Santa’s Grotto

Well I have finally done it, and submitted to the enevitable. The Big C word is well and truly upon us and in full swing. Each year the festive season seems to kick off a week earlier. It was bad enough that the TV ads and shops kicked off the season just as soon as my beloved Samhain was over, but this year I noticed that everything started a week before the bonfires were even lit and the kids had dressed up. Dont get me wrong, I’m no Ebeneezer Scrooge, but two months of being bombarded with Christmas is far more than I can bare. And so I will continue my resistance to this festive overkill. This year I managed to hold out until last weekend, when under duress and some emotional blackmail, I spent all day Saturday, putting up the tree and decorations around the house, much to the delight of Ava and Dylan. Ryan seemed more concerned with his Playstation, with the never ending sound of gunfire and explosions emmiting from his room, well he is 10 after all. That said he was the first to finish and mail his letter to Santa, so I guess he has’nt grown up too fast thankfully.

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Last week also saw the annual return of Santa’s Grotto in the office. Its pretty cool to see, especially when you arrive into the office first and the lights havent gone on yet. Sadly this is my first Christmas without a working DSLR, so I have been using a combination of my HTC camera phone and a little Nikon point & shoot. To be honest I must say that I have been struggling to get the shots that I like with these, but on a positive note it has forced me to engage with these not so powerfull devices and utilize their settings to get the best image possible. The outdoor lights which make christmas all so enjoyable are a real torment to capture, but more about that later this week. I am still planning the kids Christmas portraits, complete with Festive jumpers in front of the tree. Hopefully I will have this organised for the weekend, so wish me luck. In the mean time, enjoy the few images from Santa’s Grotto and tomorrow will see the next instalment of the Capturing History Challenge. Its looking a little shy this week, so if you still wish to get an entry in for inclusion this week, please do it soon.

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