CHRIMBO LIMBO

At a recent talk I gave, the audience had some fun coming up with different names for that funny time between Christmas and New Year. The discussion was inspired by a creative mate, Cliff Arnell, who has called it Twixtmas, and suggests that we do something productive on each day of Twixtmas, as a sort of tradition.

Anyway, the educated part of my audience told me that the Norwegians call that week Romjul, and the enterprising part of the audience came up with their own names, which included Taintmas, Merryneum, the Christmas perineum – see the type of audiences I get? My favourite was Chrimbo Limbo.

And for Chrimbo Limbo this year I will be rebuilding 10 yards of dry stone wall in my piggy field. I have noticed stone walls have been falling like flies lately, and a wise old farmer told me it’s because of the extreme weather we are having. The ground hard frosts of last year will have caused expansion, then the ground was saturated and then baked dry by the summer heatwave. All that creates movement at the base of the walls, which leads to the inevitable collapse and that big pile of stone where your wall used to be. Good job it’s one of my favourite things to do.

Thank you to all my wonderful readers for your continued support this year. Have a very Happy Christmas, a productive Chrimbo Limbo and a peaceful New Year, and I’ll see you on the other side.

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