Guiness cake

We've been at Craft and Cake at Julie and Sam's for much of the day. Most people knitted. In fact everyone seemed to be knitting enormous shawls with great long rows, which took hours to complete. Periodically someone would shout out that they'd finished another row and everyone would cheer! Kate was carefully removing little eiderdown feathers from a cushion and stuffing them into a sock owl. I stuck photographs into one of my albums. In fact, I completed the album and was able to sit back and look through it, fondly enjoying the memories that the pictures stirred. It starts with photographs taken at our wedding reception. It's been a busy and rather wonderful year!

Julie made a Guiness cake. Delicious. And a massive vat of macaroni cheese. Beyond delicious. We talked about theatre, religion, paedophilia, the state of the record industry, marriage and Stephen West knitwear designs. Life in all its guises...

On our way to Catford, we stopped off at Spitalfields Market to buy Christmas presents. I recommend that place for anyone short of ideas and still needing stocking fillers. Nothing in that market is made in China, or sold on behalf of ghastly multinational companies. It's just a little corner of London full of people making a humble living out of arts and crafts, and some of the things they're selling are beautiful and hugely inventive. The atmosphere is terrific. There was a wind band playing Christmas songs and loads of food stalls and people with smiles on their faces milling around with nowhere specific to be.

Fiona just texted to say she was at a charity gala this evening where The Feeling, who we were so lucky to have performing at our wedding, played God Only Knows, the song they sang at our wedding. Apparently they referenced this particular fact before performing it, which feels very special indeed.