See! My misgivings were right – the Christmas grace has been rescinded! I got a phone call from a sibling, rudely interrupted the start of Strictly it did, I got the gist and promised to call back later, like after Strictly. So, the new Scottish restrictions say there’ll only be a relaxation of the rules on Christmas Day, which means there isn’t time enough to see any family if they’re not close by, nevermind in other parts of the UK, and travel to those parts is now banned over Christmas anyway. Boxing Day will see all mainland Scotland on the highest level restrictions for at least three weeks. Happy New Year!

Can’t say I’m surprised, the rhetoric was all heading this way. That’s me off veg peeling duties then! Luckily this morning I bought a Christmas lunch sausage roll at the Farmers Market. I say sausage roll, this is a gourmet, ridiculously large, sausage roll containing the various constituents of a Christmas lunch; a friend on Facebook had tried one and liked it so I thought I would get one too – must pop it in the freezer til Friday morning.

Anyhoo, Strictly the Final was rather bloody good. Three of my Week Two finals predictions were there, oh yay, I’m good! Okay, HRVY and Maisie were gonna be there, but who else seriously predicted Bill for the Final? I don’t care for Jamie Laing, neither do a lot of other folk on the basis he made the Dance-off four times, a definite lack of Fan Base there, no way was he lifting the glitterball tonight.

To be honest I think Maisie should have won, her dancing was stunningly good, she completely embraced the performances – her show dance and her favourite dance with Gorka were so sublime, like watching an old Hollywood musical, astounding!! HRVY, whilst he is amazing too and sooo watchable, his show dance didn’t do it for me somehow. That apart, his Jive was great again and that American Smooth to One Singular Sensation, wow!!!

But the night belonged to Bill and Oti. Their first dance, the Judges’ Choice was their Quickstep to If I Could Talk To The Animals from Week Two, so light and precise, hmmm, definitely a contender. Next their show dance to Queen’s The Show Must Go On, like OMG, jaw-droppingly brilliant, Oti is an amazing choreographer, she created so much drama and intensity, oofph. Watching it again online, many comments say that this is when Bill won Strictly, maybe, but repeating their interpretation of Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang was what drove their win home. Oh yes, Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse won the Glitterball tonight! He may not have been the most technically perfect dancer, but, by Harry, his passion, commitment and amazing stamina (he is the oldest contestant to have won, the previous oldest was a mere 42 year old, Bill is 55) along with that light, fleetness of foot – a worthy winner. Huzzah!

On that note I shall bid you goodnight and leave you with a pic of my cake now covered with the almond paste. The darker blob is where I spilt some apricot jam – it’s what I use to stick the paste to the cake. I’lll leave it a day for the almond paste to dry before putting the icing on. Just as well I made it, huh?!