Christmas Eve

Well, another Christmas Eve dinner has passed. Good company, special food, a glass of fine red wine, sitting outside on the balcony under the stars and the waxing gibbous moon. After the last guest departed, the choir from King's College Cambridge provided an hour and a half's carol singing. Christmas wouldn't be the same without the carols, which serve to remind us of the birth of Jesus, who was to bring so many messages to mankind through his humble life, of the need to be kind and respectful to yourself and others, messages which are more relevant every day as senseless wars and in-fighting among citizens of the same countries continue unabated.

Earlier in the day, I went to the mall (forgot the ice-cream!) - what madness - traffic queues for miles, parking area full at Longbeach (never seen that ever before) - and yet, inside the mall, there was not a feeling of overcrowding or frenzied shopping. The coffee shop was full, but the Christmas spirit abounded, as I chatted to strangers and shared their table. No sooner had they left than an old gentleman asked if he could sit down with me as he was very tired. Imagine having to ask. Of course he was more than welcome, after all I had done the same thing to the previous occupants, and it wasn't long before the waitress had brought him a glass of water, with no expectation of him having to buy anything while he rested. Soon his granddaughter arrived with her daughter and then my son arrived - it was like musical chairs except there was no music.

All around, the neighbourhood was silent last night - not even the guineafowl were squawking and I can't remember when I last heard the hadedahs.

In the afternoon as I walked through the garden, I came upon a young robin, still with spotty feathers on its head, standing on the path in front of me. As I approached, it seemed deep in thought, and only when I was about a foot away did it fly up into the branches nearby. It's lucky I wasn't the cat.

It's 4.30am as I write this. I woke up at 2.30, as I often do - it seems I get an energy burst at that time and I feel like getting up and doing things, but it's not good for the body clock and I'll go back to bed now for another hour or so's sleep. It's getting light over Cape Town on this Christmas Day of 2012. Let's hope it's a peaceful one for everybody. I see there are a few presents under the tree, so it looks as though Father Christmas came down the chimney after all. I hope there's one for me!