Christmahoosive Cheer!!!!

Using last years photo as I like to do my bit for recycling.

The snow is back on the blog so it’s time for that most topical of posts the Christmas one (on a side note get your cards off soon speaking of post!)…Being a sentimental type of fella, I am getting quite giddy as I do at this time of year, it’s a traditional thing.

I managed to avoid anything Christmassy until 1st december this year so I am having a proper non materialistic start festivities, that incidentally usually starts in the last week of August for me.

Today I have decided to plug in the head phones, ramp up the volume and write this to the tunes I find myself humming along to every year.

So far I have been listening to my absolute favourites: When a Child is Born, The Fairytale of New York, Stop the Cavalry as well as – bizarrely – Band Aid 20, admittedly the rap bit is growing on me even if it isn’t a patch on the original version.

So brilliant music sorted, my musings are of different sort for Christmas this year, as I find myself thousands of miles away from the vast majority of my friends and family. It will certainly be different but on the positive side, it will allow me to be more appreciative of all those special people who have made not only this year but also the years previous fun, at time outlandish and always acutely memorable.  I honestly believe my sanity was actually kept in check by the exceedingly absurd things we have gotten up to.

So with all those memories swirling at the forefront of my mind, the pleasurable feeling of knowing (and being able to keep in touch with) such wonderful people, more than outweighs the material side of things.  Although I am slightly envious of everyone being able exchanging gifts and hugs and get those final drinks in before the big day that I would no doubt be starting to do right now.  Nothing beats that last pint before heading home knowing that everything is taken care of and all is right with the world for a day or two.

Cycling through the Christmas tracks, I am now on those classic UK anthems by Slade, Wizzard, Wham!, Shakin’ Stevens et al and thinking of all those windows I’d usually peek surreptitiously into as I passed by, usually on my way home in the grey lonely light of the quiet (some would say…silent) night.  I like my melancholy when it feels like that, make no mistake I’d have a good nosy at other people’s decorations, whilst simultaneously hoping for a white Christmas as convention dictates that I should.

Then there are the films! I’m not much one for watching television but christmas films are a must: Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Home Alone 1 and 2, Jingle All the Way and perennial kids favourite The Snowman being top of the bill for me.  Not only those films though, it wouldn’t be the festive season without the other non Christmas films that they always stick in to fill up the schedules: The Wizard of Oz, The Great Escape, Tron, Zulu, Batman Returns, Gremlins, the Disney cartoons Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland and The Sword in the Stone, not forgetting whatever James Bond film they choose to show.  In another tradition those of you who were reading last year will probably be saddened to know that I STILL haven’t received Hungry Hungry Hippos so that tradition continues also.

Anyway enough of my rambling reminiscences, here’s some great music!  This is an obvious pick for a song in the British Isles but may not be as well known around the world, so please enjoy what is to a lot of people the bestest Christmas song ever…