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<p>Helene couldn't be with me on Christmas Day so we agreed to have our own special day this week. We put the tree up together the day before.</p>
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<p>I had decided on the menu and did a lot of the preparation before hand. Christmas is largely about food these days.</p>
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<p>I baked an olive loaf and sausage rolls a few days before hand. I also whizzed up smoked mackerel pate the night before. On Christmas Day we had <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka" target="_blank">Shakshouka </a>and bucks fizz for brunch, watched TV, chatted and then had the smoked mackerel pate on olive breast followed by  duck breasts with all the trimmings and Helene's home made profiteroles, washed down with the remains of the prosecco from the morning.</p>
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<p>We had a really special day. The following day we went for a walk in Whisby country park then had hot soup at the café. It was a very cold day so the soup was essential.</p>
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