We have more mugs and cups than we'll ever use at once. Some survive on the shelves because they have a sentimental meaning to me. For the record I've taken pictures of some of what we currently have. in the way of drinking utensils.

Virginia and I went to Kent, seeing places like Bodiam Castle and Sissinghurst Castle Gardens and Scotney Castle.

Being a piggy bank may seem like a cushy life. Sit on a shelf and be admired. Be fed regularly with nice shiny coins. Feel one's self worth increase as one's weight increases. Almost as easy as being a manager in a modern multinational company where the only thing you have to manage is what your superior thinks of you. Alas the regularity of sitting on a shelf, and receiving offerings, may blind piggy banks as to their place in the grand scheme of things. The worshippers do not worship piggy banks themselves, they worship what they hope the contents of the piggy bank will lead to. The piggy bank itself won't share in what those jangling coins are jangling towards. There will come a day when the coins put into the piggy bank will be removed from the piggy bank. And that will be a particularly sad day if the coins can only be removed by the dissolution of the piggy bank. As in the case of Virginia's holiday piggy bank.

The Skodas we were driving had been declining for some while - the grating noises and screaming bearings from my car in particular urged us to a drastic cause of action. Our friendly car mechanic Brian said my car needed changing so we set off to look at car showrooms in the Cambridge area. Virginia suggested we should replace her bigger car as we would end up with one car in due course. We looked first at VWs, but the boots seemed far to small. One of our buying criteria was that we could pack luggage for our cruises into the boot. So we went next door to look at Kias, got treated to a free drink, saw a Kia "Cee'd" which seemed big enough, and were even persuaded into a test drive which felt OK. We next tried looking at Toyotas, and wished we hadn't. We did at least learn we needed an estate for our luggage, not a hatchback but the salesman was very pushy. He contradicted everything we said we wanted, made us feel like we were always wrong. Toyota cars in themselves seem quite smart bits of kit, but Virginia wouldn't go back there. We also went to Marshall's', some helpful salesmen showed us a Peugeot, talked about a Ford. We felt quite bad about having to say no to them. So back to Kias, and this time looking at "Cee'd" estates. They did have one suitable in our price range, but in a garish red. Virginia didn't want black (morbid), white (gets dirty easily), I didn't want red (too showy). So we monitored their used car pages for a week or so until something acceptable turned up. After getting something newer for Virginia to drive it my old car seemed even more derelict so I went for an older and smaller Kia Venga. I like the higher driving position in the Venga I have to admit. It is nice driving a car with central locking and parking sensors and audio system which will accept an iPod. Cars may not breathe, or have hearts that beat, but we did feel sorry towards our old cars. We didn't get a lot in part exchange, it felt like betraying the vehicles which had served us for over ten years. It was hard to see them abandoned in the car park at the garage, awaiting an uncertain fate.

Chiquito is a TexMex restaurant chain which had a place at Cambridge Leisure Centre, where we often see films on Saturday mornings. It's not crowded or noisy like other restaurants there, we've even managed to walk in and get a table at 6pm which was a relief on a Saturday evening. There was a good variety of meals on the menu, I didn't tried all the ones I wanted to try. The chimichangas and burritos and quesadillas were tasty, and presented appealingly. The staff were friendly, and indeed recognise us even after a few visits. We normally sat in a 'booth' which gives a little more privacy. Oh and they did churros - a dessert I fell in love in when I went to the Cantina at the Mexican pavilion in the World Showcase at EPCOT. Sadly Chiquitos at the Leisure Centre closed down in 2019.

We do another Baltics cruise, taking in an Abba museum in Stockholm, Hamlet's castle in Denmark, and Catherine's palace in St Petersburg.

"The Magician's Nephew" (1955) is C S Lewis writing a genesis for the land of Narnia, and his Narnia stories. It explains how Narnia was called into existence, and how evil entered the realm in the shape of the White Witch. Two children find themselves cast into the strange land of "Charn" from London before the First World War. They manage to return home but accompanied by the last Queen of "Charn" who causes chaos in London. The rings of magic serve to transport them and the Queen to a world of stillness and darkness - a world just before it becomes a world... "The Magician's Nephew" is a fitting entry in the line of fantasies like "Five Children and It", or the fantasies by Macdonald which influenced Lewis. It has several memorable images like the Wood Between the Worlds, or "Charn", or Aslan calling Narnia into being. It has a sense of wonder welcome in our pedestrian world. The illustrations by Pauline Baynes match the text, both in style and economy. "The Magician's Nephew" is written from a Christian point of view, but an intelligent one. There is spiritual depth and insight here, from Digory choosing to ring the bell in "Charn" to Uncle Andrew persuading himself the animals are not really speaking. Digory has to choose what is right when Aslan sends him to pick an apple. There is a personal element in this book for Lewis. His mother died when he was young - in the book Digory's mother is sick and dying too.

