Down to the grocery store for the first time since Christmas Eve - having been pretty well stocked up. But now in need of yoghurt and cheese and bananas and tomato paste. And a surprise. The woman at the till hands us a small bag and opens it so we can see what is inside. A bottle of dry white Turkish wine, a small package of ground coffee and a little packet of salted peanuts. Christmas? Well, maybe. But this is not a country that celebrates Christmas. Not a public holiday. Language skills not up to a discussion on either side. But we are regular customers, and it is lovely.
Current read alouds are Believe Nothing Until it is Officially Denied, biography of the late Claud Cockburn, radical journalist, written by his youngest son, Patrick Cockburn, one of our favourite Middle East based journalists. A compelling read. And, for light relief, The Colours of all the Cattle, by the indefatigable Alexander McCall Smith - eighteenth in the Number 1 Ladies’Detective Agency series. Always a pleasure.