We had a sudden panic on Thursday evening when we remembered that it was the Warwick Town Victorian Evening during which they turn on the Christmas lights each year. We have been almost every year since we moved nearer to Warwick so we didn’t want to miss it but I also didn’t want Austin to miss his swimming lesson yet again since he has missed so many lately. This was not necessarily the best call as we ended up trying to park in Warwick Centre about 15 minutes before the lights were due to turn on. Rich had to drop us off which led to us nervously waiting in the crowd in Market Place hoping he would join us in time. Somehow, he managed to run uphill a mile from where he parked and arrived with minutes to spare. The important thing is we were together and managed to capture our annual pic in the square.
Previous years 2015 (pre-Austin although he was a bump!) – 2023 (we mustn’t have gone in 2019 and I was ill in 2021).
This was our third and final attempt at getting a decent picture and it would have to do. Austin had a quick go on the carousel then we wasted money on the hook-a-duck stall (guaranteed prize, pick anything! shame it was all awful tat). Then it started to rain so we went to Sainsbury’s to shelter while Rich ran back to pick up the car. All in all, a slightly less than magical experience but despite all that, I am still happy that we were able to be there. It does make me so happy to live in a small town that has these quaint traditions (the town crier trying to ‘hear ye’ without the mic, the mayor having to thank the sponsors, the random special guests that help Santa to push the plunger to turn on the lights, the local radio DJ hyping up the crowd).
Last night we all watched the final episode of the Ms Marvel series. Although it has taken us a while to get around to watching this, we all really loved it. It has made me very excited to see The Marvels movie. We caught this moment when Austin joined Evelina on the sofa and they snuggled up together. They are being so sweet together at the moment.
Austin wrote his letter to Santa today which in itself seems like a harmless lovely Christmas tradition. Wrong! When he started asking for something that we knew Santa would not be getting him, he dug in his heels and it turned into a really unpleasant 30 minutes. At one point, he said we might as well put all his presents in the bin and he would stay in bed on Christmas day. Eventually, I had to enlist my new helper in all things Santa- and Elf-related (his big sis) to help get the message through about what kind of things are reasonable to be included on the list to the big man. I thought I would be so sad that she was no longer a Santa Believer but she is so excited to help make Christmas magical for her little bro.
Tonight we celebrated Evelina’s imminent birthday with my mum and dad. We went for a walk in the woods with Harper and it was a glorious cold, bright day. It feels like ages since we have been able to spend so much time with them. Tomorrow we will have Rich’s family joining us for lunch and then on Monday, she will be thirteen and I will not be ready.
Notes From My Day 