Christmas is rushing towards us at a furious rate of knots. I have just returned from lunch at the restaurant next door with an old friend. The place was full of pensioners celebrating, some of them with wearing paper hats. We drew the line at that, although we did pull the crackers and tell each other the regulation jokes, which I shall pass on the Granddaughter Number Four, who is currently obsessed with telling jokes. As a rule her small brother then insists on telling his version of the same joke, subtly altered so that the point of the joke is lost altogether. So it goes!
This week we are taking turns to go and watch five year old Grandson Number Two be a star in the infants school nativity play. All the reception class will be dressed as stars. Granddaughter Number Four is too old to be in the nativity play now that she is eight. Over the hill so young!
However,mGranddaughter Number Four solemnly told me the other day that she believes in Father Christmas. It may well be that as she feels the need to reassure me, she herself has doubts. Here’s a link to a short article about a vicar who went to talk to religious education class at a school somewhere in Hampshire. It seems that after going through the story of the birth of Jesus, which surely year 6 children knew already, he went on to talk about Father Christmas and the fact that he does not in fact exist. This apparently left some children sobbing at their desks. Some parents complained that he had ‘ruined Christmas’. Really! The children of Hampshire must be particularly credulous if at 10 to 11 years old they still believe in Santa. Our almost eleven year old Granddaughter Number Three worked it out long ago. She knows where the presents come from. This year she wants clothes, books and money!
I dipped into an article about the stuff people feel that absolutely MUST carry around in their handbags, apart from the obvious things like keys, money/cards, comb, and in case lip-balm. Some people must be real pessimists, expecting awful accidents to happen to them to destroy their perfect image:
“I carry a Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater stain treater in most of my bags. It came recommended by a friend who spilled red wine at a vineyard, only to have her server whip out this stain remover. I feel like a hero whenever I get to use it, especially on a friend. It’s larger than a Tide pen, but in my opinion way more effective.
Erika Veurink, fashion writer”
“A mini hotel sewing kit – including a safety pin and spare button – is great for emergency repairs. It’s amazing the number of times a safety pin or a quick stitch saves the day, whether fixing an unravelling hem or holding a cuff together that’s lost a button.
Laura Bailey, photographer and model”
“I try not to leave home without a mini sewing kit. I typically “borrow” them from hotels – they work a treat. From loose buttons to dropped hems, I’ve found them to be a sartorial life-saver.
Candice Brathwaite, author”
I confess to taking mini sewing kits from hotel rooms, not to carry round on an everyday basis but to take on holiday with me. And my daughter, usually accompanied by a potentially messy five year old, usually has wipes of some kind. They also serve as stain removers.
I wonder what men feel they must carry in their pockets! Some of them, of course, also have shoulder bags.
More seriously, here is a post from Michael Rosen:
Please mind your language.
Israel has not invaded the Golan Heights
Israel has not occupied the Golan Heights.
What has happened is that there has been a
'demographic development'.
Please bear in mind when writing
about the Norman Conquest of 1066
that William the Conqueror
did not invade Britain.
William the Conqueror
did not occupy Britain.
There was a demographic development.
In all future communications
with this department
responsible for making this announcement
please refer only and exclusively to the
'demographic development'.
No one was injured in the writing of this poem.
['Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government had “unanimously approved” the “demographic development” of the occupied territory [of the Golan Heights], which would seek to double the Israeli population there.' Aljazeera 16 Dec 2024]
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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