Happy Christmas 2025
Added on 24 December 2025
Happy Christmas dear reader,
It feels like only yesterday I wrote about Christmas 2024 and yet here I am and it's Christmas again! I've had such a lovely year travelling with my associates and I visited over 40 new (to me at least) St Mary's churches - and I even got a "J"!
If you've not been paying attention, this year (and, if not, why not? Harrumph!) I've mainly been to Yorkshire, Staffordshire (and surrounding counties), Somerset and Anglesey (and adjacent bits of Wales). I've snoozed in some very nice cottages, seen some mouses and chatted with church bears (some of which were strangely green - or was it blue!).
Talking of strange bears (OK, that's a very tenuous link, I admit) I have some strange new companions for the Christmas season; apparently they are festive gnomes (I didn't know that was a thing). They also stretch up and shrink down in a most alarming fashion (that's why the mostly red one is currently taller than the mostly brown one in this photo - they swap heights when they think I'm not looking). Auntie Fiona says they're called Hans and Gunther, but she's not sure which is which! I think the taller one is Gunther ('cos that's the longer name) and the little one is Hans but then they swap heights and I get confused.
But the most alarmingiest thing of all is on my head (I AM NOT HAPPY! But at least it's not a Santa suit - for the history of this aggrieved comment, please see My Wardrobe).
However, I've been placated with Christmas presents of a chocolate bear and a new calendar of ME sitting on an array of lovely fonts!
I hope you have a happy Christmas with lots of CAKE.
Love, Big Ted
