My family’s advent

alking of family harmony over Christmas, I’m going to Sri Lanka next week with my father, stepmother and multiple siblings, other halves and grandchildren. We’re mostly all on the same flight, and my sister and her boyfriend have already emailed the travel agent to ask if they can be seated separately from everyone else. This strikes me as an excellent idea. Trouble is, it’s not quite in the festive spirit of things. Did the Wise Men process towards Bethlehem with a gap of several hundred yards between their camels? I think not, so I’ll probably wimp out of emailing the agent and sit with the rest of the clan. Earplugs, though. Definitely. I’m pretty sure the Magi did the same to muffle the noise of that new baby.