Christmas Cheer

Am I really getting so old, or is Christmas really becoming so unbearable. It's now 7th December and I am thoroughly fed up with the whole thing. It is almost impossible to do anything without having to listen to Christmas music of one sort or another, and if I hear any more references to Rudolph or Winter Wonderlands, then I think I will scream.

We went to a garden centre the other day, you know, the sort of place that sells Christmas cards, Christmas cakes, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas lights, Fibre Optic Santa Heads, the ubiquitous poinsettia, Animated Long Leg Santas, Christmas candles - you get the idea - and if you are lucky, the odd plant or two. We actually wanted a few violas to replace some dug up by the squirrels, and yes I do realise that maybe gardening is not top of the agenda at this time of the year, but a garden centre did seem a good place to start. To be fair we did eventually find some, but their condition was not pristine, hence they were only half price; perhaps enough to pay for squirrel food.

The shops are all complaining that there are not enough customers buying this Christmas. Perhaps they would do better if the first Christmas displays had not made their appearance in early October so that by now everyone is so sick of it all, or else long since bought all their presents, that they really cannot face another retail shopping experience. Just how much junk does a person need to buy. Call it cynical if you like, but I rather feel that an awful lot of effort is wasted in buying presents that people either don't want or need, whilst those same people send time and effort looking for things to buy you that you would never dream of buying for yourself. I suppose that the whole prosperity of western society is based upon creating the need to keep buying ever more things to replace the things that replaced the things the time before.

I don't begrudge the money spent, or at least I wouldn't if I didn't think so much of it was pure waste of the world's resources. What also worries me is the amount of debt that some families must get into in trying to do what they feel is required of them. Advertising campaigns aimed at children are particularly offensive as the companies concerned all know that parents will be emotionally blackmailed as a result, and feel that they cannot let their kids down. Our grandchildren are only 4 and 5 years old, but they are already very precise in their brand requirements, and anything less will not be well received.

Anyway, enough of moaning. Here is what I reckon to be a seasonal picture taken recently on a walk around Bosworth Field. The simple pleasure in life take some beating.

Bosworth Field