Our 4th Christmas lunch was without doubt, the best yet. 47 wonderful you's came to join me yesterday on a stunningly sunny, crispy day for what has become my Christmas highlight.

We were all too busy talking to bother taking many photos so I chose not to share here as I didn't want to select some and miss others but I have posted on socials if you are interested in a few snaps.

I continue to be quite overwhelmed  by what a fantastic community we have all built together and what friendships we have. Please know how much I appreciate how far you travel, how much effort you go to, to move work and other commitments, dogs, school pick ups and please know how much your company is enjoyed.

Fiona once again, very kindly hand made some gifts for us all - a little Pilates ring Christmas tree dec tied to a muslin bag of mulled wine ingredients, beautifully wrapped, packed and delivered even though she is currently Down under and couldn't join us. Thank you Fiona - you are SO kind.

As I was working on a little daft poem to read out to you all, how could I possibly have known that Lou (she of the whip rounds) was also doing the same! What are the chances of that? Jan very kindly read it out and I copy below what was delivered to much well deserved laughter. What friends you are to me! I cannot believe the trouble you went to, and I feel very spoiled and very lucky,

A massive thank you also to those who very kindly contributed to my Christmas present..... a very, very generous John Lewis gift voucher and anyone who knows me, knows that JL is my mothership and this is just THE most perfect gift, and I really look forward to a browse once I return home from my trip. My idea of heaven and with a whopping gift voucher to spend, it just got better!! Thank you very, very much.  Seeing you all means the world to me and I feel truly blessed with what we have created between us.

I really treasure our get togethers and I hope we can persuade some of our further flung members to come over next year.

It's true. I do have the best clients and I do truly thank you all.

I also had a poem which I am going to record and put in our library incase you would like to see it and below are the words to Lou's brilliant poem, read yesterday by Jan. Thank you very much Lou - it is brilliant!

...."At Juliet's Pilates, we bend, we extend,

We discover muscles we didnt know we could bend

She cues with a smile "Just one more" (it's a lie)

But somehow we do it - we don't even know why!

Her Teasers are tough, her Planks are a test

Her ring squeezes feel like a seasonal quest.

Yet we keep coming back, like elves on a mission

'cause Juliet makes pain feel like a holiday tradition.

So here's our guide through the festive reformer -

A Pilates instructor and posture transformer.

May your Christmas be merry, your holiday bright

And may have fewer sore abs.... at least for one night! "

Moving on....

I had a bag of wicker type hearts in my garage and had the bright idea of dressing them with red velvet bows. I wanted to have big, puffy bows that were tied at the front and then add loops to hang them from my stairs.

 I could see very clearly what I wanted. I duly ordered several rolls of red velvet ribbon and collected the hearts from the garage and dusted them off. Have you tried tying big, puffy bows with the velvet right side out, and to have the full bow showing? Have you? My delightfully creative mood was starting to wane as me and the ribbons got into quite a muddle. I found some online tutorials but it wasn't working. I parked it up and wrote all my Christmas cards instead.

Anyway, I was all set to go to bloodycardiff the following weekend... (my childhood friend has lived in the same house for over 30 years and in the days before sat nav I would get lost Every. Single Time.. EVERY. SINGLE time... to the extent that my young daughters thought that where Aunty Emma lived was actually called  bloodycardiff and it has stuck! )

Between us, with 4 hands and a lot of stop/start and You tube tutorials, I am now the proud owner of lots of fabulous red bows and the staircase is looking wonderful. We did discover possibly THE most annoying woman online who, although very good at tying bows, was just infuriating- she kept saying "easy peasy, lemon squeezy" which really wound me up. Patronising baggage... Imagine my horror the next day when I said the same thing, not once but twice. I am clearly very easily influenced...

My rather amazing surprise Christmas gift was tickets with Emma to watch the All Blacks v Wales in the iconic Millennium Principality stadium last week and as we walked through city centre, I was saying to her, "I don't know why, I just really fancy red bows. I don't know where the idea came from".... it was quite a comedy moment as we looked about us at M&S, Next, John Lewis and absolutely EVERYWHERE were ... .big red velvet bows! The power of subconscious marketing! What was I saying about being easily influenced?

Despite not being Welsh, hearing almost 70,000 voices singing the Welsh national anthem (acapalla, no band) was incredibly moving and watching the Hakka live is very impressive.

Today is my last 2 classes before I head off to Tanzania for my daughter's wedding BUT I will be back and running classes around Christmas. There will be Christmas jumpers, pyjamas, themes galore - please see your calendar.

In the meantime, PLEASE do use the library. I know some of you say you find it difficult to discipline yourself so why not make a date with another member? If you both have smart phones and tablets/laptops, you can FaceTime eachother and then start the same class together on your tablet  but if not, just try to stick to the same timetable, pick a class the night before and get to your mat to keep some routine.

So I will be back to see and chat to you all before Christmas and in the meantime, keep up your practise and see you soon xx