We are never likely to eat carp

Schönbrunn

Having convinced ourselves that the world will not end and we will indeed be here at Christmas  - so we have launched ourselves into full scale preparations.

Rozalin (Bless her!) has ordered for us a Turkey and a Ham which I am to collect on 24 December.

I have complicated things slightly by inviting my German teacher Frau Knickerbocker and her two teenaged daughters to dinner on 24 December so It is going to be quite a day – but Gwenyth will be here to help me.  

The traditional Christmas eve dinner here is fish – Carp to be precise – which we have never eaten and are never likely to.  

Frau Knickerbocker hates it and so do her children  - so I am thinking roast chicken and my wonderful and world renowned Patates Batasi.

One of the major issues here is the size of our fridge. Like (I think) most fridges in Austrian apartments – it is quite small and at Christmas it is just a hopeless to try to cram everything into it.

We alleviate things slightly by keeping the wine and beer on the terrace – but even so it is a real struggle. 

So I am about to start the planning and list making process and hope Gwenyth and I do not repeat last year’s mistakes of actually buying things and then forgetting to cook and serve them.