Random Christmas Questions

[hollyblueivy]

The thought of Christmas is starting to enter my mind, purely thinking stage and no action just yet.

I have some random questions rather than a few separate posts. You don't have to answer all, just whatever you may have considered or if you have a tradition.

What alcohol will you be getting in for the Christmas period and what will you be drinking on Christmas Day? I will probably buy a selection of spirits - Vodka, Gin and Rum, but more likely to drink fizz on the big day. Prosecco or Cremant.

Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading to Christmas or just do one big shop in advance? I may add a couple of things to the basket that are long life in the weeks leading up, or that will go in the freezer but most will be bought in the final pre Christmas shop.

What are your plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day? We are yet to decide but I'm hoping Christmas Day will be spent at home rather than at relatives.

Are you having a work Christmas Do? If so is it organised or still to be arranged? Will you be going? If not, why not? Ours is yet to be arranged but as long as I'm available on the date I will attend. Numbers have dwindled since covid and I think people are less interested/inclined, but i love the social calendar in the lead up to Christmas and the work do is a part of this.

How much extra will you eat and drink and how much weight do you expect to gain? I am likely to spend 3-4 days completely indulging and could gain up to half a stone. But I quite like going into the new year with a plan to lose any gained weight, and hopefully more.

I may as well ask about New Year while I'm at it, are you a fan, what do you think you'll do? I've never been able to get excited about New Year's Eve, bit too late for me. Happy to stay home with a drink and a takeaway and possibly asleep before midnight. Sounds boring but true and may have others agreeing with this sentiment. Or not and I may be influenced to do something more fun / social.

I've already got in the alcohol for Xmas. I don't drink but have noted down which mocktail I enjoyed and will add that to the shopping list this week, but for others I have a nice bottle of champs and have brandy for the Xmas cake (which I intend to start next week following Nigella's recipe with modificiations as we don't like candied peel).

Food wise, we tend to get it in the week before. I will buy a box of chocs but that is it. We have to limit the number of lebkucken and pepparkorker (thin ginger biscuits, Ikea or Costco) in the house as I will eat a packet at a time. We don't tend to sit and snack as a family but it does increase when we are in the house.

Plans are yet to be finalised due to illnesses. We will see both sets of grandparents. Father Christmas visit is booked. Thinking about booking panto at the moment.

New Years Eve - we go to bed early!

Question for everyone else: what do you normally forget to do?

Drinks tend to be white wine, sherry, Cointreau to go in hot chocolate, and cremant. MIL always brings a bottle of rose Chapel Down.

DH’s family have a tradition of beer and pork pie for breakfast on Christmas Day. I have croissants instead.

We normally do one big shop, but I always go to Lidl for Lebkuchen etc in early December. Plus many boxes of Waitrose One mince pies are consumed.

I’m actually going to my work Christmas do. It’s normally in November- birthday month in our house- but it’s December this year. Not many details yet, but I’ll take a night in a hotel at my employer’s expense.

No particular plans for Christmas Eve as I have to work. Christmas Day we have MIL, step-MIL and FIL over. It will be interesting to see if DS, who will be 11, retains his child like joy or gets teenagery.

DS has mentioned staying up on NYE. We’ll see.

We don't eat more food over Christmas, just different from the rest of the year.

I won't change my shopping habits much. I usually shop every day for just what we need, so I will get three days worth on Christmas Eve to see us through.

I'll get in white wine and prosecco. My DCs don't drink much, so at most I will add on a case of beer, which may still be around in the summer.

Alcohol: the cut glass comes out for sherry and whiskey macs in December. Champagne for Christmas Day and NYE. And Baileys for the hot chocolate. Still pondering what to soak the cake fruit in. There's a gifted bottle of brandy hanging around which I'll probably open, then slosh into cocktails too.

I buy bits and pieces along the way. Love all the german goodies in Aldi and Lidl.

Christmas Day at home, with a beach walk if it's not raining hard.

Works do is a casual drinks affair, so no advance decision needed, turn up if I feel like it.

Usually friends stay for NYE, a long afternoon walk, cocktails, linger at the dinner table over an easy but delicious meal, champagne, board games, chatting until the early hours. Then a full English brunch the next day. The best way to see the new year in.

