as usual, as was her sticky ginger cake. 

Everyone crammed into the living room for the annual entertainment. Aki and I kicked things off with a Xmas singalong on our ukuleles. Katherine had written a fantastic song about counting sheep in Cumbria, with a band accompaniment. The Ukuladies did some festive numbers, Barney and Louie did a cover of John Shuttleworth's "Margarine", and Alex rounded things off with a sing around before Jenna got stuck into the karaoke…Jim’s rendition of The Bellamy Bros.’ “Let Your Love Flow”, and Jenna’s manic version of “Come On Eileen” being the highlights. Got to bed around 0030…