Granddaughter Amy on the phone at Nottingham to great-aunt Ethel, thanking her for her Christmas present. Tomorrow we will all be together again!

The weather has turned very c0ld – freezing by late afternoon, and the car did not defrost all day. We used Dot’s car to go to the supermarket this morning and paid what I believe to be a record amount for grocery shopping: over £140. Took a bit of time to get it all loaded in the car, of course. The rest of the day we’ve spent in preparation of one sort or another. I put together a quiz for tomorrow night and a bolt on one of the doors. Dot finished the house-cleaning she started yesterday and cooked the meal for tomorrow night, as well as various other tasks.

On Sunday night we had a family meal here, with Phil, Joy, Sam and Lucy joining the three of us. All went well, despite the oven playing up at a critical moment. (It’s still not right.) Then yesterday Phil drove Andrew back to Coventry with me as a passenger. We stopped again at Thrapston, and it was back on form, with the usual staff returned and the food and service quite reasonable. Traffic was fairly light throughout, and we took the direct route both ways, apart from my patent excursion via South Kilworth on the way back – not because it was necessary, but because it’s pleasant, especially the last few miles on empty roads across country.

Now we await half a dozen of the Tuesday Group, who should be providing some food (bring and share). The first one has arrived without any. Hope this is not an omen. Or something.