The Christmas/Xmas/Hannukah/Saturnalia/BUY OUR STUFF Season

My Christmas night out ended up being a quiet pint after work last Friday, in the old man pub round the corner, where nobody else was in.

I’m finished work for the year. I’m really strict with using my annual leave for the other eleven months of the year, but every December I make sure I finish as early I can (because I bloody love Christmas). It’s just as well that I’ve got those holidays I think, as it’s now a really bad staffing/illness situation in the places and offices I work in. All my non-family social plans for during Christmas are off for now too. Looks like I’ll just hibernate for the next three weeks, only coming out to post here and to maybe use the toilet.

All my family plans are potentially off as well: The Lady's just come down with the 'Rona.  She's hiding in the flat until I can get away to see m family on Monday, but it's not like we were socially distanced before she got the diagnosis.  I tested negative yesterday and got a booster shot, and now I don't know if my grogginess is due to booster, COVID, or not having slept well with worry.

I bloody love Christmas too.  That includes getting away from London for a week.  For this to happen after last year...  It's not great. If I'm stuck in London I'm definitely buying myself some explosive diarrhoea* to go with the explosive infection rate.

*Danganronpa v3

I've got it myself, should clean up just in time for Christmas, but will have to wait and see...

Ah crap, sorry Andy. Hope so!

I'm 50/50 at the moment. I'm meant to be going to my parents' tomorrow (I can currently hear the neighbours' music through the floor which only strengthens that resolved), and I got a negative LFT this morning, but I do have a cough... The Lady of course is stuck in the flat over Christmas, for the second year in a row. Properly shit for her.

Update: I escaped. I'm currently at my parents' after several days of negative LFTs. The cough continues, and of course it's really properly shit that The Lady's stuck up in our empty flat, but I'm alright Jack. Hope the rest of you are too, and that Andy gets to go see the people he wants to see.

I'll be working Christmas day, but it'll be an easy day of fun Winter lessons and chatty privates, then I'll finish at 7 with plenty of time to eat a big bucket of chicken, open presents, skype the family and watch Die Hard.

What a bloomin' terrible time this is, with everyone desperately looking at 1 / 2 red lines. It'd almost be better off if the government had said stay the fuck in - there wouldn't be the hope/despair then. I'm very fortunate in that we've been OK, and my sister / Bro-in-law got their test back negative (they feel fine, but 3 of their colleagues all got sick, and my brother in law sits directly next to a rampant right-wing anti-vaxxer).

Ho ho ho everybody.

Merry COVID-free Christmas all.

Merry Christmas.
I ate eight pieces of chicken with a lasagne and a chocolate cake
Now I'm watching Die Hard feeling like I'm gonna pop

Back home now and sorted out my haul



My internet is shite at the moment so the Deathloop update will take hours, from looking seems it is a BT issue all over but trying to explain this to an untech savvy ill Dad is urghh, so will be ringing them tomorrow, but I reckon I'll get yeah we know bye.

Saw on the Book of Faces that Crumpy managed to get to see his/your family in the end. Excellent.

That reads as though Andy is visiting other forumites families. Did Andy see my mum? Is he my new dad?

Well, he was waiting for the right time to break the news to you but he said I could go ahead and say it. Yes, Andy is your new dad.

Buckled that the thought of andyman spending his Christmas Day scooting down folks' chimneys and giving them "bangers" in their stockings.  

EDIT: All wrong! As soon as I'd read it, I just knew that andyman was the £85 Grinch!

Merry Christmas and a... where are we now...
New Year's Eve? Fucksake.

Sorry to hear COVID caused havoc with all of your Christmas plans this year. I think we were all hoping that Christmas would bring some much needed respite from yet another year of pandemic gloom, so I can definitely share in that feeling of being totally scunnered that it didn't pan out that way.

I was fortunate enough to have a Christmas night out with my work at the very beginning of the month before shit began to hit the fan properly, so that was grand at least. None of my family was hit by the virus as well, so I got to spend Christmas and Boxing Day with my family at least. A lot of my other plans - meeting up with mates and whatnot - were scuppered though, so it wasn't all good fortune.

Balladeer wrote:

If I'm stuck in London I'm definitely buying myself some explosive diarrhoea* to go with the explosive infection rate.

*Danganronpa v3

I'm glad you got to avoid this dreaded fate Balla.

How's the other half holding up?

The other half is now completely cured, and we managed to get to her friends for NYE - but obviously had to miss family Christmas trips and wasn't too happy about that. Ended up having our Christmas dinner on Sunday 2nd, then taking everything down the day after. Oh and Dingle Rumpus v3 remains on the wishlist.

We still take everything down on January 6th because that's the end of the 12 days of Christmas innit.

A very belated Happy Christmas to you all. I got JoyCon drift.

My decorations come down yesterday, and I’ve gone back to work today. I’ve checked, and I should be able to finish for next Christmas on December 15th. Only 344 days until then!

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

A very belated Happy Christmas to you all. I got JoyCon drift.

My decorations come down yesterday, and I’ve gone back to work today. I’ve checked, and I should be able to finish for next Christmas on December 15th. Only 344 days until then!

December 16th in the end! One of my bosses scraped a load of work onto my plate right before I was going to finish on the 15th. Still, the transport was humped and the electrics in the nearby office failed so it was a cushty day working from home.

That's me finished until January 4th now. The work's Christmas night out has been and gone and I've had a few other days and nights out this month. I'll drink and eat well and hopefully see most of my family, but otherwise I'm expecting to be quiet for the next two-and-a-bit weeks. Any plans yourselves?

I got started on the Christmas TV specials last night.Knowing Me, Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge, the Holy episode of Bottom and a couple of Royle Family Christmas specials were a good way to start and there'll be time for stuff like Still Game, Father Ted and Porridge later in the week. Any other suggestions that I've somehow missed?

Our office Christmas party is in January to save money.

Tomorrow's my last day "in the office", but I'll be WfH because The Lady's missed seeing her family over the last two years' Christmases due to COVID-related things and understandably would like not to miss this one. Up with the parents from 22nd to 29th. Despite the snow (now washed away) it hasn't felt very Christmassy to me this year for whatever reason. Hopefully it'll kick in once work properly once work finishes.

I know nothing about Christmas telly, but I feel like I should try to watch Still Game in the new year.

Truly the Christmas carol our age needs. Hope the cough eases up soon Jim.