We drink champagne over Christmas. We go away to accommodation at the seaside and have a good walk on the prom on Christmas Day. Because we are away we have to go and do a big shop for the week the day after we arrive. I do take some treats with us. We will see DS and his family before we go and when we come back. We keep everything very low key.We used to go out with friends for NYE but tend to be at home just the two of us these days. Might see friends for lunch.

Alcohol - prosecco pre-xmas dinner and then wine with the meal. Nothing we don't usually drink.
Shopping - don't even know where I'm spending Christmas yet but if the parents are coming to me then I'd get non-perishable things in the weeks leading up to Xmas.
Xmas Eve / Day / Boxing day - see above but there will be parkrun on Xmas Day.
There is a work Xmas do but I'm not going.
Weight gain - probably not much if any, spending any length of time with family tends to motivate me to go out for a run more!
New Year - not a clue about that either but it will be a quiet one.

What alcohol will you be getting in for the Christmas period and what will you be drinking on Christmas Day? None, I don’t think. I don’t drink. DH might get some cider, or shandy, or maybe some Haig or AU vodka, but he’s not a big drinker. We’ll have my DB, who rarely drinks but definitely won’t if he’s driving and my SiL who does drink, but won’t if their DS is there. DH will buy every fizzy drink, Shloer, fruit juice etc he can lay his hands on.

Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading to Christmas or just do one big shop in advance? A bit of both. We start picking bits up with the shopping as soon as the use by dates allow. Things like home made stuffing and pigs in blankets are made and in the freezer by mid December (we use chipolatas from the butcher and Sainsburys streaky bacon for the best pigs I’ve ever tasted!) Turkey and any other bits we definitely want are pre ordered for collection on 23rd and we’ll do an in-store shop for fresh stuff that day, as well as things like bread, milk, boring stuff to tide us over so we don’t have to go shopping for the rest of the week. If we’ve got any cash left, I might pick up some extra bits then. I never do a food shop for delivery.

What are your plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day? It varies, but we’re at home this year. DH works in a supermarket so will be at work til at least 3pm on Christmas Eve. He’ll come home, have a bath, de stress for an hour or two, then we like to put some Bing Crosby on, whip up some home made sausage rolls and cheese straws and watch A Christmas Carol with just the fairy lights twinkling. Christmas Day we’re having my DB, SiL and their DS, who is just understanding what it’s all about (toys, obviously) so lots of presents and playing with him. Probably a hot buffet rather than a full dinner (they have some food stuff going on, so easier to do a buffet). They might come over again on Boxing DY, so if they do, it will be a repeat of the previous day. If not, we’ll have the traditional roast, then bubble & squeak the day after that. Very chilled, relaxed, no set timings, no one stuck in the kitchen. Someone might take DN to the park if he’s got outside toys, someone else will be watching tv, someone else will be assembling toys. Everyone having the sort of day they want to have. They can turn up when they want, they can go home when they want. No pressure. It’s lovely.

Are you having a work Christmas Do? If so is it organised or still to be arranged? Will you be going? If not, why not? Not to the main one, which is being arranged now. It’ll be in or around London, so a pain to get to, I’m quite anti social and I like to be at home on the sofa by ten and I don’t want to spend all that money on an evening with people I only see a couple of times a year. There’ll be a local one with the people I work closely with, which will be a meal in a pub somewhere and I’ll definitely go to that.

How much extra will you eat and drink and how much weight do you expect to gain? God knows. It wouldn’t occur to me to think about something like that. I eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat it. If my jeans start getting a bit tight, I cut back for a while.

I may as well ask about New Year while I'm at it, are you a fan, what do you think you'll do? We don’t really have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. Pretty certain we’ll either be fast asleep or watching a film and we won’t even notice

Drinks wise I am buying a mixed case of mocktails so we can sample them now and whittle down our choice, none of us drink alcohol, Ds1 who is 21 will occasionally have a particular one but mostly non-alc beers which we drink year round.

We have a tradition where we have the same menu of food for about 7-10 days, I have spreadsheets where every year we feedback what we liked and didn't like as we have changed over the years. Some days are set in stone ie Christmas eve is a hot maple and mustard glazed ham, crispy roast potatoes and veg. The left over ham is bathed again in the maple glaze, eaten hot on warm part baked mini pains with a little ramekin of glaze to dip it in.

