Grey Skies and Happy Sighs...: December 2025, Family, Friends, Food, and Festive Fun.

Well hello again my loves. I hope you are all doing well? How are we in May already? I'm not quite sure how that happened?? But here are some photos from December last year for you to enjoy. Clearly I am still behind with this Blog, but I've been enjoying reminiscing about this trip, and all the fun I had with family and friends.

As always when I'm back in Shrewsbury, I try to catch up with as many friends as possible. So, there were coffee meet-ups, brunches, lunches, dinners, festive frolics, and of course, lots of pints of cask ale to enjoy. It was lovely seeing so many good friends. I know that Christmas is often a difficult time to see people, as everyone is so busy, so I was grateful for everyone who made the time to see me.

AND! It was my Mum's 80th birthday mid December, so we had to do something special for that! My sister and I arranged a family meal for her, and my brother came up from London the evening before to surprise her, which she was absolutely delighted about. The next day, on her actual birthday, we went for the meal at the beautifully historic Henry Tudor Inn in Shrewsbury. My aunts and uncle traveled from Coventry and Ireland, and had arrived early to surprise her, and then spent the rest of the evening with us. It was tricky and stressful, negotiating all the different arrivals and keeping everything a secret for so long, but I'm happy to say that everything went according to plan, and Mum was completely surprised and delighted. Yay!

I had organised my friend's Hen Do at the Henry Tudor Inn a couple of years ago, and knew that it would be the perfect venue for my Mum's surprise party as well. The staff did an incredible job, the food was amazing, and the private room we were in could not have been more special for a small family function. You can see in the photos a glimpse of the beautiful timber framed building, stained glass windows, and stunning furniture. And since everything was all decorated for Christmas already, we didn't even need to bring our own decor. It was perfect, and everyone really enjoyed their food. Honestly, I can't recommend that place enough. It's now my go-to venue for any events I organise, and I told them we'd be back for my Mum's 90th, haha!

I have always loved the lead-up to Christmas, when the shops are all decorated, the town is lit up, and there are all sorts of fun, festive activities to do. In fact, I think I prefer the lead-up to the actual day, which can sometimes feel like a let down! This year, I got to go Christmas shopping with my sister, and decorate gingerbread houses and cookies with my niece, as well as go to her school Christmas concert. I also got to meet my best friend for the annual Carols In The Square, that is broadcast live on the radio. This has become quite a tradition for us, and if I'm around at that time, we always go together.

It was a very busy couple of weeks, as always, and I had a lot of fun, but I was glad to get home to Ireland, and was looking forward to a quiet Christmas, the first one spent in my new home.