Today’s blog is provided by The Observer. It gifts a copy of the second book to a couple of loyal GANTOBers who haven’t been able to provide a blog. And it also provides access to a “hidden” GANTOB pamphlet.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
X-ray eyes scanned over parcels. Silence sat uneasily in houses across cities and countryside, punctuated by the rustling of paper and the occasional skretch of sellotape for late wrappers. The Foundation Doktor headed back to her hospital akommodation after a night shift. She percussed and palpated the packages from her immediate family. She unwrapped a long chunky box that contained a kardiology stethoskope – perfekt for detekting those klicking and leaking heart valves in her next set of exams. She would be visiting The Benefaktor’s townhouse in the late afternoon, but snatched some cereal and headed to bed for a few hours.
Meanwhile, Little Grapefruit was rolling around the bowl, looking for the presents hidden in the limited nooks and krannies in the perfekt kurves of her home. She was looking forward to seeing her cousins – The Limes – for the family lunch. She’d speak to her Welsh cousins on Zoom later on, after watching the Dr Who Christmas special. Big Grapefruit had talked about a Lost Doktor too, but Little Grapefruit was too excited to stop and listen, zooming around faster than a CERN experiment – a multicoloured stripe discernible only if you blinked fast enough.
Across in Stirling, GANTOB and Ali were making their way to student akommodation to visit their son, who preferred the kampus to their motorway hotel. There was nobody else in the flat, so there was plenty of space for their goose, cheese and brandy sauce. A cloved onion was rolling awkwardly in milk in one of three pans on the go. Roast goose was Ali’s choice – a Finks tradition. It seemed in rather poor taste to GANTOB, after their feathered adventures this year.
Santa Klaus was on GANTOB’s laptop in the hotel. She (Santa) was adding names to GANTOB’s list of recipients of the second book. A_____ was having a frantic month. And C_____ had been laid low with a winter bug. No opportunity to komplete a blog – barely time to swing a sprout, as they say in Santa’s village in Finland. Both added to the list. GANTOB wouldn’t mind.
And The Benefaktor was sitting in a leather chair at the front of his house, thinking about something The Photographer, the clype, had mentioned in his Christmas email. But it was Christmas, so he would let it pass, and had a second of his wife’s exceptionally good mince pies.
THE OBSERVER
25 December 2023
GANTOB blog 