Last night’s curry meal was one with which Jackie excelled herself. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and we continued talking late into the evening.
Christmas Day 1965 was my nephew Jimmy Clancy’s first one. In today’s calendar picture he looks pretty happy with his haul of presents.
The family rose at unprecedented early hours and we lolled around opening stocking presents and chatting.
Lunch was a spread that should have rendered no need for the later Christmas dinner. Family banter hotted up.
Last Christmas we met Kalu the Pleo. 
Unfortunately he suffered a terminal illness and had to be replaced by Kota who was undertaking a certain amount of training. Scooby didn’t look all that sure about him.
The main present opening was deferred until Elizabeth, Danni, and Mum arrived at 3 p.m. Unfortunately this coincided with the beginning of the Queen’s speech. Jackie disappeared into the kitchen to prepare mulled wine and by the time she realised, our sovereign’s annual presentation to her public was over. I therefore called up last year’s photograph from iPhoto and we made do with that on the iMac screen.
Under instruction, I stood poised with a match to light the brandy on the surface of the wine as Jackie wheeled it in. 
Maybe I was a little slow in striking and this part of the operation was a failure. Never mind, the wine was fine.
Present opening was, of course, chaotic. 
Mum managed to keep some sort of track of it. 
When Becky gave Scooby his from Jackie and me, he ran off with it triumphantly. 
His wagging tail was all that could be seen of him. It didn’t take him long to kill the squeaky Father Christmas he had been given. He then sought permission, which was denied, to open Ian’s Lana Del Rey Born To Die CD.
It can now be revealed that that CD was the present I had sought on 28th November. 
The store alongside Bond Street Station where I scored my double six was the relocated HMV.
Before Jackie served up a superb Christmas dinner, we played charades. For some reason my effort at portraying ‘Simpsons, the movie’, caused a certain amount of hilarity. Well, I defy any of you to do any better.