A Picture Book of Christmas

People like to go for a walk at Christmas, either to the pub on Christmas morning to get away from whoever is cooking lunch; or on Boxing Day to walk off the effects of Christmas eating.

 We hired a sort of house where all the family could be together; or even apart if anyone felt like getting away from everybody else.  

This is where we walked. 

Didn’t even have to ‘get in the car to go for a walk’ because the walking was right outside the front door: here’s a view from our bedroom.

This is our group walking – or resting between walking. 

 It’s a lot easier to walk when you are already there. Walking the dog is much easier when it’s not your dog. Someone else brings the dog; you walk it; they take it home.

This picture, as you may imagine, is entitled ‘two walking one dog’.

You can do all sorts of interesting things when you are out walking. Go down to the bird hide, seen here, to watch a great variety of wildlife – at least that’s what one person had written in the bird book. He was probably telling the truth although, personally, I only saw a couple of varieties of tit. Perhaps he was there all day!

This is something he didn’t see - a lady holding up a railway bridge.  Good job she is so strong, because she was responsible for the stocking up, preparing and cooking. Helped me discover a good thing about being the oldest member of the party, people keep telling you to go and sit down while they do the work!

In this age of electronic gadgets many young people spend much of their time telephoning, texting and playing games on magic machines.

This is a great granddaughter who in an earlier age would be Albert Einstein: “I don’t need to read the instructions Grandad, I know what to do.” You may recall her from my August posting – goes by the name of ‘Gatlin’.  

Great grandson Samuel, who is in the group picture (striped hat), spent most of his time building a helicopter and a model airplane.   "That’s a good idea of Grandma’s – everyone washes up their own glasses and crockery”, intones Samuel, who otherwise would become general group dryer-up.

Thanks mainly then to Japanese inventors and Chinese manufacturers we have reverted to the behaviour of centuries past when children were seen but not heard, helped this year by Samuel’s mum who bought him a plug and connector  that wouldn’t fit the music keyboard  that was his present. No mugs these orientals who make you buy a plug and connector separately.

Finally, if it is just perfect peace you want, here is where we  found it.

                                       We all had a lovely Christmas – especially the dog!