Preparing for Christmas
I thought I’d share some of our Christmas preparations with you. This time last year, Bev and I were meeting to practice some carols for a charity sing-a-long at Bulmas. This is something Dawn has organised each year for several years and raises money for the orphanage in Rhodes. This year, of course, it’s not going to be happening. I believe some bars are open for takeaways, and I’ve seen people having their takeaway in the streets outside the bars/cafés, but that’s not exactly the same as gathering around candles with treats and decorations, dragging in a piano and bashing out Christmas numbers. A shame, but that’s how it is.
The last I heard, some of our restrictions might be eased over the Christmas period, but we’re waiting to see how this week goes first. I think (and I stress think because I’ve not looked into it) that we should be able to have gatherings of up to nine people, but from only two households, and as long as we’re home by 10 pm for the curfew, no-one’s going to get arrested or fined. As I say, I’m not 100% sure, but we’re hopeful that we might be able to be with the logical family as we always are on the day, and they with us the day after, but we will see.
My birthday earlier this year was conducted in lockdown not long after we got back from Canada, but the logicals came to the rescue. I had a shoebox delivered to outside the gate, brought it in and unpacked birthday decorations, balloons, and a card plus treats, and later, we had a virtual party across the video-waves. We could try that for Christmas Day, but as our day tends to start at around ten in the morning and run until after midnight, it could be a very long video chat.
Anyway, that’s all remaining to be seen. Meanwhile, we put our decorations up yesterday, wrapped up those gifts that have arrived, and settled in to watch a Christmas film or two. Well, we got as far as two episodes of Australian MasterChef, the new Netflix film, The Prom (sniffing with joy through most of it), and then Bohemian Rhapsody, so not exactly Christmassy but the intention was there. Today (Monday) we’ve woken to high winds and some rain, and I’ve not yet dared open the shutters to see whether I will be able to get to the post office to see if anything else wrappable has arrived. Like Christmas itself, that’s still a wait-and-see.
