Christmas is nearly here

Christmas day is nearly upon us, and I have to say that, as in previous years, it’s crept up on us and caught us unawares. When all is said and done, Christmas is just another day, albeit with lot of fuss and faffing around associated with it. To be fair though, it does brighten up the darkest time of the year, so you can sort of see why the early Christian church adopted the old pagan festival of Yule, as a means of celebrating the slow, but steady lengthening of the days, following the winter solstice.

At the moment, all three of us Bailey’s are caught up in the yo-yo effects of the latest respiratory virus that is doing the rounds. Mrs PBT’s has been quite badly affected, and it seems that now son Matthew has also gone down with this bug, something that is unusual for him, as he normally has a cast iron constitution. Working in a forward-facing, customer service roll (retail), doesn’t help, but at least he can take things easy for a couple of days before the mania of the Boxing Day sales kicks off on Wednesday.

Apart from feeling somewhat washed out, I’m OK, and will be looking forward to cracking open a few beers later on. As in previous years, I’ve built up quite a stock of both bottles and cans this year, although it’s mainly the latter. As in previous years, it will be just the three of us, sitting down to Christmas dinner tomorrow. With Eileen and I having lost both or respective sets of parents, and with siblings scattered far and wide, the Christmases where we all squeezed around the table are long gone.

I must say I prefer things with just the three of us, as those large, family get togethers could be a little strained. Also, in times past, they often involved me having to drive, and whilst I never intend getting trolleyed, I do enjoy a glass or three with my turkey dinner, and post dinner as well. Just as well, I suppose, as I’m once again without the use of a car, following an almost identical repeat of September’s glow plug warning light issue, and a loss of power from the engine. This followed a drive home on Friday afternoon, following a shopping trip to the Tesco superstore at Riverhead.

Matthew and I had driven over to, to stock up on various Christmas goodies, of the food variety, in an annual father and son trip that has become something of a tradition in the Bailey household. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t bore you with any further details, apart from saying we normally make it an evening visit. Thinking the store would be less crowded during the afternoon, we arrive at Tesco shortly after 2pm and were surprised to find the place absolutely rammed. We got that wrong, but after escaping from the store, and with our goodies safely stashed in the boot, we set off for home.

We were motoring quite nicely, along the main A21 trunk road, towards Tonbridge and had just reached the summit of River Hill, when the car suddenly lost power and the glow-plug warning light started flashing on the dashboard. I had a real feeling of déjà vu, as this seemed an exact repeat of the incident, we experienced on the M25, smart motorway, just three months ago, but this time around, I was determined to keep going and reach home, rather than having to be recovered from the side of the road.

We made it back, without any dramas, and the vehicle is booked in for a diagnostic check, this coming Thursday. September’s issue was a faulty fuel injector, and given the age of the car, and the mileage on the clock, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same thing. The annoying thing is I was planning (still am) to part-exchange the car against a newer model, so I could do without the expense of repairing the vehicle, just to get shot of it in a few weeks’ time, but we will have to see how the maths works out, when set against the cost of repairs. In the meantime, I’m not too bothered about being without a car, as I have my bus pass and railcard, and Matthew can ferry Eileen and I around, for a while.

So back to the festivities, or lack of them, as our infectious condition did mean us having to cry off from the annual “mulled wine, cider, sausage rolls and mince pies” with our neighbours down the road. I’ve a feeling we missed this annual get together last year, due to me having COVID, but whilst it’s nice catching up with what’s occurring down the street, I really don’t like mulled wine, and I’m quite particular over the cider I drink, as well.

I walked down to Waitrose yesterday, to collect our pre-ordered turkey crown, plus a few other bits and pieces. Whilst in the store, I bumped into an old friend who I hadn’t seen for some time, who was out shopping with his wife. With seasonal aliments being one topic of conversation, my friend’s wife informed me that she’d been suffering from the “boomerang” effects of this chesty cough for the past six weeks – a prospect that fills me with considerable trepidation, apart from the fact she is probably a decade or so older than me. Time to stock up on some strong, seasonal  beers, methinks.

I’m tempted to crack open the bottle of Harvey’s Christmas Ale that I’ve got downstairs, although I shall probably opt for the bottle of Westmalle Dubbel, that I left chilling slightly, on the back doorstep, because as it is the season to be jolly, I can’t think of anything better than a rich, dark, and warming winter ale. Writer Jonny Garrett has this topic nailed, in his excellent “A Year in Beer” book that I read last year. I made a list somewhere, inspired by Jonny’s book, of the best beer and food pairings, and I’ve just managed to lay my hands on it.

There’s nothing that out of the ordinary on the list, so I should be safe with my carefully accumulated collection of Quadrupels – for the Christmas pudding, strong porters and even that bottle of St Bernardus Christmas Ale that I’ve got, stashed away in the cupboard under the stairs. For “in between” drinking, I’ve got several bottles of Pilsner Urquell keeping cool. As for the main event, there’s my perennial favourite, Fullers 1845. Coming in at 6.5% abv, this strong and full-bodied, bottle-conditioned amber ale is just the thing for a roast turkey, Christmas dinner.

Still to come is my look-back at 2023, with particular regard to beer and travel. This is something I’ve done for most years, in common with most other beer bloggers and writers. In the meantime, though, I’d like to wish each and everyone of you a happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year, and thank-you all for staying the course, and continuing to read this blog.