UKC

As the post says really. I'll be going for an early morning dog-walk on our local beach, hopefully in the promised sunshine!

Looks sunny Friday, so... climbing (bouldering, by myself)

As my flatmate and I don't fancy cooking a christmas dinner, we are instead going to have a Mexican themed day. Tequila and tacos all day it is. 

Last Christmas it was a beautiful clear cold and sunny day and I did a 10 mile run in the morning which gave me the justification to do whatever I wanted the rest of the day! I'm hoping for something similar this year but maybe a cycle instead of a run.

Half our Christmas plan got pruned to reduce travel/risk then my brother got re-tiered (and covid simultaneously) so the last bit of it got binned too leaving us with surplus food. Now I'll be cooking and wrangling a very wriggly baby before late lunch with wife, baby and a couple of local friends whose plans also got binned.

jk

Mostly sleeping (hopefully), prior to an 18:00-06:00 shift. 

And no, we don't get paid extra

Stuffing my face with turkey, sprouts (a favourite since I was a boy), Xmas pudding, cream, biscuits, chocolates

assumming the snow is still there I'll probably go out XC skiing mid/late morning, then a leisurely afternoon - I'm in France so the big meal is the evening of the 24th so the 25th will probably be based on left overs

Surfing. The east coast looks big, and cold. 

Walk from our house with the dog over to somewhere like Monsal Head. Homemade soup for lunch. Back home by tea time. Light the fires, cook dinner, open presents and settle down to watch Die Hard. It is Xmas after all. 

I hope it’s a baby turkey your cooking and wrangling! 🙊🤣

Like Doug I'm in France but me and the other half are English and will still do the big traditional dinner on the 25th. It's meant to snow again though, after a period of really mild weather (I've just been for a run to top of a mountain in a t-shirt) so will likely be snowshoe or XC in the morning followed by stuffing my face. We usually have friends and/or family over but all that is obviously up the spout

LOL. I always thought Oxford commas were pretty pointless but apparently not

jk

I will be eating my Christmas dinner off a plastic take-away box in the front seat of a van waiting for all the drunks to kick off.

Sort of takes the shine off the most favourite day of my year.

And Christmas Eve is taken up with a funeral of a work mate.

Two dog walks in local park - same as every day but I expect the park to be far busier than usual. 

Glasgow tier 3 so not much without breaking the rules. However 25 Dec is one of my least favourite days of the year!

Out climbing with the missus and up to 3 dogs, depending on where we go.

Very low key. No traditional Xmas meal, but Freda wants to cook something else interesting. We'll probably go for a walk, weather permitting. Doesn't affect us much, quite frankly, not having v indulgent tastes (apart from my prediliction for whisky ) Also, thank the gods, I've been working on a major book project for 11 years that's channelled my mind, and as things now look I think I may be having the huge celebration of 'the final full stop' of the first draft - one of the sweetest things that I've ever experienced in life, just 6 times in 40 years - sometime over the Xmas holiday. Maybe sooner.

Up early doors to take the dogs up to the woods.if it's not raining Back home to wake the Mrs up so we can watch the sun come up sitting in the hot tub,  if the weather is manky I will let her sleep and watch a bit of TV until she gets up. 

^ This

Oh man I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for doing what you do and I hope next year is better (might not be fewer drunks but you know what I mean).

I'm not looking for medals.

Just like everybody else, I'm shuffling along with a job to keep the wolf from my door.

My admiration goes to shop workers and just about anybody else who has to have direct contact with people with maybe a mask to fend off their anxieties. There are some arseholes out there looking for fights when asked why they refuse to wear face coverings.

I'll be home alone. Haven't really made plans but I hope to make myself a good proper roast dinner (probably shoulder of lamb, or possibly a chicken). If it's a nice day, a gentle bike ride for an hour just to get some fresh air. A couple of Zoom or WhatsApp videochat sessions (definitely one with family, and maybe a couple with other home-alone friends). Play my piano badly. Watch a classic long film like Giant or The Big Country. Something with "Christmas" Carroll Baker anyway  
And maybe the 1959 On the Beach, for a cheery note! 

