Saturday 23 December 2006

Jesus is back!!(!)

I called on a friend to wish him a happy Christmas. I gave him a hug. "Whoo, have you missed me?" he asked, as I leaned and didn't let go for a while. Yes, I had, he's a sweetheart and I hadn't seen him for some time, but he was also very nice and comfortable to lean on. It was 9 in the morning, 5 hours after starting work.

Al got a bit frantic at one point during the afternoon as it was extremely busy, not helped by me disappearing for a while in an unscheduled sort of way. We caught up eventually and he put in his order before 5 o'clock - hoping that there will, in fact, be a delivery tomorrow. Back at 6 tomorrow morning, and I hope that by 4 pm I'll be ready to leave to get ready for the carol service at 6. I have not practised the clarinet, which is a bit of a shame as I am accompanying the pre-carol service carol singing for half an hour - it's not the notes I'm worried about getting wrong, but that my lip muscles will be tired and wobbly by the end of it, and since there was a bright idea of me leading two carols during the service too (as being more appropriate than the organ for 'Silent Night' and 'Away in a Manger'), I want enough puff and embouchure to take me through that without inappropriate dribbling. Too late now to be any use, however. It'll be fine. The worst thing that'll happen is that I'll look a fool and that is a given fact at the best of times.

Oh, and baby Jesus from the church crib suddenly turned up, a year after being discovered to be missing. He is a very naughty boy. I must remember to take a photo of the other crib, which is fabulous. The children from the village school made it last year from papier maché. Everyone has fabulous pop eyes and we can't tell which animal is which. Last year, we turned the altar into a stable, which was most effective, and this year they are positioned at the back and the nice old plaster crib is at the front of the church, with Jesus about to be reinstated. Last year he was replaced by a Plasticene understudy.

Happy Christmas, darlings.

19 comments:

Chairwoman of the bored said...

Have a lovely family Christmas, Zoe, and a very happy 2007.

How do we know said...

Happy Christmas to you too! :-) Love and luck and a shy hug!!

Z said...

Thank you, Chairwoman, and the same to you.

And to you, how do we know - much love and when I next come to India (don't yet know when) you are the person I want to meet.

y.Wendy.y said...

Hee hee - your title had me worried for a second..thought you'd either gone completely mad or had had too much eggnog.

I bet you'll be great on the clarinet..spitty gobs or not.

Happy Christmas Z. All of you.

xx

Z said...

Keeping 'em guessing, darling, as ever.

Tears as well as laughter, I know, for you. But loving memories are the lasting ones. Have a lovely time.

Girlplustwo said...

i wonder what baby jesus did all year? hit the pubs, maybe?

Merriest to you, lovely Z. Truly merriest. xo

Z said...

A pub crawl, you think? Or a sleigh ride with Father Christmas? At least he turned up before Christmas, arriving late for your own birthday party is such a social faux pas.

Thanks, peach. Happy Christmas.

Ally said...

Happy Christmas to you, too! Your holly wreaths remind me of home; I don't visit my Ma during December because of her pre-Christmas stress and the fact that the sitting room fills up with holly :).

Anonymous said...

I wonder if your Jesus was kidnapped by a rival church - like university mascots get (got?) kidnapped during rag week?

Enjoy the festivities!

Z said...

Ally, I am not so much stressed as resigned to the wretched wreaths. They all sold, plus one of the crosses that had been ordered and I'll have to make one last one, so at least it was all useful.

BW - what a great idea. We didn't get a ransom demand, but t it could be subtler than that. I think we should put out the plasticene one too, it would be quite good to have twin Jesii.

Z said...

Jesi, of course, what was I thinking of. Tchk.

How do we know said...

Thank you! That was a super compliment! :-)

How do we know said...

Thank you! That was a super compliment! :-)

Newbie said...

Great mystery! My guess is that he went off to Australia for the year - everyone is doing the gap year thing at the moment.
Merry Xmas!

Z said...

HDWK - :-) xx

Angelina - that's the best theory of all. I wonder what my chums at the church will make of it. I shall argue the case strongly.

badgerdaddy said...

It's surely Jesuses or Jesupodes, like the octopus plurals?

Z said...

If Jesus had many feet, that could explain why he walked on water - they twinkled over the surface so fast that he didn't have time to sink.

It could even be Jesusi.

Of course, like the Holy Grail. there is really no plural, but one prefers to have the correct spelling to hand, just in case an appropriate occasion arises.

How do we know said...

And its been 5 days since you posted!! Am missing you!

Z said...

Is that a hint? Okay, I'll get on with it. I think even I couldn't be irreverent enough to say 'Z is back!!(!)' though...