Christmas at Trelay

I want to try and capture something of the season before tomorrow's return to work extinguishes all trace!

It's been a great time, a lovely mix of doing things with everyone in the community, with some, and with none: which to my mind is just right. I'm really still too full to my bones to write much, but here's a load of photos showing some communal festive stuff, mixed with our own little random bits, starting with:

..no, not drunken ill collapse, rather pre-Christmas treat..
New boring toilet seat to replace the garish bucket and
space predecessor. Woop woop.  Awkward angles

A favourite spot on Dartmoor, near Tavistock. Thought
I'd get some vaguely religious reason for the season
thing in, even if wrong season..

Lots of feasts going on of course. Another Trelay cockerel I believe..

Mixed reactions!

One day it was sunny! Wouldn't you love to stay in that?..
On the way to the woods...

...to gather and drag back foliage...

...to deck the hall with boughs of holly, tra la la la la...

...la la la la.

Annnnnd relax.

Mini trees waiting to be brought into the farmhouse, supervised by hens..

..and now by Roger, Sue still toiling

One of several silly evenings chez les boyz

And a mellow evening round ours, Marie and Captain
both appreciating the newly installed burner. Woop #2

Marie's sister (the badger), and mum (yellow queen) for first
Chrimbo feast

Badgr grr, aharrrrr, onky onk

Great community homemade Secret Santa. 
I definitely lucked out with my Santa...

Sherry cheri?

Sue's jolly earrings

And Jackie's jolly outfit! Natural born raver

Some of James' exquisite concoctions

And Clare's uber trout blini thingis. Yeah, we do live well here :)

Get in there. All of us were at this feast on the 23rd before some
headed off for varying whiles

Trelay gammon, sausages, cock, veg. Not sure about the nuts..
Deeeelicious

Marie and Emily on Crackington Beach (see the cliff?)
 - Christmas Eve

And looking back inland, to the Coombe Barton pub

Darts inside

..and food competitions back at Clare's

..where there were also festive creations..

..and even festive bed constructions. Crazy times :)

Some very traditional pressies

..and one not so much!
Very happy about my home-made wine kit too :)

Crooklets beach, Bude, Christmas morn. The paper reckoned 600 came.
Hope local vicars recognised this new (old?) way of celebrating
the awesome, vast,  purifying, smallifying, exhilirating, communing...

Not everyone swam..

..but some did! Last ones out :)

Thanks to Santa for the warm-up star jumps, and festive chittering bites

Then back to the cabin with a good appetite for Mariegold's
remarkable roast pheasant and all the trimmings. Deeeelicious!

And a wee while after, a check up on the other pigs

Piglets' first Christmas veg?

But you can't beat Maggie Mum's milk

Although they're pretty partial to muddy boots

Boxing Day walk - wild enough to blow out some cobwebs!

Above Crackington

A very wet troll

Amazing cake,  made by Jackie and many decorators

New games..

Check out Big Olly's remodelling of an ancient circular saw, as well as a
strange new side to Marie..

..attacking Li'l Ollie's secret santa target which seemed to go down well

And that's all folks! All sorts of other hedgelaying and other farmy activities, but that's for another day.. And good to remember that my current job, whilst a long way from all this in windy roads and office furniture, helped happily house a repossessed family on Christmas Eve. Woop to that too. 

Thank you to all friends and family at Trelay, and friends and family visited beyond these hedges, for a lovely spoilt time over a very cool yule