I'm not going near the Glow Worms game again until someone gets rid of the one with the badly-metred line about nipples. *blames Software*

[pen] It seems OK to me. Confused.

[Phil] I meant it had a typo: you/your. Alternatively 'To you, nipple, I'd be put'. Still weird. Tell me when it's all over.

(pen) The metre's all right - it's just a typo, and a fairly common one.

[penelope] You can come out now.

[Rosie] A common typo? I would challenge that statement - if only because I'm in the mood to challenge pretty much everything this morning ... (insert winky face)
To put it another way - why do we have the 'preview' function' or indeed the 'whoops' escape if not to eradicate such monstrosities? < mode= really going over the top now >

Nobody expects the Monstrous Regiment!

Least of all the Spaniels!

The time I have just observed a group of three adults, two babies, and a toddler take in a cafe, from their first getting-up-to-go movements to actually getting out of the front door. The previous record was 10 minutes, taken by two women, a baby, and an enormous quantity of shopping.

Today is my Birthday!

...in that case it probably still is for nearly another 10 hours. So Happy Birthday Giertrud :-)

Thanks!!

Try to keep growing old for as long as possible.

%aThis website is great 6cd8212ffc3e2c1f993c2a3d5054d176

it is, isn't it?

Ther evenings will start drawing out in less than a week, at least at this latitude, 51° 19' 06"N. This cannot be too soon.

[Rosie] Spoilsport!

[Rosie] Goodie. Ta for that bit of news.

A counting date ... 11/12/13 .... It was in November for us who write the month first though...

(Giertrude) Surely you have 12/13/14?

Yes, [Rosie], we had that. We've had a lot of neat dates so far this century. 1/2/3
2/3/4
3/4/5
4/5/6
5/6/7
6/7/8
7/8/9
8/9/10
10/11/12
11/12/13

Two more performances of "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" for me. The last performance day and cast party will be bittersweet.

Only four more working days until the Xmas hols. Next Saturday the windy miller's mill is the starting point for the torchlit midwinterday four-course gastrotour of the tiny village in Zeeland. i'll be serving gluhwijn from the workbench, under a canopy of 200 fairy lights, as they light the torches at sunset (which is about 4pm here). And on Sunday, we're heading over to Blighty for the week.

Three more days at work (after this afternoon - although we're halfway through the afternoon so it's mattering less and less) until Friday night's dinner with the windy miller's company (in real life, he runs a construction project management company and employs three people. I have to be the boss's wife...), Saturday's midwinter sunset torch-lit procession around the village on Zonnemaire in Zeeland where the windy miller's mill is. And on Sunday, we depart for Blighty on the ferry to Dover, heading for some friends in Guildford for our first overnight stop. Can't wait.

After today, I have the aforementioned 2.5 working days this year. Then friday night is the company christmas do, with 63 in attendance - plus these chaps providing entertainment. Plus Mrs Phil & I have been given free B&B at the hotel too. I'm genuinely looking forward to it, which is most out-of-character.

Haven't posted my Christmas cards yet. And there are some I haven't written yet either. The ones that are ready to go are in a big bag in the car. I'm hoping to get to the post office (stationed in our local village supermarket) tonight.

In an hour or so, I will no longer need to waste so much time in here because I'm heading out for a week-and-a-half off. I'll try and pop in from time to time though. Try and keep up the chatter yourselves, eh?

Merry Christmas (eve)!

A very Merry Christmas to all at MC5!

Ditto

Ditto.

Happy Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Day everyone, and Allah bless us, one and all!

Hope your Christmases went well and the new year is suitably novel.

Indeed. Which novel should we aim to replicate in 2014? HNY, you lot.

(Stevie) Thank you for waiting till midnight GMT.