Today’s window

We left the flat at about 11 am to ensure we were on time for the 11:45 am sailing back to Portsmouth Harbour. The weather hasn’t been that good for the past few days, and a number of crossings have either been delayed or cancelled. We got lucky, and we were more or less on time to get to Gunwharf Quays and our reservation at Brasserie Blanc.

We were just being shown to our table when R&J arrived. It was a lovely Sunday lunch — I went for the roast beef — catch-up. I am not sure where two and a half hours went, but after giving them our gifts, we made our way back to the station for the 3:30 pm train to London.

We did not have enough time to head home and get back to central London before The Crazy Coqs’ Christmas show. We decided to take a look at some of the Christmas lights. So we passed through Trafalgar Square looking at the Christmas market and Norwegian tree, a light sculpture in St. James’ Market, and, eventually, the advent-themed facade on Fortnum and Masons, where there was quite a crowd snapping pictures. We were just in time for the clock to strike six and the figures to make an appearance.

After a snack at Pret, we went for the annual Christmas song fest at The Crazy Coqs — lots of classic songs and a couple of Mark’s own compositions. As always, great fun, and by the end of the evening, I was beginning to wish it was already holiday time.