And I think about all the amazing home delivery guys who are working their bollocks off keeping us supplied with essentials. They are absolute heroes, in the very next level down from the vast number of NHS heroes who are being given shockingly little praise and encouragement for all they are doing.

Very true. I admire anyone who makes sacrifices or just selfless compromises for the common good. And anyone who persists with their own selfish world view in the face of overwhelming evidence to the point they put others at risk is an as*hole.

Top tip.

Arse gets through the spelling bots.

🤣

You take the dogs climbing? How do you get them into a harness?

We've just had a delivery of special treats for Christmas and Boxing Day dinners.  For 12. 

However, n<12 now and I suspect that this will be like aversion therapy and I will never look at a cheese with truffle and the like ever again.  

In previous years, over-provisioning has been solved by taking surplus foodstuffs, chocolates, bottles of gin, etc climbing somewhere cold.  Not this year.

Indeed!

Merry Christmas to you and yours,

BB

I don't.  We all go bouldering . Hopefully in 20°C sunshine, with nobody within 5km of us.  Sorry about that!

On the negative side, it's my wife's first day off in about 3 weeks, and probably her last for another 3 weeks.

Who needs medals when they’ve turned the Tower green just for you? Nice touch from Blackpool tonight

I've had my little win over Blackpool Council.

At the start of the month Bispham had two terrible Christmas Trees. 

Stop the press.

I made a YouTube about them. A week later Bispham got a third Christmas tree and the lights were taken off the two trees to shine a light on the third tree.

Little victories.

Thanks for what you're doing. I've got at least 2 more years before I draw a Christmas day straw... The privelege of all first year qualified. 

Luckily my wife has Christmas of this year, so we get it together with the kids, but No one else in Tier 4.

I'm hoping to go for a short 6k run and catch the 0800 high tide for a quick dip, or to go for a longer Prone Paddle later in the day.

The kids will have to have a walk to get rid of some energy and might fly a kite or something.

Hope  you all have the kind of day that is (relaxing and) enjoyable (as it can be) whatever your plans. 

Not working, so that's a plus. I'll be going an hours run with the dog first thing. Then we're off to my son's place for Christmas Dinner. Looking forward to playing with my grandson. 

Tier 4 now (Surrey) so for the first time in 52 years, I won't be at my parents' place, but on my own at home. A bit weird, and surprisingly tough to get used to, despite it just being another day really. 

Can't even consider moping about the same flat I've lived and worked in all year, so I will be out in the canoe on the River Wey, and cooking myself some sort of multi-course Christmas dinner on the firebox under a tarp, in one of my favourite places. A mate may be able to join for a bit, which would be good. Then home at dusk, and a few "video drinks" with family. I think it'll be a good day.

Thank you to all on the "frontline", not just the obvious ones, and to everyone who is helping us get through this. 

Merry Christmas folks.

Totally agree. I gave the postie a tip and the Hermes lady a bottle of fizz with profuse thanks and they both seemed flabbergasted that anyone had recognised the incredible frontline service they've given this year.

Delivery people - I salute you. 

There are hundreds of thousands of people who worked right through to keep the utilities going. At 1 point 3/4 of the team in the Doncaster area that clean the potable water were down either with covid or having to isolate but those who were left knuckled down and kept things running. 

We did this last night when our Morrisons delievery arrived. Seemed strange giving the driver a tin of sweets, we just hoped he wouldn't get accused of pilfering them, so put our post code and a little thankyou message on the tin.

As with most services that get taken for granted, those doing it get very little praise. We're not in the front line, and I thank those who are, but we are a customer lead industry, so what the customer wants........

Well with all the panic buying, most of the vegetable shelves were stripped in my local shop. Obviously all this French border closure is adding to this problem. But as some wag commented about no need to import the veg as we always have cabbage and sprouts! Now the kids are going to love this wonderful news@!!

Having been in Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl the past few days I've been struggling to decide whether it's normal Christmas levels of shelf clearing or Covid panicking. I only needed bits and bobs and all I came home lacking was quince jelly for the cheeseboards. (Possibly more due to the fact that few supermarkets stock it).

Weekly veg delivery from the farm a mile down the road is coming today, so that'll be my sprouts and the rest sorted.

