December started with the big clean-up of Old Gummy, AKA the fallen Eucalyptus. First Mark started with his chainsaw trimming off the smaller branches whilst Neil ferried them to the bonfire. It was a very large fire that was destined to burn for several days which was the plan. Mark did as much as he could but he’s only got a small one.
What we needed was a tree feller with a whopper and Mark’s mate Steve came to the rescue with his 30 incher. He finished off the main stump which had a diameter of up to 3ft. Eucalyptus wood is incredibly hard and impossible to split with a splitting axe so it’s now up to Mark to cut the logs into fire size chunks ready for storage and drying. With the bonfire still smouldering even after a couple of days Neil shovelled the red hot ashes into the hole left by the fallen tree to burn out the bottom of the stump in the hope that we can push the remaining trunk upright to form a bird table.
Last year we bought a large reusable Advent Calendar with a little drawer for each day and this year Cheryl came up with a surprise for Neil. In each drawer she wrote a little festive task for Neil to carry out.
For instance, sing a Christmas carol, wrap a Christmas present, eat a mince pie and make a Christmas decoration. Whilst Neil approves of her imagination in the use of the calendar he’s not sure that it’s right that he gets most of the chores! In his desire to get the upper hand his task for December 8th was to write a letter to Father Christmas. So he did, signed Neil aged 68 and 1/3rd and much to Cheryl’s astonishment without telling her he actually posted it to The North Pole. His reply came back just before Christmas!
The weekend before Christmas saw us at The Twinning Christmas Dinner. We went around in circles about being in confined spaces with Omicron on the rampage but then we decided that as our trip to Mexico was still in the balance we would go. We had an excellent evening.
Later that week Neil got a cry for help from The Tramway. The event is normally run with professional actors and entertainers, however due to illness they were in desperate need of a stand in Santa for The Polar Express. The events were now taking place every day in the run up to Christmas. We were still worried as Omicron cases were climbing fast and Christmas was looming. After some thought and chatting it through he decided to do it. He had a great time and the crew were very grateful for him jumping in at the last minute. While he was there he got wind that they were also desperately short of Elves for the week building up to Christmas. So, without further ado Neil played Santa again and Cheryl was an Elf for 2 days with only 30 minutes training. We hope our enthusiasm made up for any mistakes made with the dance routines & performance. It was hard work as we started at midday and didn’t finish until 9pm with little or no time for a toilet break let alone any decent food but it was great fun, a chance to unleash the inner luvvie and do our bit to help out. We couldn’t have been that bad as the reviews on Tripadvisor posted for the 2 days we covered were five stars and posted photos with us in them!
Then before Christmas Bob and Sheila Christmas got all the neighbours together for drinks, lunch and mirth! Hey, it’s Christmas. An immensely enjoyable get together where the laughter over the most ridiculous things never seemed to stop. We are lucky indeed to have such a great set of neighbours.
Sadly the days are getting shorter as we move to the winter solstice and the garden is looking very sad. We did however manage to get some pictures of the autumn colours before Storm Arwen stripped off the remaining leaves….some of the colours are stunning. The climate here is remarkably mild and we still have geraniums flowering in pots although they seem to have changed from deep red to shocking pink. Looking on the bright side, once the 21st has gone it’s all downhill to the summer……..yes, yes, yes!
Having had a lonely Christmas for the last 2 years thanks to Covid, this year we were really excited. Christmas Day was with Neil’s 2 children and family, the first time he’s had Christmas with his children in around 15 years owing to our travelling lifestyle. This was our first Christmas with number one grandson so it was very special. Regular readers will remember that Neil acquired an adult sized reindeer onesie in the summer and this made an appearance with a mini sized matching one for grandson – super cute! For Boxing Day there was a trip on a steam train which was a little disappointing but the upside was a trip down memory lane when we all got into an old fashioned compartment for 8 people……wow that’s going back a few years.
After the train journey we set off to Gloucester to spend the remainder of Boxing Day with June and her family. On arrival we went directly into the garage, Neil put on the Santa suit and Cheryl got into Neil’s reindeer onesie. Then we knocked on the front door and Secret Santa plus Rudolph set about dishing out the very silly presents to everyone. The rest of the evening was spent eating, drinking, playing bingo and cards and generally having a lot of fun.
Back in Seaton we took a stroll around the town to admire the Christmas lights and were suitably impresssed with these residents who put us all to shame.
During the Christmas period we kept a constant watch on what was happening around the world with Covid, BA for flights and where we were with our plans. One day we thought we’re going to go, next day we weren’t and so it went on. Eventually we decided to take the plunge and decide to go and instead of flying on the 9th to Mexico City we plumped for a flight on the 7th to Cancun. This made much better sense to fit in with our plans. Panic was then on!!! Not only were we flying 2 days earlier it also meant we would go to London to see Alex and Freddy before travelling to Gatwick for an overnight before flying in the morning on the Friday thus cutting our preparation days from 7 down to 4. So much to do, so many things to book and so little time.
On top of all that we had another get together on New Year’s Day with the neighbours at Maureen and Paul’s. Same format, drinks, food and mirth.
Back to the last minute packing and planning. After some serious overthinking on where to stay, we finally found some accommodation for the first few days in Cancun with a rough plan in place for onward travel. Entry requirements were researched and done. Daily Covid testing done. Packing light for 7 weeks travel – clothes & stuff to cover chilly days getting to Heathrow & return to UK, beachwear & shorts, practical clothes for sightseeing and casual for evenings, travel guide, Covid tests – all in the cabin sized suitcases with room to spare!
Panic over, Mexico here we come!
Cheryl & Neil Our Story 
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