Dad and I in Romsey Square waiting to sing carols.  Now the reason I’m wearing the stylish tam o’shanter is that dad forgot his hat, and I as a dutiful son let him have mine. The head gear I was wearing was in the boot of my car on the way to the tip with some other rubbish from the loft, still it was warm even if not particularly festive!

(Message from the editor – Actually he doesn’t need much of an excuse to wear it, so I will be most displeased if this hat somehow makes it into the luggage for the cruise!!!!!!!)

There was a great turn out and everyone was in fine voice.  I think we will have to make this a Christmas tradition!

A guest appearance by the long lost Peters and Lee added to the festive fun!

The Christmas lights shone brightly on a very chilly evening and a lot of money was raised for the childrens’ ward at Southampton hospital.

A few days earlier we had attended a concert by Romsey Youth Choir at Romsey Abbey. My niece Zena (top row 1st on the right on the large screen) was singing. This choir is terrific and I urge you to get see one of their performances if you ever get the chance!

A lovely evening was really appreciated by a very proud grandad and uncle, and don’t forget to mention her sister, Esme!

As most of you know I really love my gadgets. I bought this Amazon Alexa for the kitchen and dad was very impressed with her vast knowledge of Louis Armstrong and other jazz legends with some the recordings going back to 1919!

We went down to Chideock for a couple of days to visit our friends Kev and Val, and to talk about our upcoming trip around South America.  We also discussed another long road trip around Spain for later in the year.

Back home in Romsey I took dad to the opticians to get his eyes tested and to get some hearing aids. He was very pleased with how discreet the hearing aid were, but he was not very keen on the frames for his new glasses!

Although I’m not working I still like to get up early in the morning and go to the gym, I try to get to there gym for 6.30am, that way when you leave at 9.30am you are well and truly set up for the day!

Another reason for going so early is because you meet the nicest people at that time of day. (don’t kill me Phil, I did say this photo was going on the blog!)

Christmas day at dads, and a lovely feast was enjoyed by all, with a great big thanks to Jane , Charlotte and M&S. Mind you we still had to do a vast amount of co-ordination to ensure that everything arrived at the table piping hot!

Paul really enjoyed the selection of fine wines that were on offer, although Eleanor was slightly embarrassed at the effect it was having on him!

Jane was happy with her Christmas books that I had made for her about our adventures so far, or the smile might be simply because of the Lindt chocolates she was tucking into!

Jane’s birthday is on Boxing day, and as this year it was a special one (xx years old) we took a trip to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Nutcracker ballet.

We had a great view of all of the fantastic dancers and it was great to see all the young children enjoying this festive treat. I was 50 before I plucked up courage to try something different and see a ballet, I wish I had started earlier!

As it was a special occasion we had a box. I could get used to this!  It was hard work having to host these three lovely ladies for the duration of our visit, but I managed.  Well, someone had to do it!

On the walk back to the tube we passed the Natural History Museum which had an ice rink going at full pelt as we walked by.

So the festivities are over, the decorations are down and the new year is here. Time to pack for our next adventure!

This time tomorrow (1pm) we will board P&O’s Aurora for a cruise to and around South America. I will be posting more photos of this trip and our adventure whenever we get good internet connection. We are both very excited!!