Here we go again!

It’s New Year’s Day and time for looking back and looking forward, (hence Janus above!) and the dreaded resolutions! Usually I decide on something really ordinary. Lose weight, get more exercise, save money, that sort of thing. Actually for 2012  I resolved to use my WiiFit machine regularly. And, blow me down, I am still using it! In fact I had great fun this morning boxing! Not a pretty sight, but very effective. This year I was probably going to do more of the same. I certainly need to lose a little weight. My cholesterol is not going to go down (genetic not life-style) and I can’t take statins (nasty reactions) so my specialist has told me to stop worrying about it but just reduce other dangers. I don’t smoke, so that is one plus, and he told me that a glass of wine a day is a positive advantage! I do like that man! So weight is the main problem. Plus exercise of course. So losing weight and perhaps playing a little more golf this year (weather permitting!) is on the list. But these are aspirations rather than resolutions. I should be doing it anyway.

So what am I going to do? Well, it stems from one of my Christmas presents. Paul gave me a copy of Clare Balding’s book My Animals and Other Family. An absolutely cracking read, and one I can wholeheartedly recommend.

(Well, my pictures have decided to place themselves this time. Can’t be bothered to get in a tizz about it. See the rest of this blog!)

In one of the chapters she writes about a teacher who had a profound effect on her, her poetry teacher. She calls her ‘so detached, so self-contained. She made things happen. She read extensively to arrive at an informed opinion so that she could be governed by what she thought of the world, not what others thought about her.’ Clare goes on to say that she wanted to be like that. ‘..to be the subject of the sentence of my life, not the object.’ I like that sentiment. To be in control of what goes on, and not dependent on what other people think of you. My life tends to be pretty well compartmented. I have family, golfing friends, museum friends, classical/OU friends, and rarely do they meet. My actions tend to be geared to the company I am in at any given time. Sometimes I will keep my mouth shut because of the person I am with. For example, I won’t tell my golfing friends I am reading a book about Augustus, but, equally, I may not admit to my classical friends that sometimes my bedtime reading is Georgette Heyer, or a very trashy crime novel! Both are me, just different facets. Reading has two purposes, to inform and educate, and to relax. I like both, but not necessarily at the same time! So this year I have resolved to be me, just me. Not necessarily the person the friend I am with is expecting. That also means that I am not going to get into a tizz about things like techie problems. Not my forte, so don’t worry about it! I always have #2 son to fall back on don’t I Nik?

Talking of Nik, I took him and my two youngest grandchildren to see The Mouse and His Child yesterday. It was as good as it’s reviews, which were brilliant. The RST is very good at children’s productions at Christmas which are a huge improvement on the traditional pantomime. I’ve been taking my grandchildren for years and haven’t come across a turkey yet.

And this morning, on a beautiful sunny day to welcome the 2013, the Crome and West Warwickshire Hunt met in Alcester for the first time in 10 years. Hunting is viewed as  elitist , and only for the landed gentry. Okay the two eldest children of the Marquis of Hertford were in the field, but so were several farmers, the cousin of the local barber, many people who work 9-5 and come out at weekends, and so on. My cousin is the Master, so it can’t be elitist can it! The streets were full of the local population waving and cheering, and our Court Leet were there in force.

A very happy New Year to you all. And may 2013 be all you want it to be. As for me, I am just going to be me, for better or for worse!

P.S.

It has been pointed out to me that, in my lost offering, I failed to say when the episode of Countryfile is being shown. Sunday 23rd December, not sure of the time.. And Ragley is the subject of the entire programme.

Christmas is near!

 

I’ve just been to my first Christmas party of the year! Well, it was Paul’s party not mine. He’s been working this year as a guide at the local ‘big house’ Ragley Hall. The reason it was so early is that the BBC programme ‘Countryfile’ had been filming there all week, culminating in the staff Christmas party in the Great Hall. All the presenters were there, including John Craven, who sang ‘Deck the Halls’ with the Alcester Male Voice Choir. He sang the second verse solo!

Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury were very adept at handing around the canapés! Nice ones, they were too.

But the point of this is that all the indications are that Christmas is looming. Back to the writing of cards, trying to think who I actually want to send one to, who I really have to send one to. And the presents…. and the food……and the visits? For what is supposed to be a holiday it all amounts to a huge amount of stress. I seem to remember writing about this last year. So this year I have made some adjustments. The card list is being culled for a start. Not least because of the hike in the cost of postage! Presents are going to be ‘reasonable’. And as for food, Paul and I are booked for lunch at a local hostelry Arrow Mill. We’ve been there several times, and it is always good value.

We wander in when we feel like it, have lunch (9 courses!) at our leisure, then wander out and leave the clearing up to someone else. Bliss! The best thing is there is only one sitting, so no rushing to make room for the next lot. Here’s hoping the weather is decent though. I remember a couple of years ago driving up in thick snow. We parked okay, but had to be towed out of the snow bound car park by mine host’s Land Rover! Finger’s crossed but the forecast isn’t too bright.

The next Christmas party is at the Alcester Roman Museum on Saturday. Saturnalia!

Well, not quite, that’s too much to hope for. But it is a nod in the right direction I suppose. The Museum seems to have had a pretty good year, including several evening talks, the last one being Dr Alison Cooley of Warwick University on the subject of Pompeii. This was quite a coup because she is an acknowledged expert, having written books about the town. It is certainly worth celebrating at the end of the year.

I may come across as a bit cynical about Christmas. To be honest I suppose I am. As a religious festival it’s fine. But that isn’t what it is any more. It’s an excuse for over indulgence, and a trading frenzy. Today is, apparently, the biggest day for on-line sales of the year. Millions are being spent as I type this. Why? However, what I don’t mind is the idea of reconnecting with family once a year. My only brother and his wife are driving down from Yorkshire on Sunday to exchange presents and have a meal together. We don’t see each other enough during the year. Perhaps the incentive of Christmas does have some purpose after all!