The community in the parallel universe

I'm sure everyone thinks that their circle of friends is a bit odd but today has had even me and himself thinking 'what? is this real?' And we are absolutely delighted that, yes, it is. Here's a summary of the day:

Rol had to go to the doctor to get strapped up for a 24 hr bleeping blood pressure check. A regular thing, no big deal, and he'd explained that today was a bit special because he was being Santa for two sessions at a children's centre that one of our friends runs. He's done it several times before: he loves it, the kids love it and it's a nice start to his christmas break from his PGCE course. However one year he got into trouble for 'misuse of Santa costume' 'cos he wore it to the Take5 christmas party and photos were posted on Facebook.

First Santa session with the tinies (3 yrs max) went well although he had to stop himself from laughing at some of the names: 'Chrystal Meth' 'Labia Vagina' and suchlike ....

Break before the next session (6-11 yrs) and off he trotted to the lovely sanctuary that is Take5, often mentioned in my posts, where no-one batted an eyelid that Santa was sat there having a bowl of soup and hot chocolate. However in the space of 30 mins Santa was:

1) asked if he could do a shift in the bar this very evening (alas, no, as he was strapped to his BP machine which would make pulling pints a little tricky)

2) reminded of the funeral and wake of a fine gent we know from Take5 that is taking place this coming Wednesday, and our presence was definitely expected: Santa and me weren't even aware that said gent had died but yes, we will be there. He was a fantastic bloke whose idea of having his 'five a day' was ensuring that his vodka and tonic (healthy option, slimline tonic) contained lime and lemon. He had at least 5 v & t's each day.

3) given two ducks (pictured) that were (sorry, vege friends) still warm for our christmas dinner. He will take them to a local game butcher for 'seeing to' tomorrow.

4) updated on a friends ex-girlfriend. The guy was bemused but happy for her, as are we. She has found a girlfriend, they are both very much in love and are planning on buying a house together. Awwww.

With a mumbled 'hohoho' he trotted off for his second Santa session. The 6-11 year olds proved a bit more challenging: 'Give us the f****** present ya b******' being a frequent refrain.

Time to claim his payment. None was forthcoming, apart from a bottle of red wine. As Santa would say, 'hohoho'.

But, these are our friends - all quite mad but kind and lovely in their many and varied ways. In that way we are really rich.

And another bit of lovely news: we got the money to pay for our heating being mended from the Adult Learning Fund. Thank you God (whoever you are).