Getting there

It's amazing what effect a few lengths of tinsel and some ribbon will have on someone's festive sensibilities. All I need is a glass of mulled wine, a bowl of peanuts and a slice of stollen and I'd be almost feeling Christmassy.

So no more work for a week and a half or so. I'm quite looking forward to the time off. January 5th will come soon enough though. And I've got three months' work to do in January too. Everyone wants everything by the end of the month. I will try to forget about it all for the next ten days. We'll see if that works.

Another thing I'm pining for from Christmas past is my mum's Christmas cake. There really was nothing like it. Dense, moist and so tasty. With rock hard icing on top and a thick, bright yellow vein of marzipan. When I was at university she'd make two so that I had one to take back with me after the holidays.