The extra blog. Twixtmas has run away with me, more ponders than time.  Our usual busy family Christmas has certain traditions, special foods and things to be done. On a smaller scale than usual we have hit most of the festive briefs

With one glaring error.

A big Christmas requires planning and early shopping starting in October. A smaller Christmas requires less planning and no early shopping. Or so I thought, but starting the shopping one week before Christmas was foolish. All supermarkets were out of stock of an essential festive snack.

Some things cannot be scaled back.

Me and cheese footballs go way back to a small Essex pub called The Red Cow.

It was my grandparents pub and stocked cheese footballs year round. Best enjoyed with Vimto in my past. And enjoyed now because of the past. ( I do know they are a bit of an acquired taste) I won’t miss out on them next year. Nobody from the pub years are alive anymore. Just me and Cheese footballs.

I suspect these ghosts of Christmas past, my mother and grandmother, standing here on the pub steps might think I was a little mad to continue to eat Cheese footballs . Not mad this year!