Where’s Ya Bin? No, Where’s Ya Wiilly Bin?

Well it was all a bit too short and a bit too whistle-stop. Also remind me never to be so cheap as to fly in every direction of the compass when you’ve only got a week off. I’m not set out to be a jet setter. I’m not so much still in a different time zone as a different calendar. Still, a great time was had by all even though it was all too brief.

Besides John’s Christmas lunch, which I knew was going to be fabulous (the man has always been able to cook better than he can weld), my personal Christmas highlight had to be watching my sister put his backside to the canvas during not one, but two bouts of Wii sports boxing. If I’m being honest he’d had something of a torrid time all afternoon at the hands of his offspring as they opened one can of whoop-ass after another, whether it was Wii sports bowling, golf, tiddly winks or turning the thing on. Even my 89-year-old Gran thought she could take him on - and that’s without the sherry talking.

At least nobody picked up a nasty nunchuck knock

But watching two grown adults, nunchucks in hand, punching fresh air is a bit special. Watching John galloping on the spot like he wants to saddle up and ride his pony is exquisite. Then watching the galloping gourmet get a swift lesson in the finer arts of pugilism off my sister - well, that’s priceless. But don’t bring it up if you ring him up at work or pop round to see him. Like I say, he’d roasted his parsnips to perfection and they may have been lying a bit heavy thus restricting his normally fluid movement.

Him and Matt were also kind enough to take Steph and myself out for a pint or two and a curry the Friday night before we we had to be up at 5am to get ourselves back down to London the next morning. It’s been a while since we had one of our power business meetings, but we managed to lay the course for the next 18 months as John, Matt and myself took it in turns to blow smoke up each other’s buttocks. Still, it had been thirteen months or so.

But, we’re looking forward to 2008 being far better than 2007. 2007 started with Craig dying, middled off to a rather large unpaid debt being forced on them, and finished with their sister and secretary, Deborah, having to have her thyroid removed - although that didn’t stop her being the queen of Wii tennis on Christmas day - well I didn’t want to be the queen of Wii tennis did I?

So really, the debt, although quite a size, is put into context; and I wish Deborah all the best in getting well tout suite as they’ll be moving into their new premises this next couple of months and she’ll need to be fighting fit to do some laying of concrete or some other such crap.

Here’s hoping for a none-too-eventful 2008.