That’s it for another year. Although we probably had too much food and too much wine, we didn’t overdo it with presents this year so there aren’t all sorts of unwanted items lying around looking for an owner. Even Shadow took his ‘preserved bone’ (don’t ask) and was quite happy as he went off to bury it deep in the jungle which is part of our ‘garden’.
And miraculously, I have not been chastised this festive season for my behavior at parties and dinners we’ve attended. I’ve been the model of decorum which I suspect is due to Tan and Angie’s absence as they sun themselves in Florida this year. They are such a bad influence!
The ‘season’ started with an invite to Anita’s on Xmas Eve and what a wonderful array of food she’d prepared. A fine English ham, delicious quiche and mountains of prawns and sausages were on offer all washed down with gallons of champagne. It was a great start to Xmas. Guy who spent Christmas in Ireland with his father would have loved the prawns – he has been known to clear a whole seafood platter on his own after all.
Xmas day itself was pretty quiet. Kitty, upset at not being allowed to open her presents on Xmas Eve like the French do, tore into her parcels as soon as we gathered around the tree at midday. Then it was a delicious turkey dinner with all the usual accompaniments including rock hard brussel sprouts!
Boxing Day saw us at John and Linda’s just down the road where more delicious food was on offer.
Then a rest until New Year’s day. With J retiring to bed well before midnight on the 31st with a headache, Guy was the only one to actually see the New Year arrive although J and I were both wakened at exactly midnight as the fireworks tore into the sky in Cannes and the surrounding villages.
With several restaurants we'd booked not opening on New Year’s day, J desperately started phoning around to try and find a place serving lunch for a group of us who wanted someone else to take the strain of cooking and cleaning and after a few false starts we gathered at the Casoulette in Vence. With only 16 covers and a room no wider than about 8 feet, it was certainly cosy. The food (and wine) was terrific and at €50 a head, not bad for New Year’s Day.
Then back to Le Brin where I organized a blind wine tasting. The red tasting threw up a bit of a surprise. The €2.50 Chilean Cabernet came out top just ahead of the €10 Cote De Bourg Thomas (pictured) and well ahead of the €18 Australian Shiraz. See – hide the label and people will drink anything!
The champagne tasting was a bit of a useless exercise with everyone immediately picking the champagne ahead of the Italian Prosecco.
Then a bit of Lady Gaga on the DVD where I continually stated that “she’s the new Madonna don’t you know” to the point where J reminded me that I was getting close to an ASBO (anti-social behavior order) whereupon I had another glass of wine and a cigarette and that was that for the evening.
I therefore managed to get through the whole festive season without upsetting anyone – especially J. What a triumph!
Hey - and what about that bottle of wine pictured? Cute or what? I suppose I could pass it off as my own - from my very own vineyard!
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