Any good ones? Rubbish present perhaps? Involving brussel sprouts? Turkey leg in the face? Or indeed any other implement in any other place?

Don't be shy … tell us your tale … and let the STW Massiv empathy flow 😉

Sorry, nothing to report here, just a wonderful day with the wife.

Mind you, I have had horrifically bad full strength toxic bad guts. Pass the air freshener!!!

Reckon your argument will start at bedtime then 😯

None her either I'm afraid very mellow my father was on the brink of passing away on xmas eve (my mums birthday) so after yesterdays histerics I'd be happy with no xmas. Still it was okayish, watched polar express.

tails – how awful for you all (I remember your previous post).

tails – how awful for you all (I remember your previous post).

yeah I was going to mail you about how you handle your situation, but never got round to it.

He has caught lung infection in hosp and his blood preasure was declining, he was trying to talk but couldn't. Don't think I helped him by being the complete contrary of a man.

Anyway blood pressure has returned to normal so hopefully he will make some sort of recovery, as I don't want to experience pain like yesterday again.

lovely time here. sorry to dissapoint

Enjoy your dad whilst he is still here. Saw mine today at the cemetary and I had a little cry 🙁

tails – feel free to e-mail me, address in profile. Don't feel bad about your reaction, it must have been frightening for you. Hopefully he has now stabilised.

mastiles – it must have been great fun today with your twins! How are they?

Enjoy your dad whilst he is still here. Saw mine today at the cemetary and I had a little cry

Don't know what to say MF, I read your earlier post about it being your "first xmas without dad" 🙁

my dad has some sort of dementia at 64, I thought I had steeled myself over the last few months but when I saw him with the oxygen mask I just feel apart, he was trying to tell my mum he loved her but couldn't say it properly.

mastiles – it must have been great fun today with your twins! How are they?

Ay, how are they doing? did you get them a box and wrapping paper to play in? The first of my mates has recently had a kid, his xmas text seemed full of joy. 😀

No arguments to speak of. My Dad rang whilst I was out riding, so we had a nice conversation. Can't speak to the rest of my family as they've rented the house out in Aus, so are nomads over xmas and new year.

I had an argument with a set of cranks earlier. I won in the end, but blood was drawn 🙂 Changed the BB, but still having the same issue (sticky point/click under load). Think it might be the isis splines on the cranks 🙁

tails – all you can do is spend as much time with him as you can. That is such a young age for dementia, it's such a cruel illness.

Nice comment MF. Undoubtedly the last Xmas with my Dad. Just had to make the most of it, knowing he only has a couple of months or so left. He was in good form too – as long as he was sitting down. I even cut his hair for him. In many ways, I feel closer to him and my Mother now than at any time in the past 51 years.

My father died of lung cancer last Christmas eve around year after my mother died of bowel cancer so I was soaking up the family thing with my in laws who are, thankfully, in rude health. It was a good day all round but the gravy was a bit bland!

I can empathise with anyone going through a terminal thing, it's pretty shit luckily he had a good sense of humour and didn't suffer too much.

Oh druid, that's sad. But it does sound as though it was a good one to remember and cherish.

Had a similar situation today, one family member (not my father) who will not see next "C".

The day was wonderful with the girls. I made 'snowtwins' by the headstone for dad. A bittersweet day but I am not the first nor the last to have this to go through so let's smile and think of happy times 🙂

EDIt: and the girls are wonderful and enjoyed their day thanks. Still have lots of presents to help them open tomorrow 🙂

Sorry to here that onion, everyone seems to have drawn out deaths these days what happened to dieing in your sleep.

no arguments as such but the missus was a bit 'sressed' about the state of the house and the xmas lunch as her folks were coming round. 🙄

mastiles – another fun day for you all tomorrow then, enjoy!

epo-aholic – did you not get reprimanded then? Men tend to forget that bins need emptying as well as bikey stuff being tidied away 😉

So what is it with xmas then? My dad died of cancer 20 years ago on the 24th and this year on the 23 I was with my mum to be told that she has a brain tumor and has around 6 months if she responds to radio therapy.

still reeling from it as up until two weeks ago she was still walking the dog for 4 or 5 miles a day and could hold her own on any hill walk.

Therapy starts first week of the new year. Now there's something to look forward too!

Hopefully it will be – if the girls have any energy left. Or if I have any! Mum coming round too with my brothers so getting the port out 🙂

I had a massive fight with my sister (well she had the fight i just smiled in a most annoying way), which considering i'm older and she's 35 is silly.

Basically she wants to use my flat and car for her NY in edi, flat OK but not the car (she tells how she is a great driver, yeah that's why she has 9 points).

fortunately clear of all these nasties here. The only tantrum came from our 3 year old daughter who was insistent that she'd put a suit of armour on her christmas list SO WHERE IS IT!!!

I was on the point of breaking the bacofoil out but the situation was defused. We now have until Mar 30th (her birthday) to come up with another excuse 🙄

AirconAde – that's dreadful but do try to stay positive.

Can't believe what terrible situations people are dealing with, it must be so hard.

