Snow! Big fat flakes. I want to say it was snowing hard, but can it? I was walking to Asda at the time and it was catching in my hair and burrowing down the neck of my coat. Cold, but beautiful. The odds for snow on Christmas day are now down to 5:6, whatever that means. Midnight Weatherman Chris seems quite optimistic for Christmas snow.

I was a bit stuck for what to get for dinner on Monday night. I’d completely mis-counted the evenings last night so was a day short. I looked the fish and almost bought trout, but they were staring at me through the film on the top of their box and I didn’t think I’d be able to cut off their heads.

By the time I came out, it had stopped, but there was a fair covering on the ground, and you couldn’t see the pavements or road. It’s doing it again now, being blown horizontal past the kitchen window.

Dad arrived at lunchtime for his Christmas stay. I’d made sure I was up at a decent time to tidy the flat before he arrived. I got everything done apart from the hoovering. He arrived by car, but he’s flying back and I’m wondering if I should have bought smaller Christmas presents.

He brought my birthday present with him. It’s a picture I’d chosen in the shop in his town when I was over there in the summer. It was a bit of a risk as I couldn’t see it in the flat, but it goes very well by the dining table.

I felt bad about going out and leaving him on his own on his first night here, but I had long-standing plans to go to mum’s with Paul. She wanted to see him before Christmas so they could swap presents. I set him up with a leek and stilton pie, though, and showed him where all the pans / veg / baking trays were and he said he was happy enough to sta in and watch a video he’d brought with him, so I went and picked up Paul and then drove slowly through the ice and show to mum’s. Fortunately dinner was running late, or else we would have been.

That had been given a hamper from Harrods by one of the people they do business with, so we pulled four of them before we ate. The gifts inside clearly cost a lot, but they were still something you’d put to one side and never use, which proves what I’ve always thought: no matter how much you spend on them they’re always a disappointment.

Fish, then fondue, then flopped around feeling full in front of the telly. Good Will Hunting. Not bad, but the Radio Times five-star rating was perhaps a little generous.

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