"The Horse and his Boy" (1954) is a Narnia story by C S Lewis which while definitely part of the Chronicles of Narnia is different to the other books. It is all set in the land of Narnia (well Calormen and Archenland.) The events happen coevally in Narnian time with the last chapter of "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". The plot has Shasta, a slave in Calormen, fleeing to Narnia and freedom with his horse Bree. Or as the title suggests it might be seen more as Bree flees to Narnia and North taking his boy Shasta with him. On the way they have adventures, meet fellow travellers, and defeat a nefarious plot. Engaging writing, and C S Lewis depicts a different world in the Asiatic style Calormen. There are several key themes in the book. Aslan is depicted as working his purposes out in people's lives, even though it may not be obvious at the time that he is so doing. Some parts of our lives can only be understood in hindsight. Another theme is retribution. Aslan wounds both Shasta and Aravis for actions they have taken earlier. I'm not so sure how Christian this theme is as Aslan has not applied the same logic at other times. And part of the Christian message is that we haven't redeemed ourselves, it is by grace we enter. So this doesn't sit perfectly with me. Yet another theme is the lies people tell themselves and others. So Bree has in the end to come to terms with just being a horse, nothing more nothing less. The fisherman who looks after Shasta in the beginning lies about what's beyond the hill as a way of not having to know what is beyond the hill. Prince Rabadash says he wishes the Tisroc will live for ever which he both doesn't believe, and certainly doesn't hope for. An engaging read.

The Trading Post is a very reasonably priced carvery pub / restaurant with helpful young staff, well laid out tables, and an ample car park close to where my father was in a care home in Kettering. We would go there more often except when we visited Dad we often went on to see my sister nearby. Recommended.

There is a mecca for Harry Potter fans at Watford. The Warner Bros studio tour where you can walk in the footsteps of Harry Potter, see the scenes from the movies, see how the movies were made, and taste something called "butterbeer". The studios are well-laid out for visitors, well organised, plenty of free car parking, cafes and rest rooms, and of course a large shop so you can take away some of that magic back home. I'm not a Harry Potter fan but I still got something out of visiting these studios. Firstly how much effort goes into making films of the scale of the Harry Potter films, how many people are involved, the talents required to create the visuals and the sounds. A useful counterpoint to the instant gratification of our day, where everything is a swipe away, where everything is superficial and cheaply obtained. Secondly how for those working on these films how they become part of a team a second family of those working - an experience I envy. Perhaps a reason readers become so enmeshed in the Harry Potter books is that they identify with Harry Potter not only in his becoming wizarding superstar royalty but also that he finds a real true family to belong to. Thirdly how rich the world that J K Rowling has composited is, plenty of material for people's imaginations to roam in. Like all authors and authoresses she has borrowed heavily from others, cooking up her books from off the shelf ingredients. It's a tour I would recommend.

"Expiration Date" (Tim Powers 1996) is a strange strange tale of ghosts and those who feed on ghosts. Powers weaves a world in which addicts sniff ghosts as they might snort cocaine or inject heroin. A subworld of suppliers trap ghosts for their customers. Mixing real history with 1992 Los Angeles and gritty fantasy Powers has the protagonists contending for the ghosts of Thomas Edison and Harry Houdini. But the ghost of Thomas Edison has no desire to be ingested. The attraction of reading Tim Powers is in the worlds he creates. While they have fantastical elements those elements are made real, are givens, are part of the bricks and mortar of the world. Powers also with verve marries up his fantasy with real history to the point of the real history feeling fantastical. "Expiration Date" has themes common to other Powers books like quests for the postponement of death, and layers of reality and history. So Powers explains the apparently random events of history as being the result of dealings in an otherworldly realm. The lead characters in "Expiration Date" go on journeys of redemption and resolution, and by the end a kind of right has triumphed.