On a lighter note, my dear father (aged 88 and with dementia) was taken out from his nursing home to a restaurant for our "C" lunch. He kept asking for his wine glass to be topped up cos he didn't remember drinking it! I then had to explain that he could have some more with his main course/dessert and ended up feeling more like his mother. Five minutes later, he asked the same thing again!

cinnamon_girl – i was head chef and chief bottle washer and could still do nothing right………i never went near anything remoely bikey all day as well! 🙁

There's a huge amount of pressure on the Chief Hostess, us women are our worst enemies sometimes! Sounds as though you need to ride tomorrow then.

too much snow round here unfortunately and anyway i have sugar-poisoning!

may just torture myself on the turbo instead. 👿

No arguments here for a change, typical in other ways tho, my 97yo gran came out of hospital 3 days ago after a bad chest infection, then got a call in the middle of the night to say my dad had taken a fall and was about to undergo emergency surgery to relieve a blood clot on the brain, luckily was successful but also a mid sixties dementia sufferer who seems to be getting worse fast….Yesterday my gran admitted back into hospital with almost tropical fever symtoms, thought to be MRS A(again)so nursing home and hospital pretty much all yesterday and again this morning.

Anyway wasn't too bad a day under the circumstances, after getting THE chat from the consultant in the hospital she went and ate a massive christmas dinner, ice cream and had two cups of tea to wash it down lol. I've lost count of the amount of time she's been written off and fights back like some kind of super sweet granny terminator.

Anyway chin up, I've got some new bike bits, have eaten some awesome tucker and will hopefully have a chance to get out on the bike tomorrow. 😀

All happy chez fotherington my lovely wife bought me the bike i wanted.It was my mates old full suss but i thought someone else had bought it .
AND ITS SNOWING SKI TOMORROW

Sorry to hear that Christmas has been a grim time/anniversary for some 😐

For me Christmas day passed by very much in the spirit of peace and goodwill which you would expect. Well at least it did, until the kids (who had behaved impeccably all day) went to bed. The atmosphere then changed decisively when the "trivial pursuit type" party games were brought out. This had the unfortunate effect of causing about a dozen, of otherwise rational and mature adults, to start shouting and gesticulating wildly with infantile accusations of "cheating". The sight of brother v sister, and wife v husband, denouncing each other for cheating, was priceless 8)

After previously pointing out what camera I wanted .. unwrapped the prezzie this morn to find completely the wrong make.

What can I say. Cost almost a 3rd more than the one I asked for .. and had none of the features on it I wanted.

I know she was being generous, but just cost it cost more doesn`t make it better .. I had to tell her. Thats when the arguments started.

Moonman – Been there fella.

This year we agreed to buy our own presents up to a budget and just chose each others 'surprises to open on Xmas day' Result, happiness all round and ace pressies!

Mind you, the family all arrive tomorrow and that's when the nonsense will start.

Today was a good day. Despite my wifes brother dying only a few weeks before christmas, we were all fairly chirpy, had a great meal and it was all fairly relaxed and enjoyable. Tomorrow when we start visiting family will be the decider. In fact, tomorrow when we bring my wife's niece, boyfriend and football team of feral chidren whom share a selection of different fathers back to ours for the night will be the trickiest time I think.

great day today, no arguments. Pub lunch, plus a couple of take-outs. Walk to the frozen waterfal on the snowy Black (well, White at the moment) Mountain. Off on the bike to meet some mates in a bothy tommorrow. Life is to be savoured and remembered at the moment. 🙂

went reasonably well until I offered to light the fire. Normally Dad's area of expertise but he was busy walking the dog so various hidden comments made at lunch on how the fire was and was I wasting wood. WTF??

Sister and her family away in Wales (which has become the norm) and nephew has sprained his ankle on the ice – he'll recover but Dad not really interested in asking how he is.
My parents getting noticeably older; still he mellowed a bit after half a bottle of port and quite amusing to introduce them to Gavin and Stacey.

I cried with laughter during G+S.

family arguments

my god where do i begin!

my brother in law is a fekin c*ck! he has no balls and is ruled by his evil wife.

my in laws (his parents) have done loads for them, looking after the baby and even picking her up in the snow when they couldnt get back from work.

anyway yesterday it kicked off, he 'thought' we were going over his house to see them exchange presents when infact he was suppose to come over to the mother inlaws (his mums). mother in law phones up and he kicks off on the phone sayin they will open presents another day…

trouble is we had to go to a family party then, where he sat with his back to the mother in law and his evil wife had a face like a slapped arse… the rest of the family 'got the vibe' and the night ended with nothing said.

the thing that winds me up is why doesnt somebody say something??? the in laws dont wont to wreck their already fragile relasionship with the 3 year olf niece as the brother in law is the type to hold a grudge for years and could easily never speak to them again.

familys eh!…….

christmas really does amplify this type of crap…..

Monkey-boy: thats more like it!! Thats the reason this thread was started.

My own version I will cut short, by saying that the last thing I said to my wife last night before I rolled over to go to sleep was 'Think first next time before you automatically side with your mother or else we'll have a big falling out'.

The spirit of Christmas lives on.

Christmas has been a sad anniversary in the past, as my Grandfather died 20 years ago on Christmas Eve, the same day we found out Dad(his son) had 10 months to live.
Christmas after that, for a few years, was fairly painful.
But now that I have a family of my own all is well.

Was a perfect day yesterday, the highlight being watching my 8 yr old "cycling" on the wii fit!! 8)

BUT there is plenty of time for rows and fights as we are off to Mum's tomorrow, to spend the day with GF and MrsFlash!!!! 😆