The Sentinella Editorial Dec 09

Happy Christmas to all our lovely readers and advertisers! Whether you’re spending the merry days here in Spain or back in rain-sodden blighty, we wish you a truly fantastic time. I’ll be celebrating Christmas Spanish style, with my boyfriend and his twenty-five strong family. Before the arrival of Three King’s Day, their big celebration is Christmas Eve, so on December 24th I’ll be stuffing my face with a (kind of) roast dinner, followed by various desserts, plus plates of marzipan and other sweet treats. In years gone by I’ve always brought a typical English offering with me, just to add a little variety. Last year I brought mince pies with custard, which proved particularly popular, and the one before that I laid Christmas Crackers on the table for everybody. The whole family transformed into what seemed like five-year-olds as they scrabbled over silly plastic toys.

Its funny how differently two nations (only two hours away by plane) celebrate! After dinner his family throw a huge party with loud music, dancing, karaoke singing and general silliness. It’s always a giggle and as you might have suspected, a lot of brandy does the rounds! Christmas Day is a much more tranquil event and not much celebrating goes on that day, as everyone is busy nursing their hangovers. New Year’s Eve is the next biggy and then before we know it Three King’s Day arrives.

When it comes to presents, my boyfriend and I tend to take advantage of the differing traditions so we enjoy TWO pressie days – Christmas Day when we fill stockings for one another and Three King’s Day when we fill shoes in the same way. Two Christmas’s in one. I’m certainly not complaining! This year we’d like to hear from our readers about any BIZARRE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS received. Whatever they happen to be, please share with our readers and email info@thesentinella.com

As for the New Year, I’m looking forward to the holiday of 2010 and a trip to Australia, spending some time in Melbourne and Sydney. That’s not until February, but we can’t wait to see kangaroos, koalas and of course the ozzies themselves (plus a couple of British friends who have moved there). The thought of spending three weeks on a different continent is particularly appealing, as is being on the opposite side of the world! Speaking of new starts and excitement, the current incarnation of The Sentinella website will be launched sometime in December. We can’t promise an exact date as yet, but it will definitely be complete by the end of 2009, all ready for the dawn of a New Year. We have some really exciting things happening in 2010, so do stay tuned!