Has it been over a month since my last post? Oops! I was completely distracted by Christmas and work. I’m sure in most industries things get quieter at the end of the year but in PR, it only seems to ramp up. Creative work like 2020 overviews and 2021 predictions need to be written, and then the end of year admin and planning for the next year needs to be done. I’m still finishing up my 2021 plans for some clients. It seems never ending! And of course, it’ll only last 5 minutes before everything changes.

Christmas was lovely. In Manchester, we were still able to have other households join us, so as well as my parents-in-law, we were also joined by Aaron’s brother and his girlfriend. I don’t know why we weren’t limited to three households years ago! A smaller group is much more preferable to the 10s of people we could have had. There were no fights, there was plenty of space at the table, and there were more than enough pigs in blankets to go round. It was the first time, I’d cooked for years, and cooking for only six people is much easier than the 11 it could have been if we’d been allowed more households together.

Each year, I tell my mother-in-law not to go overboard. Each year she completely ignores me. This year was no different. Don’t tell her, but I actually didn’t mind! After a difficult year, it was lovely to be spoilt. I got loads of things for our new house and Poppy absolutely loved all the paper. She’s a strange cat. As soon as there’s a bag around, she’s in it. Present bag, shopping bag, plastic bag. We can safely say she enjoyed Christmas.

Christmas Day for six was also a chance to have a really indulgent meal. With free rein in the kitchen, I got to try something new. Everyone at the table prefers white meat apart from me. I didn’t want to try out the breast while waiting for my legs to cook, so I took the legs off, deboned them and put the stuffing inside. Then the crown was cooked as normal in half the time it would have normally taken (with plenty of herb butter, and covered in bacon, of course).

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Now Christmas and New Year are over, it does mean the era of indulgence is over. No more excessive food and alcohol, even when we’re going into yet another lock down. I don’t know how many lock downs and quarantines we’ve gone through now. In France, it was much simpler. In the UK, the lock downs and tiers changed on a weekly basis. It was impossible to follow. As annoying as another national lock down is, it does make things much clearer for everyone. Under the regional system, people from Manchester were going to Liverpool or Warrington to go to the pub. That did defeat the whole object of the tiers, so at least that can’t happen now.

It does mean that a we go into the coldest months, we’re at home again. With the freezing fog outside, I’ve had no motivation to go walking. We’re lucky to live next to a gorgeous park, but I don’t go often. It’s hilly, and I find that very difficult on my long COVID-filled joints. I’m hoping to build up the walking gradually, but I need to find the motivation. After a day of work, going for a walk in the dark isn’t remotely appealing. Any tips here will be gratefully received!

Are you walking much in lockdown? How are you keeping yourself occupied?