Not looking back!

Well, I put away the Christmas music this morning. I played for the last time my compilation of seasonal music. You know them from your shopping escapades - Slade, Wizzard, Paul McCartney, Chris Rea, The Darkness et al. But then there are some family favourites we never hear in the muzakal hubbub of Yuletide shopping - Trans Siberian Orchestra, Jon Anderson, Enya, The Wombles, The King's Singers.

It's odd, isn't it, how shops and radio alike stop playing Christmas music as soon as Boxing Day arrives? Thus I had my last singalong/playalong for an hour or so before stacking the CDs on the shelf (within easy reach, lest I feel the need for a repeat performance) in favour of Joe Satriani and The Wanted, newly-acquired last week.

Christmas was a great time, as always. Michelle, Christine and Mike (as featured in my "feet" books!) joined us for a few days, along with Sarah-Beth, C and M's daughter who had enlisted her cousin Jess's assistance in preparing Christmas dinner and tea - and Boxing Day breakfast - for us all. They were both novices - nay, complete newcomers - to catering of that magnitude, but the result was excellent, and not even tardy! Nome and Ed were with Ed's family for dinner, but joined us around the Christmas tree for pressies and games later on.

Christmas morning church attended and dinner consumed, presents were opened, games were played, nibbles were nibbled and drinks were drunk - and not one of us was! And we all fell into bed happily knackered at some late hour. Oops, we forgot the washing-up! That became my task the next morning before anyone else was awake. (In fact, it did feel like one endless task for four whole days!)

"Before anyone else was awake" was actually closer to noon than to a "normal" waking-up time, but all of us - apart from SB, who had to go elsewhere, and Eddie who had to work - went for a good long walk in the lovely, nearby Heartwood Forest, and this did a lot to clear the cobwebs. I would have taken more and better photos if so much of my focus had not been of necessity on avoiding the mud and puddles!

And suddenly it's all over. Friends and family gone home; back to work, some of them. Lights still sparkle in front-garden trees, in windows - some of them all over the house!

But they'll all be gone soon, won't they? January 6th, twelfth night? Sad, innit?

I'm back to clearing the loft and coordinating "the fixing of the sagging floor" (which sounds to me like the title of a mystery story!) I've still got several hours of writing to do to complete my latest book, "Out of the Dawn". I had originally hoped to publish it this week, but "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley" (which is Robert Burns's Scottish translation of "shit happens")

And it's 2019. The Thames fireworks were amazing - all the better for being seen on the telly, warm, comfortable and accompanied by wine. The riverside crowd looked as though they were having a great time, but I would only have swapped with one of them if I had been paid a large sum of money! (No, it's NOT my age! I've always felt like that!) 2018 wasn't what we'd had in mind for it, but we're not looking back now. Only forward.

So what does 2019 have in store for us? Well, we got 2017 and 2018 wrong, so we're not going to be doing anything other than knowing what we'd like to do (a damned sight more boating than the past two years put together!) and pointing ourselves in that direction. We'd rather not have anything ganging oft agley, as best laid schemes are wont to do. (What schemes do mice lay, I wonder.)

A happy new year to you all!

One reason for preferring Kantara...

...(apart, that is, from the massive difference in the amount of decorating and maintenance that has to be done in a house, compared with the boat) is the amount of stuff that nutters like us accumulate over the years!

Clearing the clutter seemed like the natural thing to do once the decorating was finished, and we knew it had to be done some time. But it's been too easy to put it to one side and forget it while we've been spending most of the year on Kantara, and, now that we find ourselves in frenetic decorating and making good mode, it seems like the best time to get stuck into it. Strike while the iron's at least tepid.

As I type, Grace and Jess are doing a sterling job in Jess's bedroom. We did ours yesterday. And the day before. A good start has been made in Grace's studio/office/workshop, which has for years been the "temporary" resting-place of a host of objets d'arts (and other invaders) not of Grace's creation.

My main task has been in the loft.

Lofts are evil. They swallow great piles of things that they think are going to be useful and used again some time in the far-distant future, and then they contrive to make you forget they're there. Which, of course, isn't really helpful because when the time comes that some of this hoard of stuff could indeed be used again, you have no idea they even exist.

Recycling centres are not evil. Except in the matter of their opening hours, which rarely coincide with my frequent and immediate need. (The staff there roll their eyes when I drive in, I swear.) Charity shops likewise (though they're too polite to roll their eyes there). Fortunately, both are just minutes away. Freegle and Freecycle are brilliant, and loads of the stuff  has gone to the homes of folk who haven't yet cottoned on to the malevolent nature of their lofts (where all of these items will ultimately, and inevitably go).

Amongst all this frenetic clearing out we have made time for a bit of  respite. Fireworks in Verulamium Park were a must - we haven't been to that event once since moving onto Kantara. As always, it was superb.

Then there was an unplanned visit to Baldock, to take Jess (much too tired to drive safely) to a Said the Maiden gig at The Orange Tree. That was a very good night out, too. A pleasant surprise was being approached by a young man who introduced himself as Andy, a fellow and mutual Tweep who comes from a boating family and has read my books. He now follows Said the Maiden, too, and came to this gig because they make several appearances in those books, and the venue was close enough to for him to go and give them an ear. He tweeted later "Great to meet you. It was a brilliant evening!" It was indeed brilliant!

Then... back to the sorting out! Except on Wednesday, when we return to Kantara to put a coat of protective wax over the Roses and Castles panel, which didn't get treated before because of the rain. Fingers crossed for this time!