Even before the latest changes Christmas day was only ever going to be dinner for two in our flat. Plenty food (looks like buffalo pie for the dinner main), too much beer to choose from and perhaps a wee wander if it's dry.

So long as she likes her pressy I'll be having sex

Bloody awful here, mid 50's and raining on snow so it'll be a washout. I'll run, probably take my daughter to jump in puddles. That'll be it. It'll be a strange Christmas that's for sure. We won't see any family but will zoom with both sets.

Ah the last full stop.  A very particular pleasure, but one I never experienced in that I always leave it to my editor to add it. An odd superstition, and I'm not sure where it came from, but one I've stuck to for 25 years!

Walk the dogs, open a couple of pressies, cook lunch, open the rest of the pressies, wash up from lunch, walk dogs again, films & napping, cheese, bed. 

I'll be home alone as I am Glasgow and my family is in Bucks so my plans to travel down came to nothing. I've bought a good steak for Christmas dinner as I couldn't face doing a roast for just me. I'll go for a run, eat my steak, find a good film to watch and work on the jigsaw that my friend sent me - and probably spend a lot of time on the phone.

Not many going to church then...  😉

Pre booking required at my local and no vacancies left for Christmas services.

The first nine hours of Christmas day until 9am are part of tomorrow's nightshift in A&E.

First year for ages when I've not been to a Carol Service, which really is an essential part of Christmas for me.

Don't fall for the abomination so easily.  I've yet to met a case that can't be solved by re-ordering, vis:

    Now I'll be wrangling a very wriggly baby and cooking

I don't know about North Yorks way up here in Weardale heavy snow is landing on frozen ground, so it looks like we'll be going for a walk in the snow on Christmas Day.

Take the dog for the usual early morning walk. Even here in the south of the UK it looks as if we'll have a dry, clear and cold day.

Then make Christmas dinner - all the usual things apart from meat.

If I'm feeling OK it will be board games, if not then its off to the north east for an eyesight test.

Dave

Didn't know you lived in weardale. I spent a lot of my youth there and loved it. My uncle farmed in Daddry Shield so I'd be up helping at lambing and through the summer and my aunt had a cottage in East Blackdene that I'd be at more often than not. Wonderful area.   

It's a much over-looked part of the world.  

One of my favourite short walks is up the track from behind the pub in St John's chapel towards Chapel Fell then back down the track to Daddy Shield.  There's an old mine you can get to through a crumbling tunnel from near the meeting of the tracks, and the farmer has been surfacing the second track with spoil from the mine, so the track is paved with Fluorspar.  

A few years ago a small and dilapidated cattle byte about 500 m north west of East Blackdene came on the market which I tried to buy for a slightly crazy holiday let idea (because I don't have enough to do...) but the vendors ended up lumping it in with the main sale of their farm and a rental cottage, which put too many zeros on the price tag.  It's gone to a tourist development group who're going for glamping - Sunny Bank farm, perhaps that was where your uncle was?

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18533933.weardale-holiday-park-hopes...

Walk, eat, walk, eat, drink, watch telly.

The farm was in Daddry Shield. The original farmhouse was off Pleasant Row but they moved down to the main road and lived in the house with the green door behind the railings (on streetview).  They shared the land directly south of the A689 between Pleasant Row and the next track west just past the houses. I'm not sure how much of that tract they owned but I remember driving the tractor a long way up the fell to feed the sheep. I think most of the land eventually got sold to the big farm north of the A689. 

My Aunt's house in East Blackdene was the one with the red roof in Google maps satellite view. My dad and another uncle built the conservatory for her. She moved over the pennines to Lazonby when I was about 17 or 18. 

Back in the day I remember getting a call from Ron F and we went out bouldering. In later years, along with loads of others it was Christmas Crack at Stanage

I'll have a look out the next time we're up there.  

Beats my childhood trips to relatives - playing on a bus lane through Basildon.  The hi-light was the Army and Navy roundabout and it's funky single-lane flyover that would change direction.   I gather it's finally getting a proper flyover...

Hopefully an alpine start for a  circuit of Helvellyn by the edges

you two are making me homesick now (Crawleyside)

Working, as I'm in a non-Xmas place. 

A quick present session before kid goes to school and something vaguely festive to eat on the weekend. Suits me actually, to be free of all the 10 weeks of hoo hah that I don't feel the one day of forced festivity justifies.

