Christmas Day 2023. Royal Tunbridge Wells and Sheffield.
You’ll know I’m not one for Christmas, or celebrations of any kind, really. We spent our 25th wedding anniversary in the Letchworth Spoons, and the best 25 Decembers I remember flying home from somewhere distant after a curry.
This 25 December was spent at the in-laws in Tunbridge Wells.
The real joy of Christmas is, of course, reading about other folks concerns on Mumsnet, which along with Blue Moon and CAMRA Discourse provides all the reality (and news) I could ever need.
Mrs RM hasn’t been disappointed with a present I’ve bought her in 33 years, amazingly.
I wasn’t disappointed with Margaret’s roast (NCRSS 4.5),
served on the same plates with the same German food warmers since 1971.
But I was missing the Christmas Day traditions established in Sheffield, a morning pint in Spoons and then meeting Will for a pint and crisps in the Blake and running up the hill in a Santa costume.
Matthew must have missed those traditions, too, as at 08:26 (early enough) on Boxing Day he texted me from the guest bedroom (family rates).
“Might go for a wetherspoons breakfast down the road if you fancied it“
I did. Oddly quiet, compared to Christmas morning in 2022.
And we resisted the Belgian Blue Stella as well, sticking to what Matt rates as one of the better Spoons meals this year,
In fact, JDW food has been on an upward curve in recent months.
Which reminds me; Arise, Sir Tim.
retiredmartin 
“JDW food has been on an upward curve in recent months.”
Yes, I thought there was only one direction it could go.
Seriously though, yes, Tim’s breakfast this autumn in Stone was better than my other one this spring in Stafford. Not enough sausages and no mushrooms though.
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The passage of time hasn’t dimmed your wit, Paul !
Happy New Year to you and your family,
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Interesting for Mr Marmite but I hold my hands up I’m a great fan so well deserved. Without Tim at the helm would Wetherspoon be so interested in Real Ale.
Tony Lea
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Your Spoons in Farnborough is one of the very best.
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Were you telling a joke when the family picture was taken ?
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I think they’d just heard the news about Tim’s knighthood.
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I thought they were spellbound learning of your itinerary for January.
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They’re just glad they’ve left home and don’t have to be dragged to Hartlepool on a weekend anymore.
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Maybe they’d seen you describing the beer as chewy and took it as sound advice.
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Who?
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