My yearly round up is a tricky one this year! What the F was that???
There’s not really much to say about 2020 is there?
The summer weather was surprisingly good, so I suppose that’s something to be grateful for.
The rest? Well, that can get in the bin, as the youth would say.
My birthday in May, at The Savoy was cancelled. The Greengage tree I bought to commemorate my lockdown birthday, because everything we had planned for it was cancelled, died about a fortnight after I planted it. My beautiful Pepper dog, my most ardent admirer passed away of bowel cancer (of all things). And that’s all without the obvious, thousands and thousands of people losing their jobs and the thousands upon thousands dying of a bug.
If you can find something good about 2020, that’s fantastic! Hold on to the positives. It’s important to find something good, something we can salvage from the wreckage of this peculiar year.
I discovered a liking for cycling, I didn’t see that coming. But what a wonderful surprise that’s been, I cycled over 929 miles this year alone (it’s actually well over that number really as I didn’t record a few rides).
I’ve been out there, in the fresh air, cycling all those hundreds and hundreds of miles, and not only that, I enjoyed it! Even the hills. :)
If you got through this year, you did well! So well done for that.
It doesn’t matter if you used your time to learn a new skill or if you stayed in your pyjamas and hid from the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fittest you’ve ever been or the fattest you’ve ever been. None of it matters. All that really matters is that you’re still here, hopefully still sane, and ready to face whatever next year brings.
So, much love and good wishes for you for 2021.
Our final week of 2020;
Christmas Day was as good as it can be during a pandemic, after the prime minister promised not to cancel Christmas and then a week later cancels Christmas… 5 days before Christmas. :)
Prior to that announcement I had put in place as many safety measures that I could think of to keep us safe whilst still be able to gather. My system was quite robust, I felt.
The windows would’ve been wide open, anti bac on, temperature checks, 2 meter rule adhered to and no hugging or kissing…(that bit is made easier by the fact that my parents didn’t go in for hugging and kissing in my preceding 47 years on the planet).
But all that went by the wayside, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. This way I didn’t have to hope and pray I’d keep everyone safe. This way I definitely knew they would be. That’s one upside I guess.
Choosing to isolate in the lead up to Christmas was easy when I was doing it so my mum and dad could come and visit safely. Once Boris cancelled Christmas for London and Essex it was so much harder to stay home and not go anywhere. I then felt caged and trapped.
Especially knowing the people in the next postcode along were all out and about enjoying themselves, able to shop, and able to see their loved ones, even on Christmas Day.
Two weeks before Christmas Boris said it would be inhuman to cancel Christmas, One week before Christmas Boris cancelled it for 18 million people. Making a headache of ruined plans in his wake, he really is a help. ;)
I was very fortunate to have already pre planned my Christmas food. I stocked up my freezer from my local butchers (Humphrey’s ~ the ONLY place I’d buy meat for miles around), plus Marks and Spencer for roast potatoes, veg and all the trimmings. My Christmas was sitting in my freezer since the beginning of November.
The tier changes for me meant I just wouldn’t get out as much meat and veg as I would have done for all of us.
But what about the people who had bought all their food in fresh for multiple guests that were now without visitors, and then conversely all the people now without Christmas food because they were going to family, friends, or restaurants? What an absolute shambles.
At least we had a week’s notice, Eid was cancelled the night before, can you imagine the disappointment and upset? Oi yoi yoi.
A few days before Christmas, and just after Boris cancelled it, I was invited on BBC radio Essex to discuss the impact of the new restrictions on our Christmas plans (I can send it to you to listen to if you’d like? Chris recorded it so it’s emailable). :)
I got myself all dolled up to be on the show…a radio show mind!! Hahahahaha
I see no reason to let standards drop just because no one was going to be able to see me. ;)
It was nice to have been invited on. It was nice to have my say.
Jumper from Ralph Lauren, Faux shirt £9 from Amazon! Trousers from Next.
