Festive Busyness - and beyond

It has been a very busy week.  Typically, it’s all or nothing!!  This is what has been going on:

Friday 29th Nov:  Meal out at The Daffodil in Cheltenham for our work’s Christmas do.  The restaurant is good – and is in a converted cinema and is a restored 1920 art deco building and interior.

Saturday 30th Nov:  Fine dining at The Ellenborough Hotel courtesy of my Dad and Terri; they gave us a voucher for Christmas last year.  It is a 5-star restaurant – and absolutely amazing.

Sunday 1st Dec:  Meal out with the family at The River Avon Chinese Restaurant – where we always go!  This was an impromptu get-together, and was to celebrate my Dad recently passing his Grade 6 piano exam.  Any excuse!

Mon 2nd Dec:  Work as normal in the morning, then late afternoon, Roger, a friend from California arrived in the UK, so we picked him up from Cheltenham bus station and drove to the self-catering cottage (linked to Sudeley Castle) that he had booked.  We then ate food I had previously prepared whilst catching up on all the news – the last time we saw each other was in 2007 (I think).

Tues 3rd Dec:  Spent the morning with Roger, and walked around the Sudeley Estate and had more food in a local café.  Paul and Roger then picked up another Californian friend, Mike, whilst I started the Christmas Festival ‘rounds’ to make sure all ‘my’ stall-holders were happy and organised.  I sporadically met up with ‘the boys’, and later with Louise who came for the Christmas shopping and local buzz. Then we all went for an evening meal at The Corner Cupboard pub.

Wed 4th Dec:  Dropped off our Californian friends at the bus-station as they went off to London, and then I went into work from noon.  Then in the evening I attended the Winchcombe Gardening Club and did a short presentation.  (see below).  The meeting started at 7.30pm and I left at 9.10pm.

Thurs 5th Dec:  Worked as usual but was in bed by 8pm - exhausted!

The Gardening Club Meeting was a very local experience!  I had been added to the agenda - after popping in and speaking to the Chairman at the November meeting.  So, I was called up to speak using the microphone as a few of the members wear hearing-aids and are on a ‘loop’.  There were about 60 people at the meeting, and I would guess that the average age was 70 years old!!  The membership is 85 people altogether – quite a large group by all accounts.  Anyway, my presentation consisted of:
 
1) introducing myself as the new ‘lead’ for the 2020 Winchcombe Open Gardens event,
2) asking for Volunteers to be on the committee – or to help in any which way, and
3) asking for Volunteers to actually open their garden in June!
 
However, it did have an immediate impact as one chap called me the day after and has volunteered to open his garden in June.  So, my initial ‘advertising’ attempt has worked!  I have created some flyers and posters and gave out a few at the meeting, and I will do some laminated ones and distribute throughout the local shops, cafes and garden centres next week and, possibly, do a letter-box drop too.  I am also going to go to the Ireley Hardy Plant Centre which is on the edge of town as it is owned by an old-boy I met at the Gardening Club, and because I said I would!
 

The Gardening Club Meeting was quite a full-on event in itself; this was the running order: 

• the (short) agenda and business items,
• a flower arranging demonstration (with a Christmas theme),
• a Christmas Quiz, with teas, coffees, mince-pies and stolen,
• whilst the Raffle took place,
• followed by entertainment - one chap sang a song (with piano accompaniment) and everyone joined in the chorus (Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud),
• and lastly everyone singing the usual Christmas carols. 

 
Rather busy – but good fun!
 
So, as I said, all or nothing.


Check out the following link for some fabulous photos of the Winchcombe Christmas Festival:
www.winchcombe.co.uk/christmas-festival-thanks/