Xmas Moot more than merry

Our traditional Yuletide gathering, known for some years now as the Moot, took place—as is customary—on the last Friday before Christmas, in this case the 20th. When the tradition started we used to gather in the Dover Castle pub on Weymouth Mews, until it was closed for redevelopment. (The rumour at the time was that it was going be be turned into a bistro of some sort, but in fact the upper floors were developed into residential space, after which the ground floor was reopened as a pub, now called the Jackalope. Perhaps we should go back there some time.) So at Matthew Howard's suggestion we shifted our allegiance to the Rising Sun on Cloth Fair, by Smithfield meat market. This time round, although we hadn't reserved the upstairs room as we had in the past, we managed to monopolise it until all other guests fled in terror. There was a goodly turn-out and much merriment. Another tradition is that it is the one time in the year when we check whether Lord Mendrick is dead or not. Sadly he wasn't in attendance on this occasion, so we weren't able to ask him. Of course this reveals the flaw in our plan: his absence could mean (a) he is dead, or (b) he is alive but had something better to do on that night. Back to the drawing board.

You can see more photos from the occasion at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sheridanclub/albums/72177720322729379.