It was nice to have the old Christmas party again, and see people like Roger and Cheryl and Pat and Mike from old days. We also had some new faces, neighbours from the Wash (the Wehingers and Pews). We overcatered, or perhaps people just eat less these days. Carols work differently with the piano in the new position, with people spread more out around the room and, I thought, singing less. Julia said she had almost refused to come when she heard there would be Christmas carols. She didn’t know Rob’s doctrine that it’s o.k. to sing Christmas carols with atheists. Alan Newell commented that Rob wasn’t wearing his “hat” (as he called it) and Rob said, yeah, well, when you go to a Christmas party on shabbas you don’t where the hat. We went out and lit the orno and sat around for a while with the stragglers (Doug and Laura, David and Julia, the Indiks).

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