Saturday 13 December 2003

Hello. Well, that's it, I'm blogging, as I'm here. I think you've probably acquired the notion that I'm not going to keep this as a daily blog - take that idea and run with it friends. Enough said I think.

This morning I went out with Nicholas to town to try and do some shopping. I forgot my debit card, and consequently owe Nicholas the better part of ?25, but at least I only have two presents to buy now, which is good.

Today was present swap day, a sort of 'new tradition' where the extended family gets together for a day in the run up to Christmas to eat food and exchange presents. It was good to see people. Here are some of the people I saw:


Nan (Garrett)
Clive = Jenny
  1. James & Vicky
  2. Tamsin = Martyn
Mum = Dad (Dobson)
  1. Neil
  2. Adrian & Emma
  3. Me
  4. Nicholas
Joanne = Carlos (Forni)
  1. Charlotte
  2. Abigail
I said it was good didn't I? Can't quite think what to say about it - nebulous sort of things, extended chats with congregated relations.

Mum cooked us a very lovely meal indeed, and the friends and relations provided pudding, very good. We sat around talking for ages. Tamsin and Martyn only live a little way from me in Exeter up a hill in Exwick, but I haven't run into them all term. I've barely seen Neil either - I'm a bad relation.

I was practicing the carols for Tuesday's carol service a bit today too, after most people had left, and various people were watching Monty Python's Holy Grail on "Nick"'s PS2. Songs of fellowship has many gratuitous chord changes in trad. tunes that only detract from the rhythm of the piece. I was dramatically editing, in pencil, the copy I'm playing from in Exeter, but this was Mum and Dad's one, so I just played what was written. I've got to introduce "O come, o come Immanuel" on Tuesday too, and I haven't really thought about it.

I don't know how James thinks I'm going to make a playlist for the house mix without using the internet to pin down which song is what.