So That Was Yule….

Well, another one over. At last the nights are going to get shorter – at this time of year, we get 15 hours of darkness; those nights when I’m lying awake and hopelessly chasing sleep, it feels like the sun will never rise…
Thursday night, we had our usual Yule feast chez Carol’s. We squeezed a dozen people around Carol’s new table (built by Andy from local, fallen oak). And it was a great feast indeed, as you can see.
There was meat in plenty – beef, local venison, a whole goose, plus a real piece of chef-magic from Carol – a goose stuffed with a duck stuffed with a widgeon stuffed with a mole! That particular stuffed-bird creation was – with the exception of the mole, which was from the garden a few yards away – was all wild, locally-shot fowl; a couple of the meat-eaters were picking lead shot out of their helpings! (Leaving Carol wailing “But I was up until after midnight picking all the bloody shot out!”) I – the token veggie – had my usual chestnut roast, cooked to perfection by B as usual.
Afterwards, we sat quietly in the living room, while Bill played his hurdy-gurdy and Carol tried out some of her instruments. Then, it was a sit by the bonfire outside as we watched it dying.
All in all, a very good night, though the unaccustomed alcohol and rich food left me feeling tired and aching the next day (I’m still having to take extra painkillers today, and resting from two attacks of tachycardia.)