SHOPPING: Milton Keynes MK Centre

A brief visit to the MK Centre, for no other reason than to get us out of the house for a bit. The journey there was a bit tricky, since it snowed the day before and the local roads were very dodgy. Didn't buy much, just a few chocolates from Hotel Chocolat and some hot cross buns from M&S. Did try on a TAG Heuer Link with a blue dial though.

Christmas Chocolate Stash 2017

MEAL OUT: Grey Goose (Gilmorton)

Our last visit to the Goose for this year, and once again a flawless steak and chips didn't disappoint. Pudding was a shared Clementine Cheesecake with Raspberry sorbet. I was slightly unsure whether going out so close to Christmas was a good idea, but in actual fact it was a lovely evening - just the two of us.

Carols on the Green (Fleckney)

Much the same as it is every year, only this year there were three comedy moments to note.

1) When the reading got to 'And the Holy Spirit came upon Mary', there was a distinct snort from behind us.

2) Someone made a typo in the hymn sheet so we were treated to 'Thus space the Seraph' from the clueless ensemble.

3) And finally... "We have three great Fleckney institutions here tonight. The wonderful choir, the fabulous school and.... the Silver band."

Indeed. The band were pretty bad tonight, and whoever thought dispensing with the lead-ins on a carol service needs a slap.

MAJOR PURCHASE: Cat Cage...

After what happened to poor Saffy, we were reluctant to let Poppy and Ming out into the wild and so we came up with the idea of building some sort of enclosed outside space which would allow them fresh air and sun, while keeping them safe.

Although I liked the idea I couldn't help but think that it would probably end up looking a bit amateur hour if I did it and so was contemplating the idea of getting someone (probably Mark) to build us something suitable. But then Rose came across a website called 'Fine Mesh Metals' who made panels which could be assembled to construct a pen.

Total cost for a 6' wide x 8' long x 8' high two sided run with a roof (and Saturday AM delivery) was £650, which while not inexpensive was money well spent as the finished product wasn't too difficult to build and looks rather smart.

There was a 2-3" gap between the cage and the conservatory which I managed to block off with some wood strip painted black to match the cage.

https://www.weld-mesh.com/animal-cages/cat-runs