Christmas!

[Mike]

Just a few quick words on Christmas and New Year. We, of course, wish you all a most enjoyable time and a prosperous, or more prosperous, 2010.

However, to share a few thoughts of my own with you, we refuse to get too into this time of year, mainly because we don't much like the commercial side of it all. Our family gets together (this year on Christmas Eve), with a few close friends and eat our fill of goodies and a few drinks. On Christmas Day, it's family only, and we don't do cards or presents, except for the littl'uns.

We got fed up with turkey years ago. This year, its a roast of pork with crackling and a whole leg of lamb. Despite the choice of meat, we cook all the usual trimmings, especially Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire pud - who cares what it's supposed to go with - and we then settle down to a few munchies. My favourites are smoked salmon with capers and lemon juice, pickled onions, Camembert cheese, and a few glasses of the poor man's champers, Asti Spumante (I really love that stuff!).

Despite our somewhat Spartan approach, we respect others' enjoyment of the Festive Season and hope you will all enjoy it however you please to do so.

Kindest regards

Mike, Jeannette, and our Tribe of Teenage Offspring

[George Waite]

Mike & tribe
Have a good Christmas.
George

[Mike]

Mike & tribe
Have a good Christmas.Thank you George. We are having a great time thanks. The family get together with friends yesterday was just perfect. Good company, good cheer, and a very pleasant few hours.

I am sitting in the lounge at present, enjoying all the wonderful smells emanating from Jeannette's cooking in the kitchen. Loverly jubbley!

A great spread coming up, followed by an afternoon with just the four of us (the older girls are both elsewhere today). We plan to watch a good movie and just relax after all the hullabaloo.

We hope you and your family are having an equally enjoyable few days - and avoiding the commercial mayhem that is Christmas these days.

Kindest regards

Mike and The Tribe

[Philip]

to mike and the family have a good one , and to everyone one else . for me xmas is just another day l worked xmas eve . l would like to get on here more often but being very busy with private work and token . our shelter over token callopsed due to strong winds, mind you its being up for a year , so now l have winterised her with canvas . although all sealed up l dont want all are hard work going down the pan . l thought it my work load would slow down but in truth my dairy is packed with jobs , which is good considering the climate . Mike l hoped to get to see you before xmas but like l said to flat out , anyway all the best phil

[Mike]

to mike and the family have a good one , and to everyone one else.Thank you, Phil, and we hope you've had a good one too.

for me xmas is just another day l worked xmas eve . l would like to get on here more often but being very busy with private work and token.I guessed you'd been very busy but that can only be good news. It's always good to hear how you've been getting on, mate. Any more pics yet, though I suppose you've not been busy with a camera so much as your tools. No probs. When you have some will be fine.

our shelter over token callopsed due to strong winds, mind you its being up for a year , so now l have winterised her with canvas . although all sealed up l dont want all are hard work going down the pan.Too right. It would be awful to have a major setback on Token. Leave her cocooned until the weather is better, I think.

l thought it my work load would slow down but in truth my dairy is packed with jobs , which is good considering the climate . Mike l hoped to get to see you before xmas but like l said to flat out , anyway all the best philLike I said, that is good news, not bad, and I hope it stays that way so that you can make more progress on Token when you have the chance. As for seeing me before Xmas, I guess you missed the news that I was carted off to hospital for a few days and have been recuperating at home. I go back again on 19 January to discuss them cutting some rather important bits and pieces out of me. So, you would not have had much joy in visiting me before Xmas. Feeling much better now, though, but still not able to resume work on the TB.

Keep up the excellent work, both at home in the workshop and on Token. Speak again with you soon.

Kindest regards