I decided that I’d get an early start and make the pilgrimage to Tesco for the last few bits and pieces. So I pulled into the car par at 7:00 am and made my way round the store. Thankfully they still had the things we needed.

Onward to join the queue outside the local butchers for our turkey order. By this time a blizzard had set in and we were gradually turning to snowmen. The genial butcher took pity and sent out his lad with glasses of sherry. Not my usual tipple but it’d be rude not to. Then to the fishmonger/grocer for our order of brown shrimp only to find that there was problem with the order and he would drop it round to our house later that day (more on that later).

Francesca and I had to brave Halifax town centre for last minute shopping. It wasn’t too bad although a little busy. Francesca was slipping on the icy pavements and kept on telling me she didn’t have any boots with grips. After an hour of nearly dragging both of us to the ground she said that maybe she should have worn her wellies. Yeah, maybe!

The fishmonger man turned up with our shrimp order and promptly got his Porsche Boxter stuck in the snow on the slight incline on our road. After much pushing, digging, a lot of lateral motion and not a lot of forward motion our neighbour arrived home in his Range Rover. One molished tow cable later he was pulled out of the worst of the snow and able to get on his way. All the that for 300g of shrimp.

After rolling a very tired Sophie into bed and some hard negotiations with S. Claus plc that Sophie had actually been a good girl this year we trooped off to the kitchen to reduce the amount of cooking we need to do on Christmas Day. So that’s it, to bed before He arrives