Fed: Turkey gets Howard's vote

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2006
Fed: Turkey gets Howard's vote

CANBERRA, Dec 22 AAP - Even if it is a scorching day on Monday, Prime Minister John
Howard and his family will sit down to a traditional roast turkey Christmas dinner.

"It's a very normal, typical Christmas," Mr Howard told the Nine Network today.

The Howards' Christmas Day will start with church, making sure not to rush in to the
present opening.

"We go to church in the morning, then we come home and we go around and see some ...

old friends in Greenwich and then we go back and open presents and have lunch and then
the extended Howard family come and see us in the evening," he said.

They will not follow many Australians into seafood lunches, instead sticking with the
English roast dinner.

"We're strictly turkey - we're very traditional - I mean the turkey and ham we're very
into that, maybe a bit of seafood in the evening."

And it will be Mrs Howard, Janette, slaving away in the kitchen.

"We are all the beneficiaries of that because she's a fabulous cook," he said.

There is no time for the prime minister to relax over the festive season, but he will
try with a touch of cricket.

"Your mind is always on it (the job) but I will have time off in January. I will go
to every day of the Sydney Test and I may go down to Melbourne for a day or two," he said.

Mr Howard is keen to catch Shane Warne's last days on the pitch before his retirement
at the end of the Ashes series.

"He's a great loss - I mean he's the greatest Australian bowler the world has ever seen.

AAP kc/goc/cdh

KEYWORD: XMAS HOWARD

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