Today, Friday is really feeling like Commercial Xmas world -wide. I was up at Marks & Spencer in town today at 9.30ish. It was heaving - I think that the whole 60,000,000 were in the store. All I wanted was a couple of bottles of mulled wine. But I am mulled wine-less! If there is one thing I have noticed about English people, bless them, it is that in a high street or in a store their eyes become glazed and tunelled. They seem unable to see people in their path and simply walk into others. Always with a "sorry love".
Later in the afternoon we went to Judith's place to help to prepare for Xmas day. While Gina made a Parsnip soup from Brian's beautiful parsnips straight out of the garden, I forayed into Ripon and made straight for a local butcher of high repute. I knew I wasn't at home as there were unplucked pheasants hanging outside the shop, and prepared partridges, rabbits etc etc etc inside. I came away with a magnificent turkey of 8 Kilos, with an admonishment from the butcher to bring it back immediate if it wouldn't fit in the oven as he would joint it in a jiffy. It fits in the Aga, - just, and is now waiting in the cool of the utility room for its appointment with the oven.
Earlier in the afternoon I had been out taking pictures around Judith and Brian's village of Copt Hewick. So the pix on this blog were taken at about 2.00pm today. Two hours later it was all but dark and the fog was like pea soup.
