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" Just saying boys! I'm no longer sure whether Mrs.Claus is still buying into the; 'twinkly eyes', the 'big round tummy', the repetitive 'Ho-Ho-Hoing', 'mucking out the reindeers once a day' , 'cooking and cleaning for you lot 24-7' and living 'up North' in the land of perpetual snow and ice".
Moose thought of the Day
" Bullocks - Christmas Eve and still no offers of pantomime or seasonal sleigh pulling work!"
"Has anyone from 'Elf and Safety' updated the 'working at height' risk assessment?"
"I don't 'believe in Sat-Navs' but remind me, does Rudolph have to turn left or right when we get to Iceland?"
"Since we outsourced and digitised the 'Naughty and Nice' lists there is absolutely no need to check them 'once' let alone 'twice' Santa!
Moose thought of the Day
" Do I go 'Turkey', 'Goose', or stay with the herd pleasing and traditional 'small willow twigs au naturel'?"
" I'm conflicted by my esoteric life choices! - Moose by day and Elk by night".
The Editorial Team wish all our friends and readers around the world a very Merry Christmas and hope you will continue to read the blog in the New Year.
Christmas
Past, Present and Future
This year, I will sail through my seventy-fifth Christmas on this unique planet Earth.
I can recall many memorable ‘Nativities’, one including a boy in a ‘Scooby-Doo outfit’.
Who, repeatedly poked and punched a shepherd, in celebration of the Virgin birth.
I remember one very merry ‘beery’ Christmas Eve, singing carols with Paul in chorus.
And in the railway underpass near Oulton Broad North Station, sitting in something damp.
And hoping, when we had sobered up, that no one who knew us professionally, saw us.
Do I still enjoy Turkey with stuffing and the seasonal over-cooked sprout?
Nowadays, meat, poultry, and processed food – “ne’er will pass my lips”!
And sadly imbibing, just one cup of hot Marmite, promotes the onset of gout.
Now I dine on fish and veggies and have shown all meats the door.
Can I still drink beer by the gallon and dance the night away?
No chance but nostalgically, I might venture out onto a disco-floor.
Which year did ‘Dad’ dancing become a slow ‘Grandpa’ gavotte?
And why do I involuntarily grunt, when I bend to pick up all the bloody stuff I drop?
And when did my personal story run so short on pages and plot?
Now ‘Yules’ are much less rowdy and run on ‘reduced’ or ‘alcohol-free’ fuel.
Because men of a certain age, get to love ‘staying in’ their favourite chair.
If the frost forecast for the ‘Feast of Saint Stephen’, is all too even and cruel.
Then again, life is good and far too short, to be sad Grinch or solstice hermit.
So don hats, scarves and gloves, load up the sleighs and go reindeer handed into the night.
And be as ‘Santa-Merry’ and ‘seasonally-bladdered' as old age and body permit!
George Roberts Dec 2024
Moose thought of the Day
"Really thrilled, when by chance I discovered, that someone had named a 'Jaw' after me"
Moose thought of the Day
"Has anyone thought about an 'appointed drover'?"
Regular readers of this blog will know that Christmas celebrations at Cabine du Jardin Deux cannot commence before the arrival of 'Barry the Snowman' . This year the editorial team were becoming concerned but last night whilst all good children were sleeping, Barry rocked up! We think that December the 14th is the latest entrance ever made by our very favourite 'Snowman'.
"Barry is in his office - so let the revels begin"
Just returned from Berlin and like Werner Heisenberg, I'm feeling a bit uncertain about posting this.
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| Anita's iPhone image of the wingtip of BA983 with Venus shining in the background. |
Inspired by the great gift of a book of poetry by Roger McGough from our dear friends John and Eileen, I wrote a poem in my head whilst waiting in line to pass through 'customs control' at Berlin Airport. Strangely, whenever I approach the obviously bored person at the desk, I am overcome with a compulsion to start 'Morris Dancing' and 'declare' it to be a 'British Custom'.
'Here I stand Passport in hand' a short poem by George Roberts.
Standing in line awaiting Berlin Airport Security
It occurred to me
Synchronicity!
The three year old boy crying in front and the seventy five year old me lagging behind
Both hate to queue and would rather be at Berlin zoo.
Viewing Giant Pandas eating bamboo.
Shoots, then reloads and re-holsters passport!
Out of the corner of my good eye,
I noticed that both of us roll from side to side when we walk towards ‘Departures’
Perhaps we were both sailors in former seafaring lives?
Or maybe its because he’s learning and I’m forgetting where and how to go?
