Christmas Day

Up at six o'clock and planning the day, while listening to Radio 4. A Yorkshire Christmas. Why does everyone think Yorkshire is so special? Especially Yorkshiremen. After all, they live there and should know better.

There's some woman singing a song about wassailing, 'a typical Yorkshire tradition'. Oh yeah?

And there's Ian Macmillan, poet and Yorkshireman. I suppose you have to try especially hard to prove yourself a Yorkshireman when you're called 'Macmillan'. I've always thought he is so popular on radio is because he's a poet with an accent. He's got this way of telling nostalgic tales slowly and deliberately, which makes them sound full of significance.

I'll have to walk into town today if I want to go the pub, which I do. I certainly can't be cooped up in the house all day. I don't like the local pubs, too expensive, too cliquey. I'll go to my pub where I can be cliquey.

Five miles there and five back will give me an appetite for dinner, which today is duck. Breakfast is usually garlic mushrooms but I'm having a slight change today. I'll note down the recipe in a minute.

The radio's just told me about Yorkshire pie, sword-dancing, singing pubs. They're now claiming that Malton helped inspired A Christmas Carol. And obviously they've had to mention J B Priestley. And there's the obligatory vicar. 'Christmas is a time when God tells us we are special.' Please!

This pub singing is good. It's proper singing, not the drunken 'base football player' stuff. I've been listening to While shepherds watched sung to the tune of O for a thousand tongues to sing. Lots of parts.

Stilton, Walnut and Mushroom Parcels

Ingredients (for one person)

4 large flat mushrooms, minus stalks

1 tbsp (olive) oil

1 shallot (I'm using spring onions and a bit of an ordinary one)

50g chopped walnuts (let's hope I can find the nutcrackers)

50g fresh breadcrumbs(I don't normally like using metric weights, but I'm too lazy to translate)

1/8 tsp (freshly grated) nutmeg (I know, but I've had to reduce these quantities)

1 1/2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp parsley (all these are fresh, etc but I've a jar of mixed herbs to use up

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (this is for drizzling, hardly worth the cost)

50g blue Stilton, thinly sliced

fresh thyme sprigs to garnish (optional, very)

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6, 200C

Cook the shallot in the oil till soft (I think I'll add some garlic)

Mix in the walnuts, breadcrumbs, herbs, nutmeg, milk. Season

Spread it over a couple of mushroom caps and top with the cheese

Put the other mushroom caps on, like a lid. Tie them with string

Into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

There's an argument going on on the radio about the nature of 'happiness.' They'll never agree because none of them has defined the word and they are all advocating a different emotion. Joy, contentment, resignation, pleasure. Any one of them would suit me.

I think I'll listen to Terry Wogan for a while. Funny old day, Christmas.

Merry - (happy, joyful, contented, carefree, pleasurable, sensually satisfying) - Christmas.

President de Gaulle was being interviewed.

'Monsieur le President. Are you happy?'

De Gaulle: 'Do I look stupid?'