Yule 2015

Our pre-Yule celebrations included the Carol Concert of the Nonsuch Singers under Tom Bullard at Holy Trinity Sloane Square, viewing on TV Wim Wenders’ documentary on Pina Bausch, the fund raiser show for the Margaret Pyke Centre that was held at the London Welsh Centre, a revisit of the Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy, a Christmas lunch with Claire at the Domus Medica and the session at the House of Lords on “Ethics and the City.”

For the start of our Yuletide with the Agonium to Sol Indiges, we did our usual prowl of the City. The oven at home had not gone on with the timer, so we were only able to eat our turkey until nearly 23:00. The following evening, we went to Penny and Hamish’s for a Christmas dinner. We could have been sixteen in all. This was delightful, and the food delicious.

For the Ides on the 13th, we lustrated the oak tree at the Duke of York’s on our way to the Rixies for Gin’s cream tea and champagne. She was not sure if her invitations had been sent and whether anyone would be arriving, but by the time we left, it was packed. Meg came to us for dinner. The following evening was the Residents’ Association’s Christmas party in the lobby.

We buried the year on the Consualia sacred to Consus. In the evening we went to the Portland Gallery for Francis Macdonald’s vernissage – having met her at the Hotel Crinan. The following day we met Graham Harvey for lunch at InSpiral in Camden – having difficulty finding the place. In the evening, Peter took us to the Athenaeum for dinner and a couple of rounds of Lagavulin.

Saturnus’ Saturnalia got underway with a another detour ride on the #11 and more City prowling. We had dinner at ROSL. The following night was the Brad Mehldau concert at Wigmore Hall. This was another highlight.

The Opalia for Ops on the 19th was cooking in the morning along with Sylvester and Derrick re-installing the kitchen door. Gary had left his jacket on the airplane, so he and Stef did not arrive until late. Richard and I fasted the next day and let Gary and Stef play on their own.

For the Divalia to Diva Angerona, with Stef and Gary, we went to the Saatchi’s UK/raine exhibition in the morning, to Clairidge’s for Irish coffees in the afternoon, and to the Columbier for dinner. This last was the first time we had tried it, and Stef and Gary were disappointed. The following day, we all four had a quick dinner at ROSL with Chloe and Matt before going on to the Empire Theatre on Leicester Square to see Star Wars. It was all fun, although the hand-held camera parts made me ill.

Our Yule concludes with the Larentalia sacred to Acca Larentia and Jupiter. Stef and Gary departed for Amsterdam. I spent much of the day trying to reset my laptop to work in the bedroom, but we finally got out. Visited the Brompton Oratory before continuing very slowly into Hyde Park. Cappuccini by the Serpentine and then the Winter Wonderland Fair where we had hot dogs, fried sweet potatoes and fudge. Eventually we were trying to catch the #137 – our only hurried moment. I missed it by seconds and turned around to see Richard in trouble. He had tripped and hit his head against an iron railing support. The image of his distress continues to be heart-wrenching. Holding napkins to stench the bleeding, we got the next #137 which actually caught up with the one we had missed. Hicham, however, got us a taxi which took us to the Emergency Services at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where Emma stitched Richard up – eight stitches in all.

We fasted the next day and watched Casino Royal in the evening. Richard developed a black eye but otherwise was basically OK. Vassili phoned, and we called Jimmy. The next day, I spoke to Wakil and Shambhu in Varanasi. Gin picked us up to take us to Ben and Tania’s for a super Christmas afternoon and evening with sixteen of us in all: Gin, Chloe, Rix, Woody, Cosmo, Ben, Tania, Saul, Mali, Sylvester, Sylvester’s daughter Nina (now grown-up and gorgeous) with her son Max, Stephen and Hillary. The meal was super delicious. We fasted again the next day.

We’ve concluded the month by having coffee with Stead one morning and by having soup at the Dulwich Picture Gallery with Janet, Rix, Gin and Woody and then seeing the magnificent Escher exhibition. Virginia Muir has removed Richard’s stitches. And to close the year, we are off to Meg’s in Stratford on Avon. All in all, we cannot complain despite the flooding up north and in North and South America, as well as the deplorable fear and new year’s celebration cancellations across Europe. It is indeed a difficult time – seemingly sad and unnecessary. My wish is of course for a better 2016 if not the best year yet with a major diminishment if not termination of violence and war let alone governmental, banking and corporate deceit, and a successful COP21 result to follow from the initial Paris achievement. Happy New Year!