UTOPIA AND A STINKING COLD

Christmas Eve, the day after my bathroom repairs, dawned bright and clear. I made my way, by taxi, to my mother's house, picking up the turkey, chipolatas and stuffing, along with other essentials, at the Whiteness shop on the way. I helped make the butterscotch trifle, which has become the stock third course of our Christmas Day feast. We did the necessary preparations to the turkey, which, the next morning, I whacked into a hot oven, and started to deal with the carrots, potatoes and sprouts (yes, all of my family love sprouts!). My sister Mary arrived in the late morning to do the more finnicky details of the repast. At this point I bowed out of the operation, the work of the kitchen porter being largely done for the time being. Mary's daughter Caroline, son-in-law David and three-year-old grandson Robbie also arrived, and we all sat down to gleefully stuff ourselves with the results of the hard work of the previous 24 hours. Very nice it was too. Afterwards I took charge of the substantial washing-up operation, and Mary ran me back to town in the early evening. My mother had enjoyed the whole thing very much indeed, which was the main point of the exercise. There can't be many 92-year-olds still making trifles!

On Boxing Day, I finished the painting of the "Utopia", a Portknockie-registered MFV which I remember being in Lerwick Harbour, during the herring season, when I was a youngster. She is pictured (above) in fair weather, ploughing through a residual North Sea swell. These sea conditions are quite tricky to depict, as the waves have to be grouped together in what appears to be a haphazard fashion to form each swell.

On Saturday, I posted an A4 giclee print to Hong Kong, the first package I have sent to that part of the world. I continued to work on the other paintings I have at various stages of completion, as I have most other days.

On Sunday, I updated the Home Page of my website (www.tait-gallery.co.uk), and started to come down with the cold, from which I have been suffering ever since. It doesn't seem to want to leave me. Today I finished the painting, of the motor boat "Laerling", which was commissioned at the end of November. I hope it will be the first of many successful projects in 2009.

I hope your year is prosperous too.