Alison was worried last night after next door was burgled yesterday evening for the second time since we've been here. Four or five lads ran down his drive and past me when I went round the cornershop but after initially thinking it was kids fetching a ball I thought they may have ran away from elsewhere and cut through his garden as his property is at the end of the back lane behind our street before it gets to our house as they all had their hoods up and weren't carrying anything so I didn't think that they had actually been in his house. Another bloke was stood at the other side of the street carrying two carrier bags who actually looked more suspicious but he remained where he was whilst the other lads ran off. Returning from the shop he was still stood there and he got out his phone and loudly muttered "Where's the fucking taxi at? the twat." This actually made me more suspicious as it's not the place you would pick a taxi up from as if you weren't in your home you would not usually arrange for a taxi to collect you from the end of a residential cul-de-sac. Once inside I went upstairs thinking I would take a photo of him but, whether he saw me or got fed up waiting for his taxi, he threw a couple of snowballs and sauntered away before I could find the camera on my phone. The upshot of this is that Alison has moved the presents upstairs leaving a spartan looking tree in the living room.
   We're also slowly getting more organized for Christmas - the cards are all posted and I've a few stocking fillers left to buy with (Alison's aside) most presents wrapped. Hopefully after this weekend there will only the be the shopping left to do allowing a little relaxation time before Santa calls - a man of taste as he enjoyed a glass of my Singleton single malt last year. Despite this being the 2nd call he will be making to us Alison still bought a couple of Christmas outfits for Bethany with "My first Christmas" emblazoned on them with the logic that she was too young to know what was happening last December. The pedant in me agrees but points out that she is still unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas at 13 months and it still is technically her 2nd Christmas. It appears that I am in the minority, however, as no outfits with "My 2nd Christmas" were available and the sleepsuits that Alison bought were for the age range 12 - 18 months.