A small painted stone beside the track to the beach put a focus on the time of year.

Further along our walk, was another way of celebrating Christmas.

Both show (putting aside religious and commercial spin) the love of family, the innocence of childhood, and parents’ wish to preserve and protect that innocence.

A lone figure was contemplating the wide sea and sky and perhaps the meaning of life. Standing on the end of a storm-water pathway obscured by high tide, he seemed to be walking on water.

Later that day, at a pre-Christmas family gathering, my brother-in-law (with help from the internet) created a culinary miracle.

Due to the miracles of modern medical science (in this case, a partial hip replacement), my mother was able to join us. She is home now, and able to get out to enjoy familiar places and people – and pets.