Christmas 2020

Not that I ever go in for huge Christmas extravagances, but this year was even more understated than usual. Ruth and I had planned to go and spend a few nights with my parents – carefully within the five days of mixing we’d been allowed by the government announcement in late November – but this was scuppered by the exciting U-turn on Christmas plans less than a week beforehand. Berkshire, along with the rest of south-east England, was placed into a new Tier 4, banning all mixing with other households, and Wales’ First Minister kindly placed the country into a new lockdown. So that was that.

Ruth and I were then faced with having to acquire stuff to cobble together Christmas lunch. We both find turkey somewhat underwhelming, thankfully, and it would in any case have been ludicrous to buy a turkey to just feed the two of us. So we decided on chicken. Ruth went to the Caversham Waitrose on 22 December – involving a disconcertingly early (for her) start – and was slightly panicked by a dearth of birds, so I was despatched to the larger MK Waitrose the next morning prior to driving to Reading. 

We arranged a somewhat unnecessary code beforehand that would indicate whether I had been successful. There were, thankfully, a few chickens left, most of them too large for us – consistent I guess with a run on small birds thanks to newly-imposed small Christmas gatherings – but I managed to get one that was reasonably small. No success with Christmas pudding - but thankfully we both prefer a mince pie anyway.

Christmas Day was at least a nice sunny morning, so we went for a short walk around Caversham.

Thames looking west from Caversham Bridge

Ruth’s family has a tradition of having bubble and squeak on Boxing Day, explaining the two bags of Brussels sprouts she prepared on Christmas morning – I like them, but even I was slightly intimidated.

Cooking roasts isn't my thing so Ruth prepared lunch while I amused myself taking selfies in front of the Christmas tree. Lunch turned out very well and we shared a nice bottle of Chablis.

We opened our presents after lunch, including gifts from Ruth's family (gifts from my family are, as we speak, still marooned in Wales - I hope to open them (fingers crossed) sometime around Easter).

Lunch

As she has done for the past few years, Ruth's aunt gave me two tins of anchovies from her local Co-op. Which, to be honest, are a perfectly acceptable present and a lot better than some ghastly ornament.