I don't do presents at Christmas so a lot of people assume that means I'm a bit of a Scrooge about the whole season. But they couldn't be more wrong. Christmas for me is all about time spent with family and friends I love to pieces. I've been feeling pretty nostalgic this December and put my tree up on the 1 st when usually I put it up when I finish teaching round about the 18 th or 19 th . My lovely friend Chantal and I had a mini tree decorating party. Just her and me. The festivities involved: good food Christmasish music quite a bit of mulled wine and the inevitable set of lights which didn't work, The result was this shining example of a Christmas tree you see before you. It's always a fake tree because being South African I don't know any other kind. My strongest childhood memories are of lengthy journeys in our Hillman (later a bright yellow VW Beetle) to friends and family on C
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