It's Christmas Eve!


And what's more, we've made it to Wiltshire. We even played Snow Chicken by going via Basingstoke. But not even a massive pile-up on the A303 (I obviously attract them) could stop us getting to Big Sis's house on time. Well, an hour late. Which is on time for us.

You might notice that someone's missing from the photo above, but there's a good reason for that. We didn't have room to bring Amelie. By the time we'd loaded up the car with a travel cot, mattress, buggy, nappies and enough baby food to last her a week (or a normal child a fortnight), there was no space left. So we decided to put Lisa's suitcase in Amelie's car seat and leave her behind.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), my parents are bringing her down tomorrow morning. That's if they've got enough room. It's likely to be a choice between her and the turkey. I've told them to bring the turkey. The alternative is to make her wing-walk on the roof rack.

Anyhoo, this is the first time that Lisa and I have visited Big Sis's new house, and we're very impressed. It's a keep-fit fanatic's dream. The place is on three floors, with forty steps (one more than John Buchan's house) between the kitchen and the bedroom. So not only do you get a full cardiovascular workout every time you go to bed, but you're so knackered when you get there, you can't be bothered to go downstairs for any food. Personally I've solved the problem by spending the evening in the kitchen with the mince pies. It was either that or starve.

Anyway, my parents will be arriving with the elf at lunchtime tomorrow, so I'll be taking photos of Big Sis's house in the morning. The building's a converted army barracks, and the whole house looks quite stunning. But by 2pm, Amelie will have converted it back into a bombsite.