Well I^^ decorated the family living room for the festivities today. Holly from the hedge by the Main Paddock and Mistletoe from one of the ancient oaks in Manor Wood and we are ready for the festivities, the Deer have been culled for Venison, some of the local farmer's sheep have mysteriously disappeared and the neighbour seems to have mislaid some beasts! So the main meats are sorted and now it remains for me to take the Gamekeepers out for a shoot over by the lake to supply Duck and Goose and then up to the Moor for a few Grouse and Pheasants*.
Yule is sadly cancelled (For the 123rd year running.) for the peasants* on the estate. This time due to their spokesman not wringing his cap sufficiently when he came for the usual (At least it was 124 years ago. Long memory these peasants!) permission to take a sheep or two for the estate feast**.
^^Well I stood in the middle of the room and shouted at the minions a lot until it was done and redone to my satisfaction.
* The 11th Lord Byegad was dyslexic and that year we had some very bemused birds at the Yule table looking at roasted humans on the table. He suffered a tragic accident early in the New Year when he managed to stab, shoot, poison and hang himself. (At least that was what the 12th Lord Byegad said, sitting in his hereditary position as local coroner. So it must be correct.) The 12th Lord was of course the younger brother of the 11th, who inherited the title only in late November of the previous year. We don't speak about the 14th Lord after what happened at Balmoral that year, enough to say that Victoria really wasn't amused! Needless to say the 15th Lord was able to make things right with the Royal family, but he always was a ladies man, wink, wink!
** When I say feast you need to realise they usually eat oatcake made from scraps from the stables and the scraps from the main kitchen after the Hall's servants have gleaned their own meals from our leftovers.
