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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

****NormaStanleyFletcher would like to say sorry as the Christmas Appeal Matching is slightly delayed****

571 replies

NormaStanleyFletcher · 01/12/2009 19:58

Sorry folks

Some idiot company decided to give me a full time job earlier than expected, and I have a MASSIVE document to finish; they are paying me a load of money (well more than I have ever earned before) so I feel duty bound as the eager newbie to get it done in my free time...

I have no internet access during the day apart from BBC, tfl and a couple of others.

I have also been ill, not with a hangover from the Christmas Party, but with earache, and have had v little sleep, so had to have the day off work yesterday (so much for the eager newbie)

Anyhoo - this means that the matching will be delayed by a couple of days. Sorry

If you have a particular need to be matched early, drop me a mail ([email protected]) and I will shove you to the top of the list.

Thanks for listening.

Please bump this

Ta

OP posts:
HappyMummyOfOne · 22/12/2009 09:44

Think mine will have to be a new year present too as not had the address and today was the last day for special delivery before christmas.

trace2 · 22/12/2009 09:48

i not had a match either!

but lets look at it this way now, there will be some who have a sh##t christmas and look how they will feel when they get a nice surprise to start the new year off

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 22/12/2009 09:54

exactly trace - and as they don't know that they're getting something then their Christmas won't be made worse by not getting something in time for it.

I think some delayed cheer for the New Year sounds fabulous.

morningpaper · 22/12/2009 10:10

Got mine!

Are we wrapping things up or leaving it to the recipient to wrap up?

morningpaper · 22/12/2009 10:10

oh right, unwrapped by put wrapping paper in

jolly good

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 22/12/2009 10:11

MP - I think what most people seem to have been doing is sending them with some wrapping paper (but unwrapped) so that the recipients can see what it is before they Father Christmas delivers them.

IsItMeOrSanta · 22/12/2009 10:26

Got mine, thanks Fletch. You are totally insane though, as it was timed at 4.02AM!

As it's only a 20 minute drive from me, I'm hoping it will be okay if I drop it round in person - ring the bell and run away stylee - so that I can be sure of them getting it in time for xmas.

kidcreoleandthecoconuts · 22/12/2009 10:29

I got my match thanks Fletch .
It won't get there until the new year now as I'm posting from Ireland.

plumpud · 22/12/2009 10:29

yay got my match, thank you! Will do my absolute best to get it there before the day.

StewieGriffinsMom · 22/12/2009 10:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

ShepherdsWashedTheirLocks · 22/12/2009 10:42

Got mine. Well done Fletch, you're a star.

Am on the case.

(knottyLocks)

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 22/12/2009 11:02
weblette · 22/12/2009 11:14

On its way - dh is braving the road into the village

Divatheshopaholic · 22/12/2009 12:09

is matches all out then?

4CALLINGBIRDSandnotout · 22/12/2009 12:18

I haven't had mine yet but j won't be able to post until next week now as it is still thick snow here and has been since Friday so no chance for shopping! I'm sure presents after Xmas will still be as welcome.

FabIsGettingReadyForXmas · 22/12/2009 12:19

Avacalendar No one knows they arew getting anything so I wouldn't bother putting the number as it won't mean anything to anyone.

If anyone sees Norma - please tell her I want her.

Hulababy · 22/12/2009 12:20

AFAIK my parcel has been delivered and signed for. Hope so

morningpaper · 22/12/2009 13:32

Mine is posted although they said it won't arrive til after Christmas (special delivery was a rather prohibitive £20! Do you want for the Royal mail Fletch?! )

NormaStanleyFletcher · 22/12/2009 13:32

OI FAB ! DO PUT THE NUMBER ON PARCELS

OTHERWISE HOW CAN I TELL WHAT HAS ARRIVED AND WHAT HASN'T WHEN PEOPLE ASK, AND HOW CAN PEOPLE ANONYMOUSLY THANK THEIR DONOR IF THEY WANT TO

Ok so the latest installment in "nothing else can go wrong can it" (Never say that ever)

Finally got to scotland through some fairly interesting weather. We are in the borders in the middle of nowhere - not even any mobile signal etc.

They do have broadband, but will my little laptop connect to it? Go on, take a guess...

And the computer in the house is ancient so it won't recognise a USB stick, so I can't transfer all the matches onto the computer that is connected to the internet. (I had also forgotten the power lead for said laptop, just to throw in a bit of general incompetence on my part )

I have all these matches, and no way to send emails with the information in.

In the end, DH braved the valley roads and went and bought me a mobile pay as you go dongle thing, and a new power lead. Managed to get all the emails composed (5 am this morning) (using my new half-arsed ability at mail merge).

Do you spot the problem now?

Yep

It is a mobile dongle. There is no mobile signal

So I was planning to drive the 5 or 6 miles to the nearest place on the road that has mobile signal. But then it froze overnight. Then it snowed again.

So DH decided that the only thing to do was to trudge up the steep snowy hill carrying my laptop (a few hundred feet up), hold it up in the air, and hit send. (I let him go alone, I had decided that with my current record, if I had anything to do with it the laptop would end up in a 4 foot drift)

This post is already too long... more in a mo...

OP posts:
NormaStanleyFletcher · 22/12/2009 13:39

So, those of you that got an email from me this morning, it was sent from a snow covered ridge in the southern uplands (which also happened to be in the jet-stream according to DH - his ears were quite red when he came back down).

At this point there are still some nominees with no matches (I haven't managed to get addresses), and some donors left over (some were harder to match, some were held in reserve for the addressless).

But at this point I am doing no more. I need to stop and enjoy what is left of the Christmas holidays with the family (my 2 SILs have travelled from the states and singapore, so I probably should spend some time with them)

The outstanding ones will be matched in the new year, while I am sitting on a nice dry train on the way to London, with my new dongle thingy.

I hope this is OK with everyone, and at least it means that in the end, everyone should get something.

You can still email queries or abuse to the usual address, I will answer periodically.

Love

Fletch

PS

Merry Christmas!

OP posts:
MadreInglese · 22/12/2009 13:43

A great big mahooosive enourmous well done to Fletch!

I got my match today but unfortunately am working now right up to Christmas so won't be able to get anything out until the new year (but on the plus side I will get more for my money in the sales )

Merry Christmas, enjoy!

FabIsGettingReadyForXmas · 22/12/2009 13:45

Fletch what I meant was the recipient doesn't know they are getting anything so if Avandventcalendar says parcel XYZ is delayed, the person getting it won't know they were meant too.

Now send me your address woman!!

FabIsGettingReadyForXmas · 22/12/2009 13:47

And I meant about putting the number on here, not on the parcel.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays.

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 22/12/2009 13:48

awww bless you Norma - that's fine waiting until the New Year

AvadventCalendar · 22/12/2009 13:59

Fab thanks for that, haven't kept up with what was happening as I did actually pull out of the SS earlier on so wasn't sure of agreed etiquette - and how do people have addresses of mners though if they don't know that somethings coming? too much for my tiny brain today

Have a good Christmas Norma