Pre-Christmas Meanderings.

I had hoped to put up a cover for my next book, Lady Charlotte's Deception, but I haven't had time to send a JPEG to Jane so I will post that as soon as it is done.
This time last year I was housebound with a broken ankle and therefore forced to do all my Christmas shopping online. I found the experience so much more enjoyable than fighting my way around overheated, overcrowded shops that I have done the same this year. Therefore, apart from my daughter and oldest grandson I have no more presents to buy.
However, I  have begun to wonder whether I'm contributing to the demise of the high street by using the Internet for everything. Someone locally set up a campaign last year called, "One in Five", which was asking everyone to purchase one thing in five in a local shop. I think this an excellent idea and make sure that I do shop in the village (Wivenhoe is really a small town now) as often as possible even if it costs more.
Maybe I should do the same thing for Colchester – what do you think? Is using the Internet (and particularly Amazon) for the majority of our shopping a bad thing? It's not always cheaper than the high street, but it's so much easier and doesn't involve carrying large parcels back to the car.
On another tack completely, this year for the first time ever, we're going to eat Christmas lunch at a restaurant. When we had a restaurant of our own, many years ago, Christmas day was always fully bookedand I think there are still a lot of people who prefer to eat out. As we've been invited to lunch on Christmas Eve, and we're taking the family out in December, I won't actually need to buy any Christmas food at all. so my house will be over decorated Christmas paraphernalia at my cupboards will be empty of mince pies et cetera.
I shall continue to write over the festive season as if it were a normal week – as I'm no longer a churchgoer I won't even have that as a reminder of why we celebrate.
I'm on my usual pre-Christmas diet – not lost anything this week – but I'm wondering if this is something I might abandon in future. If I'm not going to fill the house with Christmas goodies then I'm unlikely to put on the extra weight I usually do.
When I mentioned Christmas to several of my writer friends they looked at me blankly – despite the over decorated shops and constant Christmas adverts on the television none of them seemed aware that they should be planning ahead.
Enough of my waffle – have a good week.