On these spreadsheets are my shopping lists and I do have a buy ahead section and a special Christmas food box that we stash it all in, ie tortilla chips, tins of biscuits, nuts, cake, drinks. On the buy ahead is also a store cupboard list to ensure we have everything in condiments wise so we don't go to get the wholegrain mustard and find we have a teeny amount left.

I usually shop on 22nd or 23rd at a push for the fresh stuff. I don't weigh myself at all over the Christmas period. I eat what I eat and then rein it in a bit after that week or two. We don't buy in huge amounts of additional food and we don't have stuff lingering in January that we feel we need to eat up. I am a planner, always have been so this shop has be honed over the years.

Like @CraftyGin we eat different rather than loads more food for the season. Lots of cheese, smoked salmon and prawns, mince pies, but also fruit, nuts, etc. Tend to get a large bag of Leonidas orange trees rather than 4/5 tins of Quality Street or similar.

I buy in extra wine and a few Christmas/winter craft beers. I check that my bottle of Amaretto has a couple of glasses left (takes me years to drink) and that we have some port (we drink small amounts over winter but definitely have a couple of glasses over Christmas) and gin left in open bottles.

This year, I have no clue how the festive days will go. DD is in Uni in 1 EU country, I am working in another and DH at home in a 3rd. But we agreed in July that everyone will come to me this year. Dd has a team event in South Africa the week before so that has to be factored in. But we will enjoy learning about European Christmas and eating the festive food here for a change (we usually do a turkey at home or when we visit family - but we'll see what's available here).

I normally do gather things I need for Christmas in the weeks beforehand as part of weekly shopping, and I try to do the 1st 3 weeks of December as online shops as the diary is bonkers. But I also save to do a very large shop in the few days before Christmas when all the seasonal offers happen on things I use anyway - so I buy 4 large jars of Hellmans, 6 jars of curry sauce, etc to use over the following months. And that is in person. I don't usually pre-order the Christmas meal, except some years ordering a turkey in the butchers. There's always plenty on the shelves, and we prefer to prep and cook together for our family of 3 so don't need pre-prepared sides, only a few party nibbles to enjoy.

I quite often go to Lidl on the Sunday before Christmas and buy as much as possible cheaply and then Booths immediately after for things I couldn't get and special bits like Florentines.

What alcohol will you be getting in for the Christmas period and what will you be drinking on Christmas Day?
Some nice beers, e.g. a case from Burning Sky, Thornbridge, that sort of thing. Snowballs, Frangelico, ginger wine, amaretto. Baileys alongside Titanic Plum Porter is lovely. Champagne on Xmas Day, cremant on the odd days between Xmas and New Year.

Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading to Christmas or just do one big shop in advance?
I start getting a few long-life things now and build up gradually. Final shop tends to be big mainly because grocery delivery services demand £90 minimum spend in Xmas week.

What are your plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day?
Just me, DH and DS, totally chilled. We stopped going to relatives years ago - no big falling-out, just the slow fracture of bereavements and tiring of having to follow other people's routines, plus the nightmare of rail travel at Christmas.

Are you having a work Christmas Do? If so is it organised or still to be arranged? Will you be going? If not, why not?
I think work have organised it as usual, but I always decline the invitation straight away because I just don't enjoy socialising with colleagues. It's always strained and unnatural, the food is never good and I'm too old to be getting drunk miles from home.

How much extra will you eat and drink and how much weight do you expect to gain?
I have tended to eat a lot of chocolate and mince pies and gain a few pounds without really monitoring it or bothering about it. This year I've made a permanent lifestyle change, though - I've lost 2 stone and dropped my BMI from 25-26ish to 21 just by going to the gym consistently, eating the healthier end of what I enjoy and ditching cheese, crisps and ice cream. I'll eat less this year - mostly really good dark chocolate, nuts and olives, the kind of stuff you can't go too mental on.

I may as well ask about New Year while I'm at it, are you a fan, what do you think you'll do?
NYE is a bit of a minefield for me. I'm Scottish, lived in England since forever but it's still freighted with too much expectation for me, so I keep it very low-key, just a glass of champagne at midnight at home. This year I'll make more effort to make a nice dinner and watch a really good film, but then I say that every year...