Yes, 2020 brought some interesting experiences, one of which has seen me purchase my clothes from Amazon of all places! Hahahahaha
In fact after Boris cancelled Christmas, I decided to just wear all my pre planned Christmas clothes anyway
Dress from Dorothy Perkins, Tights from Tesco, Boots From Jimmy Choo
Our Christmas Day was incredibly quiet. It was just Chris and I for the most part, which is the first time in our 27 years together. Just us the two, alone. It was our first dog free Christmas in 16 years too.
It wasn’t horrendous or horrible, it was just quiet.
As much as I’m following the rules to keep us safe from passing the virus and receiving the virus, I also couldn’t go the day without seeing our youngest son, Ben, he lives a five minute drive away. So he came to the front garden to open his presents.
We made a garden grotto. Yes, at 22, he’s a bit old for a grotto, but are we really ever too old for festive fun?
I appreciate loads and loads and loads of people would have decided to stick to the rules in their entirety, I also know some people would have felt that enough was enough and just carried on with their usual indoor Christmas plans with family.
I personally didn’t feel comfortable to do that (although I totally understand why people did do it, we’re all exhausted by all this noise, we’re all weary of restrictions, I get it, I really really do).
I want this bloody virus to be over with, and one way to do that, until we are all vaccinated is to not mingle and not allow it to spread.
But at the same time I wanted to give Ben a nice Christmas. So we gave him his presents in the front garden at a distance.
You are allowed to meet someone outside, but I think the new rule is you mustn’t make eye contact or something. ;) Hahahahaha
He only moved into his flat this year, so I didn’t want him, on his first Christmas away from the family home, to not see us at all, and vice-versa.
There was no, or pretty much no danger of spreading bugs around outside in the fresh air, sitting well over two metres apart. So the 3 of us had a garden Christmas, in the cold, for an hour. Hyperthermia was a risk, but at least covid wasn’t. :)
It was weird, but in the circumstances, it was nice enough and all I felt was do-able for this year.
Ben then headed off home. and Chris and I went back indoors to complete our day.
We had a lovely dip in the hot tub, that was new for Christmas Day, never done that before.
We had our normal Christmas dinner, albeit it a bit odd to sit at a usually very busy, 14 seater table, with just the 2 of us.
I filled it with table scaping to fill it up a bit. It looked an absolute treat too. See, there’s an upside to a sparsely populated Christmas table, you can go to town on table decor.
*We had dashed down to my parents house to drop their presents off on the night Boris cancelled Christmas. I also dropped their Christmas crackers that I had hand made, well, hand filled.
I buy ‘fill your own crackers’ so at least I knew on Christmas Day they had their gifts and something for their table too.
Our defrosted Christmas fare, from the freezer was an absolute triumph. I will never go back to a fresh Christmas again. I know Kim, was taking the mickey out of me for all my frozen Christmas food, but it was an absolute roaring success. No one spent hours slavishly cooking Christmas dinner ~ that’s devoured in 10 minutes flat. It was all prepped and ready to roast. And more importantly it tasted delicious!!
I am a changed woman, from this Christmas on, I am only having a hassle free, very merry frozen Christmas. :)
I had a few tears come Christmas evening, it was just too quiet. My children are the heart of Christmas to me, I felt their absence greatly. FaceTiming with Sam, Milly and little Zak was wonderful, but it’s not quite the same as them being here.
I guess, now they’re grown up and flown the nest this is Christmas future anyway. Although this one being a tad extreme as they legally weren’t allowed to visit.
Knitted lounge wear from Nasty Gal, Trainers from Louis Vuitton
Sitting in a freezing cold garden was better than nothing.
Although I did have to re think the trainers and go and put boots and a hat on.
Garden present giving was followed by a hot tubbing for 2….
…and then into my official Christmas Day outfit. I’d bought it so thought I might as well wear it.
Top from Reserved, Skirt from M&S, Shoes from Jimmy Choo
Boxing Day was always going to be slightly different this year. With Sam, Milly and Zak unable to come due to our original covid restrictions (we would have already mixed with 2 other households by then, so we couldn’t mix with a third and besides, they wouldn’t be allowed to stay overnight, and it’s a bit far for Zak just for the day, and that was all before the new Tier 4 restrictions came in, which meant Christmas was cancelled for us anyway).