I've never got on with Xmas anyway, don't miss it at all, but glad it's going on somewhere for those that enjoy it. For those that don't - there is an escape.

Just finishing a night shift, heading to bed then probably a bit of sneaky mountain biking this afternoon.

Not long up, and its a white Christmas, after being warm for a few days the temperature had dropped giving a hard frost plus a little fresh snow. Off for a short pre-breakfast walk in a few minutes.

Happy Christmas everybody

It is indeed snowing here in Bavaria, sadly on wet soggy warm ground. Just replaced the brake pads on one of my KTMs and thinking about cooking the turkey.

Merry Christmas to all....special mention to all fellow self isolating people home alone!

I'm in a Rest Home right now. Does that count?

😷

My plan was to get up early and go do Christmas Crack before the crowds get there. Unlike other years, at 8AM there was already a queue so I went home to crack open a bottle of white. :-P

Quick blast up Foel Boeth and Gallt y Daran, then home for a late breakfast.

Nadolig Llawen i bawb.

I'm lounging in bed under sheepskins* with a glass of scotch, listening to my boys' banter, and wondering who to do next on the Xmas phonecall list. No tree, no presents, bliss**. Merry Christmas to all. 

* Four guys in a one bed flat, so excusable. 

** Or it would be if one of the bastards hadn't just sprayed Lynx in the air. 

Just going to get pissed in all probability.

Spoken to me 94 old mother, who's going to spend the day with her neighbours, there'll be no shortage of booze in that household!

And execute a vague plan of making turkey dinner for the rest of my lot.

sounds like it was ALL about the wine all along really 😃

Opened presents. Went for a coastal walk. Had a turkey roll on tip of headland shown. it is Park Head, between Porthcothan and Bedruthan Steps. Tagine awaits.

Just walked up a hill and came down a mountain! Fab views in all directions, couldn't quite spot Pen y Fan in the cloud but plenty of lower hills in the Beacons! 

Just back from a bike ride, which I had a planned route for(Not too far), but my plan was foiled, as one of the roads was flooded for about 2-300 yards. I thought that the waters would have subsided more than this, by this morning. 

(Having said that, I know that the A1 northbound was still closed west of Peterborough, at near to midnight, again due to flooding.

I got out of bed much later than I’d intended to, due to an unplanned late night session watching the 1973 telly anthology “Thriller”. Got up today at 10.40am, quick shower, then prepped a shoulder of lamb according to a “Moroccan style” recipe off the Internet, put it in for its first hour, and went for a bike ride for an hour (gentle one!). Clear, bright and fresh. The weather, not me. It was bloody freezing so I had a quick shallow hot bath to warm up, then decided to delay main meal and just have a brunch during a WhatsApp video chat with family. Seemed to lose an hour somewhere in the afternoon, mostly just drinking coffee and playing piano. Then Zoom chat with some good old friends. 

Slightly sloshed now. Will have dinner soon and (as promised in my first reply) a Christmas Carroll Baker film, I’ve chosen The Big Country which is odd as I also mentioned On Th Beach which means I risk a 5+ hour Gregory Peck double bill! 

Early morning half hour walk, small Christmas Dinner with my housemate. Then a two hour walk over some local hills close to home.

Very nice 👌 

Small world. My fathers cousin had a farm on Sidehead just out of Daddry Shield when I was a kid. Used to cycle up to camp there in the late 1970’s. Spent many a hot summers day swimming in the river down there. 

One of my favourite walks with Jr is NW from Stanhope along Stanhope Burn crossing to the east over the bridge by Widley Field into the old mine workings, over to Crawleyside and then along Crawley Edge and down union lane.  This short walk takes in an a great variety of terrains - old, deciduous woods, edge of geologically fascinating gorge, abandoned mine workings, sheer quarry edge and fell side.  Also Dianne’s Tea Rooms

I used to do that in reverse - did it once at night without a torch out of bloody mindedness - it permanently took away any fear of the dark.   As a youngster I did loads of experiments with home made transmitters round the Dene and the quarries on Crawleyside - I left one running and cycled up as far as St John's Chapel where I could still hear the music it was transmitting