The local Mairie always lays on a grand Christmas lunch for the geriatrics of the hamlet and surrounding area. But not this year. Cancelled, due to the dreaded Covid plague. Instead, local councilors distributed Christmas goody hampers to the old folks, us included. These consisted of Limousin region delicacies such as jam, cake, sweets, paté de campagne, foie gras and a small bouteille de Bordeaux rouge (not Limousin region!), presumably financed by the French government - merci bien. And our hamper came with a special table decoration apparently hand-made by another councilor. Much appreciated. Merci encore. Wouldn't get that back in Blighty.
Despite this Covid plague we managed to do a fair bit of Christmas shopping. Grub mainly. And booze, of course. Raided Lidl at Egletons and the supermarchés at Felletin and Aubusson. They weren't too crowded and people wore masques which was reassuring. Went to five, no six, supermarchés in search of a bottle of Bailey's. Needed to buy this as a present for neighbour Isabelle who had insisted we visit on Christmas Eve for a nosh-up with hubby Christian and mum Janette. We'd turned down quite a few of her recent invites to pop round through fear of catching the plague - Isabelle doesn't seem to take it very seriously, possibly because she thinks she's protected by taking vitamin pills. Anyway, the Bailey's search drew a blank so we bought her champagne, Christian a cheeky St. Emilion and Janette a box of choccy bics because they always get us a present. But not this year. So they looked a bit embarrassed about this non reciprocation. No worries, the grub was much appreciated, even though we ate late. Geo reckons that's normal in France on Chrissy Eve. Staggered back home at about eleven. Sleeting. Cold. Hamish pleased to see us back. Excitedly sniffed my trews where Pearl (Isabelle's little bitch) and Zen (Isabelle's big bitch) had deposited scent.
Christmas Day dawned with a blanket of snow. Made Geo shriek with joy when she looked out the window. Weather forecast said a big chill and stormy wind was about to hit. Geo, bless, bought in a load of logs. Had two fires on the go. Kitchen and upstairs. Chicken in oven. Then prep spuds, sprouts, carrots, bread sauce etc. Ate at around three or four. Walker's mince pies with cream and ice cream in front of the Queen's speech. Excellent not having to go out visiting or having people round (we never have people round, especially at Christmas). Can't remember what was on telly while gently passing wind, slobbing on the settee. Bliss.
It's now the 28th. Still chilly. Still snowing. Another two months of this weather could be serious. Ah well, ç'est la vie. Roll on spring.
