The 30th of December. Today was delightful, although my breathing wasn't brilliant. Don't know why - it usually happens when I haven't slept but if anything, I've been sleeping better.

This morning Mommy washed my hair, Daddy went to work and Mommy and Christine went to town to look for boots. I watched Bridge to Terabithia and repeats of The Great British Bake Off until the DPD man arrived with my new bag. It's very pretty. And Dan and Elle came! Their simultaneous arrival was a happy accident, and we watched the ends of The Railway Children, Space Chimps, and the beginning of Coraline. Elle and I swapped presents, and at first, I was very confused, as she'd put my present in an iron box! (A box that used to contain an iron, not a box made of iron.) I said, "Elle, why have you bought me an iron?" and she burst out laughing and explained that she just refuses to wrap things that aren't box-shaped, and then I opened it and found a snuggly hat and scarf.

So we had a fun afternoon together, and when they had to leave (also coincidentally simultaneously), I finished watching Coraline and read some more of The End of Men and the Rise of Women.

Becky, James and her friend Rachel came to admire the bag before going out, and tonight Oscar has decided to wee in the bathroom. Wonderful.

The 31st of December.

Today was fun. An exceptional end to an abominable year.

I woke up early which was annoying, but I made coffee and made the best of it by painting my nails and writing up a blog post. Then I got dressed and ready for the panto, before making another coffee. We went out at twelve, to allow for traffic and it was a good thing we did, because we got stuck in a queue of people wanting to park in the Arcadian.

Daddy dropped me, Christine and Mommy off outside the Hippodrome and went to park. We went in and found Mark and JT, who gave us programmes and air kisses, then we went and sat in the Qdos lounge because we could. We had some free beverages and hung up our coats, then we went to find our seats. Row Q in the stalls; fairly decent, and no tall people or irritating children in the immediate vicinity which is always a bonus. John Partridge rivals John Barrowman for campest leading man ever, and a couple of the song choices seemed a little odd (for example, using The Voice Within by Christina Aguilera as the big love ballad where Snow White and the Prince fall in love?) but the the good points far outweighed the bad. The slapstick routine was excellent, the dwarves are brilliant, the costumes are fabulous, Stephanie Beacham is fierce, Paul Zerdin and his puppet are great, and the audience members forced to participate really committed.

After the show, JT hurried us out and took me and Mommy backstage where I got to meet Gok Wan! He was already in pyjamas and dressing gown, bless him. We talked about the show and the documentary last night, and we reassured him that the show is completely up to standard. Then we had a photo and a big hug, and we went back to Daddy and Christine.

We had a gossip with Mark while he delighted children with fake snow outside the front door, and eventually we left and he turned it off, resulting in howls of sadness from those who'd been playing in it. When we got home, I had more coffee and a biscuit to keep me going until dinner, which was pheasant; yum!

After dinner, I started on the wine. The Easts all came over around nine in dribs and drabs, the wine and Disaronno flowed (Becky's favourite; she brought her own bottle), and I got happily drunk. We brought in the new year with champagne and Christmas cake, then we all went home and we went to bed.