Sunday December 18, 1983

 5, Club Street, Lidget Green, Bradford

4th Sunday in Advent

Number 5.

An idle day - well for me it was. Spent hours wrapping Christmas presents we bought in Winchester. Amazed at the way we didn't dawdle. We usually do this in a mad panic late on Christmas Eve. It goes dark very quickly. So sooner were we out of bed when we were considering climbing back in it. Dave L phoned for the addresses of Lynn and Sue and mentioned that Christine Braithwaite had phoned him quite out of the blue, to say she is divorcing her husband and living back on New Road Side again. She now works behind the bar at the Chevin Inn. I went down the street delivering Christmas cards to our depleted clutch of neighbours. Spent some time with Phyllis Beale, mourning poor Bert. She had a Christmas tree standing no higher than three inches. Went to see Charles Eyden who told me he was born on September 7, 1899. Mary Moore was having a gigantic gathering for lunch and I inspected her festive table. She gave me a pudding and a jar of homemade mincemeat. For the remainder of the day it was one of peace. We sat by the tree lights and played Mario Lanza's Christmas LP, which always raises a laugh. Jim and Margaret called in at 7 and I showed him our leaking lavatory. He taped it up, but blames condensation.

-=-