Alcohol - I like the clementine & cranberry Buck’s Fizz from M&S with dinner and switch to rum (with coke) or whiskey (neat or with ginger) if I’m drinking in the evening (although I doubt I will be this year).

Shopping - add a few things to the shop each week, just not things that would be too tempting to me like shortbread!

Plans - none made yet but likely to use Christmas Eve and Boxing Day to see my family and ILs and have Christmas Day at home.

Work do - yes, a nice meal is booked for near the start of December. I’ll be on leave but I’ll be going if I’m able to.

Weight - I’m on a diet and it’s going really well right now so I’m hoping I won’t go too far off track. If I gain a few pounds it’ll be fine but I find it hard to get started so going so I’ll be aiming to keep my eating under control.

New Year - In years gone by our NYE was always spent at a house party with the same big group of friends and it was great. We took turn hosting each year and it always started out well planned and became fun chaos. I miss that tbh.

Now everyone we know is in the trenches with small dc and we should be joining them by new year so we’ll be home, probably doing the same as you with a takeaway and doing the tradition of opening both doors.

Alcohol: I don't drink , DS only drinks out with friends never at home , DH has Belgian Beer and a nice whisky (not in the same glass !) , DD has some Aperol and Prosecco for spritz.

I start buying food in bit by bit , and if I can get a delivery slot I;ll order heavy things , freezer food , cat food.
Costco in November /early December
Then I'll go to Sainsbury with my Nectar Points and see what else I need ,
The old Christmas Fridge thing

I buy presents ahead , definately want them bought before December . I do a Dec 1st Box for my adult DC , things they need and they like to use in the lead up to Christmas .
I already have DD main present bought in June ,

Christmas Day is quiet , Boxing Day we make pizza .
Christmas Eve is watching TV and doing last minute things . I am working the 23rd then the week between Christmas and New Year .

Works Do- we go for a meal , it;s nice to get together .

Cost - I haven't added it up

Weight - probably not too much -

NYE we stay up for the Bells but I'll be working NYE so hope someone else cooks dinner

This year we're going to a Christmas Market in December ( Bruges) which hopefully be festive and lovely . DH and I went to Bath a couple of years ago on a coach trip which was very busy and seasonal.
After one in the UK and the next one in Belgium I won't do another

We have things planned in London in December , DH and I go shopping on the last Friday in November / Black Friday shopping .
I'm too old to stagger round the shops with my bags , trying to keep my purse safe , trying to see things on the low shelves , listening to the whingeing of people in the queues complaining about how busy it is ,

What alcohol will you be getting in for the Christmas period and what will you be drinking on Christmas Day? Depending on when and how we entertain: Mulled wine (Christmas Eve) , Prosecco (Christmas morning) but wouldn’t bother with either if we don’ t have guests; we’re just not big drinkers. Then just wine paired with each course of any dinners when we’re entertaining.

Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading to Christmas or just do one big shop in advance?
I split my list into three categories - some things are bought Oct/Nov partly to spread the cost, partly to allow time to shop around, partly to catch bargains, partly to catch things that sell out quickly.

One week in advance I buy anything that I don’t want to risk not being able to get and put it in the freezer if necessary.

Then fresh food is delivered on the 23rd along with the turkey. Still time to rush out if absolutely necessary.

What are your plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day?
We alternate which family we host each year. This year it’s my lot but in laws will still need a gathering either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, Otherwise Christmas Eve is for prep and cooking.
Boxing Day is a day of perfect laziness.

How much extra will you eat and drink and how much weight do you expect to gain?
Christmas dinner aside, I don’t think we actually eat a whole lot more over all. There’s more emphasis on enjoying particular foods that we don’t have year round, rather than over eating. Nearly everything is made from scratch and when it’s gone it’s gone.
I resolutely refuse to launch into exercise and diets in January - it’s entirely the wrong time of year. My energy changes mid February, but December and January are quiet times, for semi hibernation. Anyway a bit of extra padding is welcome when it’s cold and falls away again once I get going on the garden again. I honestly don’t think it’s healthy to disrupt those rhythms..

