Merry Christmas everyone!

It's that magical time of year again - my favorite part of Christmas: Christmas Eve.

I remember as a youngster (set memories to sepia tone) opening the big double-door on my Advent Calendar to reveal the Nativity Scene, realising that Christmas was almost upon us.

More than a few years I'd go to bed early (trying to prove just how good I was!) only to spend ages looking out the window at the skies, to recall the large star over Bethlehem and also, perchance, to get a glimpse of a certain sleigh as it whisked across the horizon.

In a most Keatsian fashion, the anticipation was - to some degree - almost better than the day itself, purely because all the excitement was still ahead, the other side of dawn (including another pair of novelty socks from another one of my myriad of Auntie Mary's).

Well here we are again, and now I can see the same anticipation and excitement in the eyes of the youngsters as they too get tucked up in bed just slightly too early as if to prove how "good" they've been all year!

Some highlights of this Christmas:

The best Christmas card award must go to a certain gent called Stuart who excels himself every year with his homemade cards. This year was a front cover of a Winter-Fund certificate (German circa 1942) with a 'White Eagle of Snowdon' motif on the back cover.

Superb!

Smallest card award goes to (old friend) Chris who now lives in exile in a slightly less advanced nation... ;-)

Tightest, stingiest non-Christmas card award doesn't stray far this year. Partly due to work, partly because I kept thinking "It's too early" and much else besides... Even folks locally only received them as a last minute thought this weekend past.

I did phone one friend this morning to wish him Merry Christmas and to say I was avoiding cards to stop the "rampant commercialism taking over Christmas." That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Still there is a glimmer of hope. The eldest sprog has just declared "you don't need presents to enjoy Christmas." When he saw the glint in my eye he quickly recanted... but what a glimmer of hope for the future! Ho ho ho!

So, in closing, a Merry Christmas to one and all - well almost all.

As the angels proclaimed: Peace on earth to ALL MEN OF GOODWILL.

I don't think that includes those who arrange for Nationalist homes to be raided just before Christmas - Alex Carlile MP and other crypto-Zionists take note!

Link:
Track Santa

A web-site for all the kiddies. Play lots of North Pole games, and track Santa's movements across the world...