The film "Pirates of the Caribbean" is loosely based on the Disneyworld ride "Pirates of the Caribbean". An Aztec curse has turned a group of pirates into the living dead, moonlight shows them for what they are - a skeleton crew. They kidnap Knightley to try and end the curse because of a medallion she has. Disreputable Depp and brave Bloom set off to rescue her. A stunning performance by Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Neat imaginative writing. Everything is very tongue in cheek. Hollywood filmmaking at its best. The sequels are plotless disasters.

"Young Detective Dee" is a prequel to Detective Dee And The Phantom Menace. The rule of the Empress Wu is threatened by a sinister conspiracy involving a sea dragon. She handles the situation by assigning Detective Dee and colleagues, encouraging them by saying if they haven't solved the case in ten days then it's off with their heads. That's the way to motivate people. "Young Detective Dee" has spectacular action scenes that alone make the film. A lot of wirework perhaps, but it's frenetic and imaginative and drags you into enjoying it. Just a question of suspending disbelief and letting the images flow into one. Sometimes the computer graphics aren't quite right, but mostly it works very well, recreating Luoyang at the height of the Tang Dynasty. The character of Detective Dee seems to owe something to the detective in Wu Xia. Tsui Hark adds another welcome dimension to the film here, making the Dee character not as bland perhaps as in the first film. There's less rivalry between imperial factions here, the enemies are non-Chinese - read into that what you will.

The cake Virginia did for my niece Beth's wedding.

A long weekend in the Lowestoft area, seeing the "Africa Alive!" zoo and the "Time and Tide" museum in Great Yarmouth among other attractions.

Christmas begins before Christmas. Christmas begins well before Christmas. For us it could be said to begin with Christmas lists. Not being imaginative, or strongly endowed with mind reading abilities, we solicit ideas for what to buy people from the people themselves. We also rack our brains for what to suggest that people buy us. For some in our families we are reduced to exchanging vouchers which may seem more like handshaking. Having got the lists then there is the coordination to avoid duplication of presents which shouldn't be duplicated (two copies of the same book would be an example). There's also ordering presents, hoping they arrive in time, worrying when the days count down and there's no sign of them. I was very glad when a parcel arrived from YesAsia on the last but one day of work. There's also concealing the presents at home from one another - this year I used a suitcase which I hope hid the smells of bath stuff. There a number of traditions to keep going, particularly for Virginia's family. She makes toffee which is much appreciated down in Loughton. We take that down along with an apple crumble which she made this time without cinnamon to satisfy some palates. Virginia didn't have to put together a quiz this year which she often has done. Our cats don't really get into the Christmas spirit themselves - they were signed up for a pre-Christmas visit to the vets but only Tabitha went. Amelia hid so well we couldn't find her. I even thought that somehow she must have got outside so looked around the nearby streets. But sometime later she rematerialised as if nothing had happened - she's obviously mastered the art of invisibility. Christmas Day we managed to Skype one of Virginia's sisters out in New Zealand. Quite funky display and sound waiting for Skype to connect! That it works is a feat of technology. Then to Girton Baptist Church for a short service, and in the afternoon we went to Kettering first to my father's care home - we gave him a new bin to replace the one he has creased with his electric chair. He wasn't well enough to make Christmas at my sister's, and in fact we didn't stay long at all. Then onto my sister's for a quiet Christmas Day compared with Boxing Day. Virginia let me try one of her bath bombs and I ended up covered in red glitter. The travelling on Christmas Day was quieter than Boxing Day too - we hit yet another tailback on the M11 from an accident and were delayed an hour reaching Loughton on Boxing Day. So they had started the meal at Virginia's parents before we got there. We had to pull crackers while the dog was shut outside. The next stage is to repair to the house of Virginia's brother William two doors away for opening presents, and then the Christmas Quiz run this year by Charlotte. A lot of the questions made me realise I'm behind the times and culturally irrelevant. There was then the presents from the tree (Virginia's parents also do stockings so we left with far more than we came with). One present I received was the Funko Pop! Rocket figure - I stood my little collection of such figures on the top of a cupboard in the study. (Some may need "Blu Tack" to continue to stand). Perhaps most of us express ourselves not by what we do but by what we like.