I have from the 21st of December to the 28th off.
This is unheard of to have all of Christmas off work.
A modern day miracle.
When I was a ward manager invariably I would do the late shift on Christmas Day
But then extra shifts would creep in, holes would appear to be plugged and before you knew it, I might have Boxing Day off after working Christmas Eve and Christmas night .
Last year I did a long day Christmas Day and said rather vociferously that that was it, no more Christmas Shifts for me.
7 days over Christmas how wonderful
My octernagerian counsellor , in her sing song voice asked me what I had planned.
My supervisor promptly gave her opinion that I enjoy it with people,
So far I am spending Christmas Day with family
So the first time in years I have a dilemma
What am I going to do the rest of the time?
You sound like a fucked up 63 year old gay Bridget Jones!
Was one of my friend’s responses when I asked him,
So I brought this helpful comment up at my counselling session
Who is Bridget Jones? she asked
A Neurotic weight obsessed unlucky in love 30 something I explained
My counsellor kept quiet.
So what am I going to do over Christmas ? When the love lorned swap jumpers with holes in them?
Answers on a postcard please
How glorious to have 7 days off at Christmastime!
ReplyDeletejoy, Joy, JOY!!!!
Hugs!
Watch 'The Wizard of Oz' on TV for the hundredth time!
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what I'm going to do with my Christmas, so it's no good asking me. I'll probably be watching the Bridget Jones trilogy for the 999th time most likely. 🎄
ReplyDeleteMaybe see whether any of your friends who live alone would like to meet up for a meal, film outing, walk or coffee catch up. A day out exploring somewhere which will be quieter at Christmas. Cooking something new, baking, reading, watching TV, resting. And enjoying some walks with the dogs of course.
ReplyDeleteCinema trip, theatre, take a child to the pantomime, long walks if the weather is good; treat yourself to a posh ‘ready meal’; catch up with someone you haven’t seen for a long time. Trip to a city to see an exhibition. Volunteer for something? Or plan a big spring clean and declutter, paint a room perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI don’t recommend the ‘snuggle on the sofa and watch a box set’ - never works for me, I need real human contact at least once in every day and can’t concentrate for long enough.
Your counsellor sounds delightful but I wonder how someone who’s never heard of Bridget Jones can help a middle-aged gay man negotiate the complexities of life …. well, I suppose relationships are the same the world over and regardless of age and time.
Throw a dinner party, get up late, get some meals made for the freezer, go to the cinema, make bara brith for your friends
ReplyDeleteSome great ideas there, John.
ReplyDeletePre-Christmas, decorate the house (mindful that kittens like to climb trees and play with tinsel and baubles!), get presents, cook and freeze, meet friends for coffee/lunch, walk the dogs, play with the cats. Post Christmas, relax, do whatever you feel like, without feeling guilty if you do nothing but potter, plan a few treats. Enjoy!
Go west, young man, but ah. You can't without crossing the sea. I've heard the weather can be lovely in Ireland in December, but I am a long way away, so my knowledge is limited.
ReplyDeleteA trip to see 'It's a Wonderful Life' at the Storyhouse. Xx
ReplyDeleteWell, you would be welcome here...except we are away for Christmas. 😏
ReplyDeleteAll my family are NHS and have the same problem - how to deal with having time off when other people have time off (Bank Holidays cause the same panic, as Does Not Compute with normal lifestyles, and Work Guilt cuts in.) My husband and I had exactly the same low level panic, different career. Try giving yourself a timetable of outings, family time, beach walks and evenings with a set programme of films, reading etc. You will get through this!
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's too much to hope for that you will use the time to rest.
ReplyDeleteActive rest?
ReplyDeleteHm-m, go for a walk, eat
ReplyDeletedelightful treats, keep your
expectations low so each
nice part of the day is a
pleasant surprise, check in here on your blog to see
messages from those of us that will be thinking about you ....Mary xx
How about the first half as the complete opposite to what you normally do, eat and drink what ever you like ,go where you wouldn't normally go,sleep when or where you wouldn't normally then by the second half you will be sick of things you thought you wanted and ready to go for the things you now know you want. What ever, look at it as a chance to find out what makes you and go for it in the new year. Enjoy Su
ReplyDeleteI think you should go away the 21st and come back late 23rd, just in time for Christmas. A short break in Europe if a cheap enough flight can be found.
ReplyDeleteHave a gin and tonic!
ReplyDeleteLear to knit, paint, draw etc. watch all those films you meant to get round to but didn’t. Go to the last performance of the pantomime. They all tend to be drunk as newts and mayhem normally ensues.
ReplyDeleteGet a bunch of choir members together, put on your most hideous Christmas jumper and a Santa hat and go to old folks homes in and around Rhyl to sing carols... "Ding Dong merrily on high".
ReplyDeleteI love this idea
DeleteI love it too.
DeleteRewatch the various Bridget Jones movies?
ReplyDeleteWow, I want to do all the suggestions, or most of them....
ReplyDeleteEspecially Yorkshire Pudding's.
