I don’t every recall seeing so many items in one day which needed batteries.

Things which roar, things that buzz and a rather truclent roboraptor. After watching Power Rangers with Alex while we waited for Elizabeth he unwrapped his presents; Karen and I installed half the weekly battery production of Duracell into all the new toys; ate some sausage rolls and then we all wandered into the village for the Christmas fair.

I’ve known this village for years. My Aunt was the local postmistress and her brothers ran the local garage which was also a Rolls Royce dealership. Until recently their old bungalow still had the name plate my father made on the gate.

A lot has changed here. The expansion of the local towns has meant the loss of the field behind the bungalow where we used to feed horses the windfall apples from the garden and the walk down Sheldon’s Lane doesn’t end with a meadow with white beehives scattered around it.

The heart of the village is still the same though. The same buildings with familar roads and stretching over the years the same rituals of the village lights being turned on, friends meeting and children singing.

This week ended perfectly.