I may as well ask about New Year while I'm at it, are you a fan, what do you think you'll do? I hate it. It feels completely arbitrary (as a mum of school kids, September is my new year) but I’ll try and stay awake until midnight because dh and the dc like it. I just might organise a party this year, maybe.

drinking on Christmas Day? Yes, we have champagne, gin, beer and wine. We have an open house where people do bring their own but we like a supply. Lots of soft drinks too.
Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading to Christmas or just do one big shop in advance?
I have bought a couple of things so far and I will stock up with booze. My main shop this year will be the Sunday (Tesco delivery) leaving me to get our marks and Spencer order and fresh veg on Christmas Eve.
What are your plans for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day?
DH will be working on CE. I am off so will sort the house and get the marks and Spencer order. I’ll take DS with me and have lunch out somewhere. We will go out for breakfast on the Sunday with DH though. CD as I said we have an open house from 3 pm onwards. BD is quiet. Lie ins, rubbish TV, homemade soup and cheese and biscuits.
How much extra will you eat and drink and how much weight do you expect to gain?
I refuse to cook from scratch between CD and NY so it is ready meals. Not really extra but an extra cost. Hopefully not too much weight. That will depend on the cheese consumption
I may as well ask about New Year while I'm at it. I hate New Year. House is back to normal, decorations and tree all back in the attic. House is clean and I go to bed. I just can’t be bothered with it and the awful Tv.

Drink champagne on Christmas Day, and pretty much anything else in the days leading up and around! We are quite big at home drinkers though, so always have a full stocked bar. Through December we drink Baileys as well.

Usually do a big shop, but try and pick up eg cranberry sauce in the weeks leading up when I see it incase it runs out.

We don't have kids, so will be staying home on Christmas Day just us two/any friends who want to pop round. For the rest of the week, plans are still up in the air- in-laws in the process of moving to other end of the country to depends if they're in by Christmas or not. My parents live somewhere totally different so we'll have to do two lots of travel.

I'm a freelancer so no work Christmas party for me- worst part of working for myself! Although tbh post covid the pre Christmas festivities were never the same- I always loved when everyone was in the office every day and you'd be at a different party or drinks every night in the fortnight leading up to Christmas.

I don't watch what I'm eating over Christmas, never really think about it or weight gain. If I do gain anything it comes off pretty naturally when I go back to eating normally.

My ideal NYE is a party at someone else's house, if not then quite happy to stay home just us two. We hosted one last year so probably won't do it again this year. Wouldn't go out if you paid me.

Placemarking 🎄🎄🎄

1.Neither DH nor I drink alcohol so we save quite a bit on the cost of that. I’ll get some AF lagers & botanicals in & find some festive mocktail recipes.
2.Present wise, I buy things throughout the year. Foodwise, I do bits & bobs leading up to Christmas with the main food shop (including veg) sometimes as late as Christmas Eve.
3.Working Christmas Eve but hopefully finished by lunchtime/early afternoon. We don’t usually plan a lot. DH & I will prepare the veg & we always watch “ Love Actually”. Might still be wrapping some pressies. We sometimes have a takeaway. I think Christmas Day will be just the 2 of us as DD15 will be with her GF. Will drop pressies round at my folks’ house. Not sure about Boxing Day.
4.I’m a bit of a lightweight so apart from Christmas lunch, I won’t be eating much extra. Don’t usually put weight on over the festive season.
5.DH & I often have a steak meal at home on NYE & will probably watch a film then the fireworks on tv.

Alcohol - DH and I are both off alcohol due to medication, but it my daughter is here I will probably get a bottle of prosecco as I know she likes it.

Shopping - I will get some stuff early so I can spread the cost. I have Morrison's AND Ocado Christmas delivery slots booked... but from previous experience I know that some things may not be delivered so, where I can, I get the essentials early.

Plans - I wish I knew! It depends on my daughters. If we're on our own for Christmas Day then we will probably go out to eat - maybe a Toby carvery or something. I think we may be having the Christmas celebrations on Boxing Day with daughter no 1 and family, hopefully at our house and even more hopefully with daughter no 2 and family.

Eating more and gaining weight - I don't think we will eat more, but we may well eat more caloric food. I have to be careful how much I eat otherwise I will be on the loo all day!

