There might not have been a ball as such, but oh my, that’s not to say we haven’t had fun during the last couple of weeks.  But good things come to an end and this morning it was time to say goodbye to our friends and start the clear up.

New Year’s Eve was spent at home in the company of some of our oldest friends for whom a simple kitchen supper cooked on the hob (because yes, we’re still having oven problems) didn’t matter one jot.  Earlier in the day I’d cranked up the oven to get it hot enough to bake Delia Smith’s Mincemeat Soufflés which I could microwave when the time came and realised that it just wasn’t going to be worth the bother of even trying to use it to cook our main meal.  So, it was Jamie’s Gravadlax (again!), then pasta and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s Tupperware Meatballs before the mincemeat soufflés and/or Tiramisu.

Time to make a few wishes, then, with the Flying Wish kit I’d bought for the birthday celebrations last July and put somewhere safe…

By the time we looked at our watches, it was nigh on midnight.  We watched the chimes of Big Ben and the fireworks over the river on the TV before stepping outside and having our own little sparkle.

After which it was time to watch Dinner for One, of course: “the same procedure every year”, just how we love it to be.

With our dear friends off on their train first thing today, it was time to say goodbye to Christmas for another year.

Somehow, we’re always ready to put it all away and to clear the decks again, much as we love having the house decorated for the season.

In the last couple of days, we’ve watched as our tree has quietly wilted and begun to look very sad.  There’s no doubt, it’s time.

Just the one calamity as I swiped a glass dish of sweets off the table.  There’s a few less calories to worry about.

Now, we’re more or less back to “normal”.  Hmm….