Christmas was at home with Selina, Phil and Julian. Usual fare of turkey, roast potatoes, parsnips & carrots, plus a stalk & a half of sprouts, bread & cranberry sauces, stuffing balls and rather a lot of pigs in blankets. Various Christmas puddings and lakes of wine, including a dessert one we’d brought with us from New Zealand. Not a white Christmas, but a warm one.
I have not mentioned this before. I have been to the dentist after nearly 30 years of absence. A few months ago I had to go to the dentist because I had a hurting tooth. Well, actually it had been hurting a little bit for several years. It was discovered a lower molar had cracked. Must have been biting those aniseed balls. After a failed filling, root canal treatment was suggested, This was not proceeded with when it was discovered the crack was serious and had split the whole tooth in two. So I went for the implant and had a titanium metal fixing implant placed in my jaw. Today was a checkup after 4 months to see that the fixing was firmly in place and the bone had healed. All was well and I have been booked in for the implant false tooth to be sized. Alas, the surgery was busy for the next few weeks, so have to wait until the end of the month. So hopefully all will be fixed by Christmas.
The Friars Club of Aylesbury brought many famous bands to the town. It was about to end when I moved to Aylesbury back in 1982. I didn’t know of it, and shortly after I moved here, the club closed. In the early 70’s David Bowie debuted two albums in Aylesbury. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust on the 21st September 1971 and Spiders from Mars on the 29th January 1992.
On the 16th January 2016, David Bowie died. After a special event in Aylesbury, a week after his untimely death a petition was started to create a David Bowie statue. The council agreed, but would give no money. A Kickstarter project was started to raise the money. The money was raised and the statue built. It was installed while I was travelling in New Zealand. It has taken me until the 17th October to actually go into Aylesbury and see the statue which I contributed to. It well worth spending the time to see it, and be there at the top of the hour. A random track from David’s music is played every hour.
For those who live far away, there is a live David Bowie webcam.
It was bike night at Ludgershall again. Lovely warm, dry, sunny evening for the event. As is usual, a thousand or so bikes turned up for the event. Various bars, fish and chip stands and hog roasts materialised to keep us fed. As well as motorbikes, new and vintage, there were quite a few other vintage vehicles and some Steam Punk.
BBQ and drinks in our village to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle. The sun shone on the good people of our village.
Met Joan and David for lunch at The Swan Inn in Denham for lunch. Nice pub, tasty food. Luckily the Christmas party from Xerox were not too noisy. It was good to see them.
The Kingswood Gun Club met up for a drink (or two) at Canaletto’s. Happy time chatting.
I was up early to help load the traps for the League shoot, I also had to transport the batteries to the shoot. I immediately became stuck in the snow as I tried to get out of the garage. The combination of loose stone and snow was too much for the car. I phoned Jennifer to ask if her father Jim, could come by and pick up me and the batteries. I was told the shoot had been cancelled. So instead, I walked across the fields in a blizzard to pick up the newspapers. There was a lot of snow, very wet snow, which snapped several of the trees in KarIn’s and Duncan’s garden and hedge. Keith was soon on the job with his chain saw. We even had to shake the wet snow off the Bay Tree which was bending under the weight of the snow.
The path to the village shop was difficult to navigate, there is a section with trees that lean over it. This section was difficult to pass, so the trees were bent so much lower, I had to really stoop low to get through.
Some pictures of snow in our field and in the pub car park. This is really the only significant snow fall we have had since Christmas 2010.
Our annual Kingswood village Christmas dinner was again hosted by Ian and Julie. How they manage to quietly cater for 30 plus of us with no signs of stress is beyond me. It was a lovely evening out with the various friends in the village. The weather was cold walking there and back, but dry. Snow forecast for tonight.
Our usual Kingswood firework display at George and Annie’s, with firework maestro, Ian. BBQ food cooked by Keith and Duncan & served by Karin & Charlotte. It was a lovely evening, no rain again, with a glimpse of the moon. Bonfire made from pallets and garden waste.