New Years Eve - after many years working on New Years Eve and now being completely decrepit, I will probably be in bed by 10pm.

What alcohol will you be getting in for the Christmas period ?
I got a case of wine in last Christmas and still have a few left, and was gifted some port. That will do us, along with craft beers in mine and DH stockings, and licor 43 cream for December sipping (like a spiced vegan baileys).

Do you buy bit by bit in the weeks leading up? I like a big shop delivered and to avoid physical shops during the rush. If we haven’t got it by the 23rd we’ll do without. Before grocery delivery I used to set an alarm for 3am and go to 24 hour Tesco, such is my dislike of crowds.
Most ingredients are topped up and presents bought before December.

What are your plans? Hosting family on Christmas Day for the first time, decided it’s less stressful to cook for 7 than watch my mum attempt same.

work Christmas Do?
I haven’t organised it yet! Just an evening meal if team can sort babysitting or a lunch during working day if not.

Extra to eat and drink ? I will aim for different instead of more.

New Year? Probably a film or board game night at home as we’ve a small child.
I’ve had too many new years/festive takeaways that take 4 hours to turn up, nowadays I look forward to a meal out or takeaway in late Jan when places are happy for the extra business.

Alcohol - we normally have beer and wine in the house anyway and DH often has a bottle of whisky so for Christmas we just buy a bit extra and some Baileys, possibly mulled wine and something sparkly.

I normally start buying stuff like mince pies and stollen at the beginning of December (and eating them) also things like pickles, crackers etc. When budgeting was more of an issue a few years back I would spread the cost over a little longer.

Plans - Christmas Day is just me and DH for lunch with DS and his GF coming over in the evening. Will be doing very basic food this year as we won't be here after Christmas for eating the leftovers. We considered going out for lunch but thinking we may do this Christmas Eve instead (cheaper). We are heading off to Spain on the 27th December for a week with DS & partner but DH and I will stay out there a bit longer. That's where we'll be on NYE.

No work do's as DH and I now retired but I expect to meet up with a few colleagues from my last two work places at some point in the run up to Christmas. I'm thinking of doing more stuff pre-Christmas this year as I'll be away afterwards.

I guess with an extended holiday we'll be eating and drinking extra/differently for a few weeks - but getting more exercise than we would at home when the weather's miserable.

We get wine and fizz and beer in. We will have a breakfast cocktail, mid morning fizz when guests arrive, and wine with dinner, then beer/ coffee in the evening. We will host so Chro at home. I get a butchers delivery on Xmas eve and a supermarket shop as close to then as slots allow. I have a bit more to eat than usual but we tend to just have breakfast and then Xmas dinner mid afternoon so less meals. I don't expect to gain any weight.

Oh and yes we do a night away Xmas do, two days of meetings and a night out. London this year.

I already have gin in, orange gin and mandarin tonic water. I don't drink much but if I do that's what I'll be having. I will get some fancy soft drinks in specially though, those are my treat.

I buy Christmas food bit by bit, as I come across it. It's not just for Christmas Day but for the whole of December, for me.

I don't overeat at any time and Christmas is no different, so I don't expect to gain any weight. I like to eat healthily so although I have a sweet tooth I won't be eating chocolate for breakfast daily!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are for me. The one for prep and the other to relax and enjoy. I'm Christian so it's the most important time of the year to me. I sometimes spend it with a friend, sometimes not. I won't spend it with my birth family though, there's a toxicity running through them that creates a bad atmosphere and mostly they ignore me even if I'm there, so it's all a bit unpleasant. They're also atheist and quite vocal about it. I'll see them any other day, if they want, which they mostly don't.

I'm retired now but works Christmas get together was only something I did if it was during working hours. I never particularly liked most of my jobs, was indifferent to the majority of my colleagues and couldn't think of anything worse than socialising with them in my free time. I also had caring responsibilities so had to leave straight after work for that anyway and it meant spare time was very precious to me.

My favourite thing to do at new year's is go to a friendly pub with a few friends/family/basically anyone sociable even if I don't really know them and then watch a fireworks display.

Forgot about the works do - we have to pay for our own. Last year some of the staff (including me) weren’t even told about the Christmas meal. I wouldn’t have gone anyway as it clashed with something else but that wasn’t the point!