We had decided on an unusual plan, one we’ve never done before.
I felt, if we stayed home alone on Boxing Day, as we weren’t having any visitors, we’d end up doing chores or DIY.
So we booked ourselves into The Savoy in London as a Boxing Day overnight treat.
In fairness when we booked it we had the option and opportunity to dine out in restaurants. We booked Chutney Mary. But then due to tier 3 coming in a few weeks ago, after we booked the hotel, we only had room service available as our dining option, as restaurants had to close.
We weren’t about to let a little thing like that stop us from having a good time!
In room dining at the Savoy? I think we would have managed just fine. :)
…But then tier 4 arrived and cancelled everything - shops, restaurants and hotels…Christmas in general.
Confused by all the tier talk and what they mean? Join the club my friend, join the club. :)
Our Savoy stay dream was scuppered altogether…again (we were booked in in May for my birthday but that was cancelled due to lockdown).
It was now our second cancelled trip there this year. I appreciate it’s a first world problem. But it was really really very disappointing. I was so looking forward to it.
I just had to wear my pre arranged, pre planned, hotel outfits all around the house. :)
Jumper from Benetton, Trousers from Quiz, Boots from Christian Dior
I saw this jumper online a couple of weeks ago. I knew it would look a treat with my CD love heart boots.
So Boxing Day was spent at home alone after all. Again, like Christmas, it wasn’t horrible, it was simply a bit weird and very quiet.
Better days are coming, so that’s something to look forward to.
I didn’t let a little thing like cancelled plans stop my pre planned Christmas wardrobe going ahead.
Besides, very few things could make me feel completely miserable on Boxing Day because I had turkey dripping on toast for breakfast and it was heavenly and my favourite lunch of the year - cold cuts, mash potatoes and pickles. :) Heaven.
The day after Boxing Day was meant to be us having breakfast in bed at The Savoy, and lunch at Chutney Mary. With this off the table it was just us at home.
So I ploughed ahead with my outfit de jour anyway!
Possibly a little over the top for watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the living room but why not, why not indeed. :)
So all in all it’s been okay. Has it been the best? No, not really. Has it been the worst? No! Not by a long shot!
I imagine we’ve all had ruined Christmases in the past.
The two years running the boys had chicken pox (yes, both my boys had it twice!), the year we had flu was horrific (that said, we did lose 10lbs in weight each, so it had its up side ;) ) , and the year Sam was being treated for cancer in a hospital in London was pretty grim, even though we made the best of it.
This year wasn’t ruined as such, it was just different.
We got through it, we’ll be able to enjoy next year because we sat this one out. That’s the main thing.
I know brighter days are ahead. We’re going to come out of this suspended animation and explode into the new roaring Twenties!
The young, free and single have a year of missed partying and debauchery to make up for.
Us oldies will probably sit the debauchery bit out I imagine, and rather than spending another year in pjs and tracksuits, we’ll just go for nice dinners in nice clothes. Hahahahaha
I can’t wait. I’m excited for life to return to normal, or a new normal at least, we don’t always fully recover from life experiences, we learn from them, we grow from them, and we keep the bits we liked…that’s my hint for us to keep the free hand gel everywhere and anti spit masks please and thank you!! ;)
The best thing about Christmas any year, is Chris being home. He works in construction and in the UK construction closes down for Christmas. This year he’s been off for 16 days. He bought me some absolute cracking Christmas presents, but him being home for over two weeks is the best one of them all.
I like him, he likes me. It works out really rather well.
I’ll wish you a happy new year early, I won’t be celebrating it. I dislike New Year’s Eve immensely. Always have done. I’ve stayed up to see it in only a handful of times in my 47 years, I see no reason to wait up to watch a clock tick over to midnight…I’ll let you in to a little secret…the new year is always there in the morning, when I wake up! Hahahahaha
I am The Grinch of NYE!! Hahahahaha
But I do wish you a very very happy, healthy, peaceful 2021, full of love and family and all the things that matter.
Xx
Suzanne