Wild.

Strong winds have been whipping up the waves all across the bay. We had a few short showers but for the most it was just windy.

I had a parcel to post so this morning Peter drove me down to the Post Office at the far end of the village. (Missed that one off yesterday's list of amenities.) From there we had a walk along the sea wall path towards Ynyslas. The wind was fierce and at times we were almost knocked sidways by the gusts.

The wind was whipping up the sea foam which was being blown up the beach and across to the golf course where there were a few hardy golfers playing golf.

Back home I chopped up vegetables for a big pot of hearty soup. I had planned to throw in a packet of pigs in blankets but they turned out to be a figment of my imagination. I searched both of our freezers but they were nowhere to be found. I can only conclude that as I stood looking at the items on the 'reduced' shelves in Morrisons I decided to leave them as the chipolatas were probably made with the cheapest sausagemeat. Never mind, I like to add grated cheese when I serve up my hearty vegetable soup.

Scanning through a selection of UK blogs yesterday I came across some people who take down their Christmas decorations on Boxing Day. I'd never heard of such a thing before. Is it maybe a throwback to Oliver Cromwell's Puritans who didn't believe in Christmas festivities which as we all know were tacked on to an earlier midwinter festival? Traditionally folk would if possible have celebrated the 12 Days of Christmas and even today many people have the interval between Christmas and New Year's Day as a holiday and may spend time visiting friends and family. And anyone with children will have them home for the school holidays (hooray say the teachers too). Personally I enjoy making the home look festive for the holiday and will not be taking down our decorations until New Year's Day.