Every year, either on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, I wrap up well and head outdoors, to listen to the absence of everyone.
This year it was easy. Instead of going back to visit my Ma as is traditional, I’ve spent it in York. Her pipes are frozen (I mean that literally, not indelicately) and her house is on emergency water rationing, so we decided I’d be imposing, and Christmas be damned. So apart from seeing friends, I’ve spent it doing a little work, finishing reading 4 books (so far), scribbling furious plans for world domination (and doodling tanks in the margins – that’s never a good sign), drinking a little whisky when it gets too cold, doing as little online as I could possibly get away with…and going for a long, quiet walk. (more…)
