Saturday, December 25/2010

Having been unwilling to get home at two after midnight mass, we go at 9:30 this orning - a rather thinner crowd than there will have been last night, but plenty of enthusiastic crol singing by the Filippino contingent, complete with some rather original pronunciation - as in the lines from Hark the Herald Angels Sing which are lustily rendered Filippino style as "Pleased as man with man to dwell/Jesus our E. Manuel.

In the afternoon we go down to the promenade along the beach. It's humming. Balloons and popcorn, ice cream, roast corn on the cob and hot chestunts. Some of the children have new Christmas toys with them, and there are dogs on leads, happy to be part of the scene. And ships in the bay, six of them this time, at anchor for the holiday.