ࡱ>    Root EntryZ O2p1!CONTENTS <CompObjVSPELLINGxff and was going up a steep hill there and the gearbox decided to explode! The gearstick was thrashing around like a fish out of water and the engine not knowing what gear it was in screamed in protest. It was of course very windy there at that point and I hit the hazard lights and pulled over as much as possible to let the four cars behind me overtake. Needless to say none of them stopped. I used the phone at a house nearby and rang Wife who was pretty alarmed (I was shaking violently at the thought of what might have happened! Aunty drove out from Bigton to fetch the shopping and threesome and I got the breakdown truck organised, waited in the pouring rain for an hour and got a lift to wife s work and then we got the bus home. We picked everyone up and then got home. We had a booking for that evening for the Bigton Christmas dance but I felt awful but when the eldest pleaded with those big soleful eyes I couldn t really refuse her so we got a lift back to the hall after getting the youngest to sleep. It was a great evening and we had lots of dances, to a live band, like the Gay Gordons and Strip the Willow. The eldest was up and off on the dance floor, apparently she had been learning all these dances at school! Brilliant! The only one of our offspring who was not interested in dancing was our son who was in the kitchen checking what was for supper! Fortunately getting No 3 child to nursery was not a problem as one lady up the road very kindly agreed to come and pick ours up to take her with hers. We have now got a hire car for a week so that alleviates transport problems. This Wednesday was the Bigton Toddler s Christmas party and 48 bairns plus parents turned up. I had been busy the day making carrot cakes and also made some fresh popcorn and crudites to taCHNKWKS <TEXTTEXT+FDPPFDPP.FDPCFDPC0FDPCFDPC2STSHSTSH4STSHSTSH42SYIDSYIDP4SGP SGP d4INK INK h4BTEPPLC l4BTECPLC 4 FONTFONT4jSTRSPLC 5:PRNTWNPRH5FFRAMFRAM9TITLTITL:DOP DOP (:"Shetland Diary End of November and we had a severe cold spell, well down to  2 and heavy horizontal snow fall with the obligatory Force 10 gale gusts but then the winds died down, the rain went away and absolute calm. The usual Shetland winter day, though running dark until about 08:30 to 16:00 is sunny and bright though cold. However the last week has been around 8 degrees which is considerably warmer than the rest of the UK. Absolutely fine by me, I could cope with this sort of weather quite happily for the whole winter though I daresay it will all turn and we will have some gales and storms but we are used to those now. My eldest sang at the Bigton Advent Praise, which was very well attended. She sang Silent Night and The Lord of the Dance, which I didn t realise came from the Shakers. It is a lovely hymn. She gave her performance absolutely beautifully and was heartily applauded. The next evening I received a begging call for the little bairn with the beautiful voice to come and sing some songs at the Levenwick Carol Service.  Of course that may be possible Madam but I will have to check her social diary! After all it is fuller than that of her mothers or mine! I videoed the Advent evening for the local minister as it was an interesting evening. Shetlanders like community events. This week is the Bigton Youth Club and a band is playing and then a week away our little singing star is also singing with her aunt in Lerwick in Handel s Messiah. She has been rehearsing diligently every Monday evening for this big Island event so it will be good exposure for her. We have been without a car for a while because last weekend my wife was working and I did the shopping and took that and the threesome home early so I could cook dinner and get things ready. Got to Quarke with some hommus which went down well. Loads of fathers turned up as well, most having specially taken a day off work to attend. How many would do that down South I wonder? It was a brilliant event and Father Christmas magically appeared behind the little ones, who were totally oblivious to his entering the room, and suddenly boomed  Ho Ho . What a reaction as some kiddies jumped up screaming for joy, some in terror and some just staring silently wide eyed. He called each child up separately by name and gave their present and a sweet or two. Parents tidied up and we got home by 15:30 where I had to dig out a Jamie Oliver cookbook and make a Chili Con Carne ready for two older ever-hungry children and even more tired and hungry wife! So this is what Shetland is about, community and families getting together to socialise. Christmas is not commercialised up so there is not really any pester power because basically you cannot get the things here that are advertised on telly unless you fly to Aberdeen! My wife went last week end and popped in to Mark and Sparks and said she felt like the whole population of Shetland was in just that one store and she had to queue for half an hour! A complete nightmare! We are kind of spoilt here, as it is a peaceful rural retreat really. We are spending the festive season at home, our first Shetland Christmas and it should be fun. I have ordered the goose, made a Christmas cake, are debating whether to buy a leg of the Shetland Reestit mutton to cook? It is salted mutton and you make soup out of it. Sounds interesting, I will have to try it at least once for the novelty value but we may all like it. Anyway, to all our friends, relatives and any stranger who happens upon this diary, may we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hope that the New Year will be a very much happier place than it has been recently with so many terrible events occurring. As a very funny Irish comedian used to say  May your God be with you ! t cakes and also made some fresh popcorn and crudites to ta  ##**----(2"'( ) @S   $v "PS" $d (08@HPX`hpxp" $d (08@HPX`hpxz "" $h (08@HPX`hpx| "" $h (08@HPX`hpx. 0 f h z|<> L-N-~----  " v "PS" $d (08@HPX`hpxv "PS" $d (08@HPX`hpx $τ$τ " " tt-.-02V$τ,Times New RomanLucida Handwriting " " "@ TTTTFEPSON Stylus DX4800 Series< 4d EPSON Stylus DX4800 SeriesDLLName32=E_FUICADE.DLLP TS_URLTSupportURL PSOLVER4  : @ TTTT@ TTTTd2.winspoolEPSON Stylus DX4800 SeriesUSB001F"\""V"$c"` "``""A."@"\""V"$c"` "``"."Untitled""p"pp (" )"f it. Sounds interesting, I will have to try it at least once for the novelty value but we may all like it. Anyway, to all our friends, relatives and any stranger who happens upon this diary, may we wish you all a very Z O2Quill96 Story Group Class9qy2y2 y22y22y22y22y2_2y21