Twixtmas reading

It's that strange time of year again when it's impossible to know what day of the week it is, that glorious holiday period when nearly everyone seems to get a break - twixtmas - the time between Christmas day and New Year.

It's the perfect time to chill out, catch up on reading, stay cosy and indulge in chocolates. And thanks to my family I have a new pile of books to work my way through.

But as the weather today was brighter and drier than yesterday we wrapped up and ventured outdoors for a walk, to work off some of the Christmas treats. Our walk took us to an area I'm familiar with, but a park I'd never been in until today - the Six Mile Water Park in Ballyclare. It was amazing to watch so many ducks and the herons. And my twixtmas reading continued as we walked through the park reading the centenary scripts.

I'm incredibly proud that amidst poem excerpts by John Hewitt and WB Yeats, my poem, 'Land of Linen' has also been included in the Centenary Scripts on display here. It's lovely to be able to combine some reading while enjoying being outdoors.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's hard to believe we're in December and the countdown to the big day has commenced. Albeit we've been bombarded with Christmas music and adverts for several weeks. 

Yesterday morning, while getting prepared to head down to Coney Island, I listened to one of the editors of 'Underneath the Tree' talking about our gorgeous anthology on BBC Radio Ulster. 

It's still available to purchase and would make a lovely gift. 

My cranberry and orange muffins were just the perfect accompaniment to coffee in Coney while we shared our writing highlights of the year, and helped get us in the festive mood.

This year we were able to meet together and enjoy a Christmas meal, (which was a veritable feast), and was all the more special, because we'd not been able to get together last Christmas. And while it was cold outside (and chilly inside due to good ventilation!) our hearts were warmed by the good cheer. Our writing group is such a blessing - supportive, encouraging and welcoming. 

Later, a trip to Antrim's Enchanted Winter Garden helped to work off some of the calories. It was magical and the perfect finish to the day.  I felt as if I had been transported into a fairytale.