December 1

It's been a funny old week! It started very well, by welcoming in Advent with Nathaniel's choir concert in the Minster Chapter House. There can be no better way to start Advent!

No photos from the event, but here is Nathaniel looking happy afterwards!

Still on the singing theme. the Barberellas provided musical input into the St Nick's Winter Warmer fundraiser. We sang while people were arriving and had a set of barbershop and protest songs (!) between the main course and desert. And we got fed, which wasn't bad as the food was courtesy of Joe Fennerty of fancy and much-talked-of restaurant Skosh. I was totally convinced by roasted cauliflower.

As should be the case in York, the evening was held in a hall concealed behind an unassuming door on a touristy street.

Which made the emerging at the end of the evening into silent York, was rather a lovely experience.

The rest of the week was rather different due to Thea being too full of cold and extreme tiredness for school. Which meant there was rather a lot of puzzles and Hama beads!

But that didn't stop us obeying the all-powerful advent calendar when it suggested that we make clay star garlands.

Of course this developed into a good many other sorts of clay things including Pokeballs and textured gingerbread men.

The weekend was packed with plans, but none of them seemed to work properly due to tired and grumpy children (and maybe the adults were a bit too!). However, the result was extremely satisfactory. Ian played a good game of hockey in biting winds, and scored his team's only goal.

We took board gaming very seriously and played a long and intricate game of Risk followed by a shorter and more inclusive game of Dixit.

We ventured out into the rain to drink hot chocolate and mulled apple juice and sing carols at West Bank Park. It was more fun than the first soggy picture suggests!

In the evening we had the Suzuki families christmas get together which entailed meeting in a bike shop, eating curry and then making music. The curry was excellent, and the children had a whale of a time playing in the shop. Some people performed (we did our standard folk numbers) and then we descended into a mass bash through Les Miserables and Abba medleys in four parts to the accompaniment of the clavinova. Next step was improvised jazz christmas carols with recorders, cello, violins, guitar, trumpet and keyboard. Lots and lots of fun!