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Today's photo is of my lovely great-niece Kaitlyn, sitting by the Christmas tree.

Kaitlyn and her brothers, Brandon and Kian, are the grandchildren of my late younger brother Charles. He died tragically, aged only 33, in 1992. His daughter Zandra was only little, and these beautiful grandchildren of his were only a twinkle in the eye of God at the time.

I drove down to Alloa today to deliver Kian's birthday presents (he was 2 last week), and the Christmas presents from all the Perth family. We love these kids and their Mum and her fiancé Andy.

Mostly I am just so proud of how well Zandra has coped with all the sadness and difficult times in her life. But sometimes, it breaks my heart to think how much my brother would have loved them all, and how cruel it is that he never got the chance to know them. Perhaps in the next life .......

Here lovely Kaitlyn is sitting beside the tree before she went to get dressed in her ice-skating costume to go off to practice in the rink at Stirling.

I came home and put some Christmas scented candles (orange and cinnamon) in burners in the livingroom before making the tea. I'm waiting for G to come home from his friend's house now, and I'm feeling weirdly Christmassy!