Ceci
Spend time with family, spend time with the dogs, let the cats play with you, sleep, invite in all of the wonderful neighbors for tea and scones. Send emails to all of the friends at a distance.
ReplyDeleteGo and visit St Winniefrieds Shrine in Holywell and have a dip in the well , followed by a coffee and an Almond Croissant at a local cafe called Marmalade
ReplyDeleteSiobhan x
I get the week between Xmas and NY's off every year and the best part of that is not having to go anywhere or make any plans. The days always seem full anyway while I'm free to follow my nose; I guard those "free" days vigorously. You can guess what my advice would be ... .
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas above. I did Xmas shifts for years in the NHS too and when I retired I found it a bit of a let down suddenly not working during the festive season. When the 25th comes around it'll be nice reading about what you decided to do x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Who is Bridget Jones?? How old is this counselor?!
ReplyDeleteMeet up with friends you haven't seen for awhile. Travel? Relax? Whatever you want to do, John...
ReplyDeleteAs a single woman this is a hard one, most of my friends have been already invited to family things they do not want to attend but feel obliged to do so
DeleteLee
It's not pleasant being alone and single at Christmastime. Why don't you organize a games morning at the local hall for singletons and older folks or the handicapped?
DeleteMy family (not me) will spend two weeks in Jamaica West Indies. Private bungalow sun sand swim golf gourmet meals …. If you want something different and sunny and happy—-maybe there’s a gay version? Or maybe they re going skiing now I think of it. (Exhausting right?)
ReplyDeleteThat’s was me Lizzy D
DeleteMaybe arrange a pot luck supper with other single friends who will be alone. Gigi
ReplyDeleteanother great idea!
DeleteOoooh. John! I would be a secret santa slipping around in the dark leaving small gifts of baked goods or small ornaments with little typewritten notes to thank them for some good deed. I did that one year with my grandson. He was just getting over his belief in Santa. I wanted him to see that once you outgrew your belief, the magic of Christmas depended on you. Christmas can be as magical as you want it to be.
ReplyDeletePS: I would go to the Chester cathedral and see their Christmas displays, and take in some music. If the story house DOES play It's a Wonderful Life, I would simply have to see that too.
Debby I love your idea of secret Santa! Kath x
DeleteIf you don't have a local grocery store/supermarket maybe you could take a neighbour who would normally usually public transport for those last minute groceries?
ReplyDeleteThat’s a busman’s holiday, lol. John spends his life helping people. Jane
DeleteAs a person who needs help with grocery shopping, that would be a wonderful gift, not mundane at all.
DeleteDefinitely take a child or two to a good pantomime , a lovely way to spend some Christmas time off and , I think , it’s a uniquely British tradition .
ReplyDeleteThe pantomime , that is , not the taking children :-)
DeleteI worked every Christmas and New Year for more than 20 years in order to give those coworkers who had children priority. Who wouldn't want to be at home with their children at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThe Bridget Jones "friend" didn't suggest spending time with you then?
Perhaps they just need a break from your misery over the festive period
ReplyDeleteI’m with the “walk” votes! How about a cabin or AirBnB somewhere way out in the wild, and take a hike in a different direction each day? Then book, fire & bed. Or a tavern (“pub”?) if there’s one near? Or wait — start writing your book! Whatever you do will be magical !—Elf in Tennessee
ReplyDeleteEnter the ballot for the Xmas Eve Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings -
ReplyDeletehttps://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=01I293EaDU-VoV-yA05Qk8EawHNejipMjZbrbcawAM9UQkk3MjBLNk5NVlJMR0g2R1cyNVBZUU5NNS4u
Travel? Someplace warm and exotic sounds good to me.
ReplyDeleteFind a jumper that fits the man you want and go search him out. Go out Christmas shopping for a man in the crowds. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to come here. I can't promise wild and crazy times , but I can promise 70 acres of our own woods , creeks, ponds , and a wood stove of warmth.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in Grenada one year near Christmas time we saw a program touting York for Xmas and Edinburgh for New Years, and we were interested ..The next day we heard on the radio that they still had a few tickets left on a charter going to London for Christmas and they were for a month and going very cheap. So me being me I hightailed it into town and bought two tickets. My husband was shocked when I told him.. we had no winter clothes with us.. when we got to London we purchased some jackets and sweatshirts, rented a car and took of for Wales to visit friends we had recently met in Grenada. They persuaded us to stay with them for a real Welsh Cristmas. We had a wonderful time with them for nine days. We then called husband’s relatives in Scotland and said we were coming up for New years in Edinburgh.. Nephew said oh no you are coming to the Firth of Fourth bridge hotel with the rest of the family where he had complimentary hotel accommodations for his whole family for three days because he arranged and provided the hotels entertainment. We had a wonderful time , then drove back to London after staying in cheap accommodation in husbands sisters old age home for a few days.. so maybe go to York and check it out as we never got there. Gigi
ReplyDeleteNutcracker ballet somewhere, even a local troupe?
ReplyDeleteI'd watch the box set I've always promised myself but never got round to watching.
ReplyDeleteInterspersed with lovely long walks and ice cream.