Happy 2012

Hello and Happy New Year! New Year's resolutions? To lose half a stone and be a nicer person...how about yours?
I know people say you shouldn't make resolutions because you just break them almost immediately but I've ordered some bathroom scales and I haven't shouted at the kids at all today, so that's a start...
How was your Christmas, anyway?
We've been down in Devon in the rain, eating chocolate and watching telly, mostly. Oh, there's also been some card playing going on. Son and I taught the grandparents a card game that I learnt when I was trekking last year. It has a bit of a rude name, so we can't actually talk about it. Son told them that the game is called 'poo' but it's actually a bit worse than that, but best not to upset them as we've been eating their food and running up their heating bill for the last ten days or so.
Christmas was great, despite the twins waking up at 11pm on Christmas Eve to open their stockings and then only getting back to sleep at about 1.30, and then Son waking up at 2am. I think I had about three hours sleep...oh, and Santa left his false teeth in the yule log (my dad's idea...a bit unsettling though, to think of Father Chritmas's falsies in the chocolate cake, but hey, it's all part of that wierd bit of fabrication we do - I realised this year that I'm always very keen to let the kids know that the nativity is 'just a nice story' but with total hypocrisy tell them that Father Christmas, Rudolph and the whole Santa paraphanalia is all totally true. Oh, how do you spell paraphernalia? Ah, that's it...)
Spent a fair amount of time with the cousins (my sisters four daughters) between xmas and new year. They have been rechristened the 'goddesses' because of the effect they have on my children. Then on New Year's Eve I went to a wedding up on Dartmoor in a little town called Chagford. It was just fantastic. The very modern vicar mentioned the 'joy and delight of sexual congress' which elicited suppressed gasps and raised eyebrows and seemed to base most of his sermon on something Steve Jobs said about Mac computers (wonder if Apple has sponsored the church roof or something?).
The wedding breakfast was in the town hall and was a right ol' laff. I don't think I have ever danced so much to so many dodgy cover versions of sixties hits, or drunk so much white wine in a night. I finally made it to bed just before three, but the rest of the village pubs were all still open, and apparently most wedding goers partied on until four or five.
The morning after was one of those great hangover breakfasts where everyone is trembling too much to be able to lift a fork and drinks their bodyweight in orange juice.
Looking forward to getting back up to Nottingham tomorrow where I have all my coursework to do and three years worth of tax returns (yes, I know, don't ask).
Take care and Happy 2012 xxxx