GrubsAbout...again!: December 2017

First Sunday of Advent

And what have we done?

Absolutely loads. It’s difficult to comprehend all that has happened in the year just gone by. And here we are again, at the end of another December. This one has brought freezing temperatures and frost and while the Midlands and the North had a grand old fall of festive snow we had an icing sugar coating on the highest points of the moor. We spotted it on that Saturday morning driving Amelia to a friend’s house and looked forward to a crunchy walk in the afternoon, but alas, by lunchtime it had melted. No snowmen or sledging for us. Though we’ve had our fair share of mornings scraping ice from windscreens and although there were expectations of a snowy European Christmas we’ve decided to stay put this year, and explore the local surrounds a bit more, saving a bit of dosh, so the frost and the ice will have to be our lot for now.

It’s been a busy month. I finished another unit of uni and earned my first dollar (or pound) as a writer which will continue on an ad hoc basis. And over a wonky few weeks of uncertainty Maciek switched employers and is now working on the holiday house of the owner of Wimbledon (never thought of Wimbledon as having an actual owner, did you?). After covering a couple of shifts at school as a volunteer - once helping Noah’s class collect wood from the nearby park for Forest School (when I say wood I mean mini trees that had just been lopped and I spent most of the time protecting the parked cars as the children dragged said mini trees back to school!) and another day accompanying the same class to a free showing of Beauty and the Beast at the nearby 14th century Barn Cinema on the Dartington Estate (not a bad gig if you can get it) - I found myself suddenly working (almost) full time at the school for the last two weeks of the term. This is expected to continue after the Christmas holidays and the role is certainly an eye-opener, an experience I’m taking as a chance to learn and grow.

As the days have grown shorter with darkness descending by 4.30pm (whaaat?) we’ve taken to the inevitable hibernation that comes with this time of year with differing attitudes. For me it has provided a welcome invitation to rest and slow down, while for Maciek it’s taken some adjustment due to the feeling of a gloomy forever that comes with the onset of winter, a fear that ‘this is it’. But one of the things we’ve really enjoyed about living here is the distinct changing of seasons and an important reminder is that winter is just one of them. And soon enough spring will emerge, and so will the longer days and evenings that seem they might never end. Each season brings its own character. Autumn arrived with the a click of switch and fell towards winter in its own time, and it was lovely to watch the colours turn from reds and yellows, to coppers and browns, to become branches and twigs standing bare against the crisp cold blue of winter skies. There is always a warning of ice on the roads and never ending rain, but rarely a mention of the low December sun - an equal hazard to safe driving - that actually renders you blind at sudden unsuspecting

moments, usually on bends around narrow country lanes! To be fair, following all the warnings of miserable weather we expected days of endless damp and bitter winds, but apart from the odd grumpy days (standing at the sport court on playtime duty with the wind blowing off the moor directly into my face, for example!) the weather has been a pleasant surprise. Perhaps the worst is yet to come, so maybe I shouldn’t speak too soon!

Every day, whether it’s on the drive to and from school or work, or pausing to look around during busy moments, we feel grateful to be living in such a beautiful place. We’ve been rugging up and enjoying the great outdoors - from country walks to exploring the woods, river dipping (walking through the water in your wellies and collecting things with a net!), always with a flask of tea and some chocolatey snacks. We’ve watched squirrels scurry along the back fence and hurry up the trunk of the neighbours oak tree (falling leaves are fabulous except when your small courtyard is the catchment area!), and met eyes with a fox in the woods much to Amelia’s disappointment (she was at school and foxes are her favourite - something to do with a Patronus from Harry Potter) but we’ve yet to spot a hedgehog, despite the perfect hiding place created by the massive pile of leaves out the back.

Before I started work Maciek and I had a rare day off together, enjoyed a coffee in the nearby village of Ashburton before exploring the Dartington Estate, trudging through mud and arming ourselves with sticks before daring the path that wound through the field of hairy scary cows! We grabbed a cheap takeaway lunch from Morrisons and sat by the river in Totnes, guarding our hoola hoops from a couple of seagulls, having a drink by the fire at The Royal Seven Stars, before picking the kids up from school. It was a brilliant rare occasion!

Although we’ve missed out on the wonderful Austrian/German Christmas markets for this year, we’ve enjoyed what our local area has to offer. The Exeter Christmas markets were magical with traditional wooden huts set up on Cathedral Green and there we met a friend for our first Gluhwein of the season.

Knightshayes Court, the quirky gothic revival Victorian house and gardens near Tiverton host a Victorian Christmas display with illuminations through the gardens.

Maciek had a snooze while Amelia and Noah participated in some Christmas craft and afterwards on a garden stroll he forced me off the beaten track (very difficult for one who never breaks the rules) behind a few hedges to a cabin/outhouse overlooking the garden (I know what you’re thinking ...) to drink the mulled wine we sneakily brought along in a flask while the kids played tig around the trees. Although I was terrified of being caught out I’m glad we did it. Away from the crowds, just us. We did get caught though, in the end, albeit in a very polite way - “Please may I ask that you make your way back to the lit pathways in 15 minutes time before dark, we wouldn’t want you slipping on the wet grass.” Those lovely National Trust volunteers.

Not to forget football training and goal scoring in the wind and rain and mud and frost (only sometimes) with awesome coach 'Dad' and guitar playing/trying to sing on those dark cold evenings sat by the fire (inspiration X Factor).

It’s not all happy days. It’s certainly been a year full of pretty much everything imaginable. There have been diagnoses that remind us of the precious fragility of life, how quickly everything can change, and others that offer clarity and more self-understanding. Amelia for one has struggled this month leading up to Christmas - the absence of family and the loss of her beloved Babcia has fallen heavily on her. Because this time of year not only emphasises the loss of the person you love but of all the defining moments of Christmas that they were a part of. There have been many tears. And it will be difficult transitioning towards new ways whilst trying to hold onto as many traditions as we can. We’ll be continuing the Polish tradition ‘Wigilia’ on the 24th - I’ll try my hand at mushroom soup (not a hope of making it as delicious as Babcia’s!) and ‘babka’ without an electric mixer (how long does it actually take to whisk egg whites into peaks by hand?) And Christmas Day will be a full English with roast and trimmings (and ‘pigs in blankets’ for breaky because when in Rome ...) aswell as the old tin of Quality Street that cost us £5 and not $20 - and there’s plenty more where that came from! And we’ll enjoy it all with family and friends in our hearts, while hoping for even a sprinkling of snow!