Twelfth night

January 6th  is a day I remember being spent taking down the decorations and clearing up the mess of removing the Christmas tree from the living room. However it is celebrated here as Little or Woman's Christmas.

The woman of the house - who has been working flat out for the last few weeks preparing, serving and clearing up after the family for all their celebrations -  is treated to a day of care and pampering. Not sure how much attention is paid to the old traditions now, but it strikes me as one which should be spread more widely.

Over the last few years it  has also become the day when our focus changes from events at Moyhill to packing for our winter trip. This year we are heading south - South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland - in search of sun, safari, beaches and some great wines.

We are leaving from Shannon via Heathrow to Johannesburg on Thursday  and will start our trip with a visit to the Kruger Park. I have promised to keep the blog up to date as we travel around - so watch this space!!