The 13.46 London Midland train from Euston to Crewe was absolutely rammed. Like many people I was too far up the platform for the tiny little train that eventually pulled in and there was no hope of a seat. Travelling on Christmas Eve is surely something that no sane person would do if they had any choice but of course so many of us have to, one way or another.
There is an old Master Card advert in which a father uses his Credit Card to buy the last plane to anywhere, then a train ticket and then a hire car. He makes it back to see his daughter on Christmas Eve and the punch line as ever is that it is priceless.
This year our daughter is six thousand miles away and we're not going to see her. It will all be different next year but for the moment we are treading water, hoping time will pass and at the same time increasingly concerned about how much we have to do and how soon.
Christmas Eve for us this year was spent with Sarah, Rob and Jessica. In the morning we were up and ready for Jess's second Christmas and delighted in her opening her presents. After a grand breakfast once Gill and Chris had arrived it was off to Sue and Graham's for mince pies and the chance to see Anne and Michael. It was lovely to see everyone but the real highlight for us was when Sam, Philip and Rebecca arrived with their new dog - Bobby!
We were so relieved to see just how happy he was with them. There is no doubt that he is loved by every one of them and that he now has the position in a family that he deserves. It's still a shame for Billy to have lost his playmate but Billy couldn't complain much because he did have his sister and two nephews this time. It was then back to S, R & J's for Christmas lunch.
The turkey was perfect and once we had had our fill Rob, Jess and I took the dogs out for a walk before returning for a well deserved pudding. Then it was back to the present opening for Jessica. We finally got round to opening the adults' presents once she had got to bed and settled down to some television.
On Boxing day we were off to the Lomas household for another fanastic feast, this time of lamb. The boxing day walk comprised two west highland white terriers, four chocolate labradors, one golden retriever and some people. What a sight we were to behold - although not too closely if you had any sense.
The 27th was Chris' birthday (21 again) and that too involved copious amounts of fine food, a touch of alcohol and dog walking in the freezing cold.
And then it was over and we were back home. We've had good news that Harriet is doing very well and are trying to enjoy a little bit of calm before the next storm. We will be shipping animals across the country and flying ourselves and our mothers to the other side of the world while desperately trying to sort out the legal situation. It's going to be horrendous but like that train journey there is no alternative and the destination is priceless.
