Oom pa pa oom pa pa

Yesterday I fgot an early morning emergency phone call from Mum. Today was the day they had told the butcher they would like to pick up the turkey (He is doing a rolled turkey breast for us all) but dad had been violently sick all night so she needed a lift to go collect it. Mind it wasnt a bad thing for me because it actually got me out of the house to post out the last of the christmas cards and get the last bits of shopping.

Then Laura came over to dye my hair (not so keen on this colour, its darker than I normally have but I am sure I will get used to it) and to have our Christmas bake in. Mind she had a streaming cold and was struggling so we only got half the normal amount cooked.

We had been tossing up whether to go to Canterbury Catherdrale of Howfield manor to sing carols. The Cathedral by far the better setting, was due to start at 7 but was on a first come first served basis and was bound to be crowded. It would mean arriving well before the doors opened at 6 and then standing in the cold, with no guarentee we would get in.

Howfield Manor, where Laura is having her wedding, would give us another opportunity to see how they ran events, and had the added advantage of a full brass band to sing to. The worry was that they may not have advertised it that well and we would be the only ones singing.

Both a bit of a gamble, in the end we opted for Howfield. We need not have worried about having to sing solo. There was standing room only!!Mind the band took up quite a bit of space with their brass instruments. There really is nothing like a brass band for playing Carols, and it was extreemly well organised. We even had some members of the Canterbury Choir there giving us a few tunes. We had mulled wine from the bar (wouldnt have got that at the catherdral!) and there was a raffle in aid of the Pilgrim's Hospice. Laura bought me a strip of tickets and I won, 3 bottles of locally produced apple juice (normal, spiced and mixed with raspberry) in a brilliant wine bottle baggie. Laura took the raspberry tinted one to test as she fancies the red for her wedding.

The only downside was that the room had not been decorated - the rest of the house had, and looked amazing, but not the conference room where we were so the 'christmassy atmosphere' was a bit lacking. Most of the folk there were going off for the £6 a head buffet in the other room so I think the better part of the decorating was in there. We had a good time though and will be attempting to get to a few more of the events the new owners have planned.