Tuesday, 22nd December

What a difference a year makes. Normally by the 22nd December I would be stressed, exhausted and running out of time to fulfill all the Christmas expectations. I probably would have spent the morning at our church, in a very convivial atmosphere, helping to assemble 500 Christingles, in anticipation of the two jam packed Christingle services on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. In year’s gone by, with our previous rector, the children would receive the lighted candle in the orange and then parade around the aisles of the church, standing still just long enough to sing Away in a manger. Angelic and beautiful – a logistical nightmare that never failed to increase stress levels as those of us organising had visions of long hair being set alight and the church burning bright! Dotted around there would be buckets of water and sand, just in case …. all good fun adding an extra frisson of excitement, as if it were needed!

Instead, this morning found R and I in yet another laundrette (the washing doesn’t stop!) with no service manager and no machine issuing change for the machines. The shop next door was very unhelpful. In fairness his change may well have been short as we are all being encouraged to use plastic cards for payment. So I queued and went into the Post Office, who were equally unrewarding. No banks were open and I began to think we might have to return to the boat with a sack full of dirty clothes. However the next corner shop I happened upon had a very helpful shop keeper who gave me all the change I required. I then preemptorially set the machine off whilst it still said ‘hot wash’ and had visions of a shrunken set of clothing emerging. Thankfully this was not the case but a lesson learned for me to read the washing machine instructions more carefully before inserting money!

We spied a french cafe offering take away beverages so indulged in a flat white, which was indeed an indulgence at £4.60! When asking how business was doing, the owner said very poor (might have had something to do with her prices!) so I felt she needed our custom and I even left a tip to salve my conscience at her plight, but I think it must rank as one of the most expensive cups of coffee I have had outside of a posh restaurant! The accompanying pain au chocolat was delicious though – sometimes they can be a bit dry and tasteless.

A really lovely long Zoom with close friends cheered my afternoon although I did have to sit outside on a bench swaddled in a blanket to get good signal. I felt very affronted when I left the boat to sit on ‘my bench’ very close to our boat, that someone else was already sitting on it and I had to go 50yds down the towpath to another one! How quickly we become territorial!

Now I have a dilemma as to what is essential shopping? I discovered an Aldi very close by this morning and have run out of my favourite dark chocolate bars filled with cherry and chilli that they sell and are delicious. Each bar is only a couple of mouthfuls so perfect with a decaf coffee, watching Vera (we are creatures of habit after all!). They also have a stupendous range of gin and sell candles that smell like those from Jo Malone (for those of you who know who she is!), at a fraction of the cost. Having gone to Tesco super early and been caught out I thought I might go to Aldi just before it closes, as it won’t be crowded, but I discovered it doesn’t shut until 11pm! And, as is perfectly obvious, my provisions so far are not exactly essential, unless you take my mental health into consideration!