Wednesday 1st January 2025

Woke around 0945. Descended for tea, and porridge. Kath did mum's hair in between client visits. Sat about not doing very much. Started prepping the lamb stew. Used one of ma and pa's old beef stock pots...didn't taste too good! Jim and Emma turned up for some lunch. I fried potato cakes, and nut roast, adding spinach, meat, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. It seemed to go down well, but was a bit of a palaver serving it all up! We opened our presents from Jim and Emma, and they opened theirs from us. They gave us a load of cheese and chutney, half of it past it's use by date! Jim has very little work lined up for the New Year...needs to get himself signed up with a Recruitment Agent.

Aki cooked a fish curry for dinner. We had enough leftover dal to feed Emma. Mince pies and ice cream for afters, followed by cheese and biscuits. Watched a bit of telly...including an episode of "Sykes" with a guest appearance by Peter Sellers...very entertaining! Jim and Emma sloped off to bed down in the van on the driveway. I stayed up and read some Dickens before bed...