Yule Blog

Yuletide greetings one and all.

PG's last comment set me thinking about my wish list. The twenty billion sterling we have spent on Xmas this year would make a good start. I daresay Santa would welcome a year off; the poor chap has his work cut out. 378 million children in 91.8 million homes (leaving out all the hindu, muslim, buddhist and atheist children etc). Parcel tonnage reckoned at 321,300 tons and delivery logistics requiring Rudolph and Co to travel at 650mph and allows Santa approx one thousandth of a second for each delivery (source: The Independant).

He seems to have managed the feat once again magnificently - even taking into account the re-direction notices we left in our fireplace and involving him in a 157 mile detour (sorry Santa). To be sure, we did track his progress using state of the art Pentagon military technology at www.noradsanta.org. Would that that was all it was used for!

The three wise men started it all off though they didn't have the luxury of online shopping nor of choosing the super saver delivery or gift wrap options. Do you suppose they would have wrapped the gold, frankincense and myrrh anyway? Were they in any sense 'wise' to set this consumer madness rolling into the future? Surely this is not what they intended it to become and maybe it is time for us to come up with an alternative strategy for next year. If that 20 billion could make some inroads into my wishlist, then that is a Christmas I'd be happy to sign up to.

Holiday suggestions for Santa on a postcard please.

Wishlist

I was bathing Ben tonight and he said 'Dad, what do you want for Christmas?' I told him I'd like all the people in the world to have what we take for granted; clean water to drink; a warm roof overhead; knowing where our next meal is coming from; adequate health care; not to be afraid that we'll be shot up or bombed tomorrow etc etc. He thought for a bit and then said 'Dad, it's not an option. It has to be something you can wrap up." Which about sums it up really doesn't it?

Oh ye of Liddle Faith

The Trouble with Atheism C4 Monday 18 Dec

Oh well, they really shot themselves in the foot with that one didn't they? For some reason I expect better from C4 than an hour long piece of drivel that probably infuriated the believers just as much as it did the other believers. And as to his final and naive question as to why the believers and the non believers can't just 'get along' does the man really need to be told that beliefs have consequences?

Gary Wolf did a better job here, C4 should do better. Rod Liddle should take his dog for a walk and think things through a bit.

Seasonal Nose Picking

Little voice from the back of the car on the way out to the School Xmas Fair on Saturday......
"If anyone wants to do some seasonal nose picking, do it now!"

Sunday....force 10 gusts smash two sheets of glass from the greenhouse roof and turns compost bin lid into a frisbee. Probably somewhere in Blackpool by now.