Opening sentence "... A few years ago on woman's hour, I heard a farmer complaining about the cruel way in which he was compelled to rear turkeys..."

Back page blurb:

Christmas is looming. Will your mother-in-law present you with yet another hideous jersey this year? How are you going to cope with Granny's peke or the undesirable in-laws? Has the row about where to spend the holiday already started, and it's only August? Jilly Cooper has the answer to everything. Whether you should seek refuge in the cooking sherry or suggest a wholesome family walk, Jilly offers, in her own irrepressible style, sound but often hilarious advice about how to get through the roller-coaster ride we call Christmas. With the help of the perfect Christmas family - Scarlett O'Aga, the Xmasochistic housewife, her wayward husband Noel, his seductive mistress Ms Stress, their four delightful children Holly, Robin, Carol and Nicholas, and their dog Difficult Patch, we learn how to survive this most demanding of occasions.

I think the blurb says it all really. It had so much potential but in the end it wasn't a particularly good book - so I skip read it to the end, dipping in and out of the stories. I prefer 'Grumpy Old Women' ( )