Christmas With Dad

Dad and I had a pretty extravagant Christmas Day. Guernsey's Bella Luce hotel has recently upgraded and become ranked amongst the best 200 hotels on the UK - why not go there, right? And our four course meal didn't disappoint - an white & black truffle amuse bouche, followed by a verrine of local lobster for a starter. The fillet of Scottish beef and wild mushrooms which followed was so full of flavour it became amongst the best main courses of recent years, and the chocolate delice with chocolate crisps and praline cream was light as a feather. Should I mention the two bottles of Chateauneuf du Pape?

This may sound like a leap back from my entry recently about inappropriate consumption, but our being able to enjoy an experience like this together means a lot to both of us, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We have so few opportunities to share good times, I was actually pretty relaxed about this gastronomic indulgence. Separately I've thrown a fair bit of money at my local food bank, and am going to help them in any way I can regularly in 2014. I don't think life has to balance out in this way - Dad after all keeps repeating his 'we can only operate from where we're at' mantra, and he's spot on. But there's no harm in simply trying to help, is there?