1612.11 CHRISTMAS TV PICK

It's a Christmas tradition in many households to get the TV listings magazine and scour it for seasonal offerings. In these days of digital guides and EPGs it's nice to have something tangible and physical. My choice (as it is with so many others) is the seasonal edition of the oldest of the TV listings magazines; Radio Times.

1612.07 DOCTOR STRANGE

Tonight I went to see Marvel's latest offering, "Doctor Strange" starring Benedict Cumberlandsausage.

1612.06 CRACK OUT THE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

We normally put up the tree and decorations on the first weekend in December. Unfortunately this year I was working so we've had to try and fit it in during the week. Yesterday I ventured into the loft to get the boxes of Christmas decorations.

1612.03 OUR SONG

A lot of couples have a song. A song is a particular tune that reminds you of each other and the love you share together. Many people choose a song that they think reflects what that have but I am a firm believer that the song chooses you. That's what happened for us.

1611.29 SHOPPING IN NIGHTWEAR

It's something I see a lot. Too much. When I visit one of my local supermarkets I inevitably see someone shopping in either pyjamas or a onesie. It's not someone popping out in a desperate rush for emergency supplies, most of the time it's people doing a shop. How hard is it to throw a few clothes on?

Last week I called into my local Tesco Express for some milk. Whilst in there I saw a chap in pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers shopping with a basket browsing the shelves. Why!? Just get dressed!

It really annoys me and it's not confined to shops either. I've passed primary schools where mothers have taken their kids to school in their jim jams. Come on!

There are times and places for certain types of clothing. You don't wear your winter coat to bed, you don't wear swimwear at a court appearance. So why do certain people think it's ok to wear house/nightwear to the shops? Please just stop!

1611.26 HOME ALONE

This weekend Morticia has gone away with the girls so I've been left 'home alone', well not quite. I'm here with Rags and we are enjoying a bit of quality time together. We've been catching up on all our favourite superhero TV shows and eating junk food. We're having a great time.

When she goes to bed I've been working on new graphics for my website/blog ready for next year. Next year is a big milestone for my website. It'll be 15 years old. Although in the early years I gave it loads of attention it's only in the last year that I've given it renewed vigor and in that time I've 'met' loads of new friends. Well the new graphics I'm working on will show my commitment to this outlet. Although I am active on social media I fell out of love with it some time ago. Blogging allows me to express myself emotionally and creativly whilst still having control.

A first look at some of the new graphics
(I'm not quite happy with the menu bar yet).

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent...

Every relationship is different but I feel it's healthy to spend a little time apart and (after Rags has gone to bed) some time alone. I'm making the most of my time and getting some great quality time with my daughter. Today I'm making Toad in the Hole and we are going to watch movies. It's going to be a great day.

Supplemental 1611.27;
Today had promise but has been sadly marred by a nasty migraine which has left me in bed for most of the day. The movies we planned to watch remain unwatched and the quality time I planned was reduced significantly. I'm very disappointed with how the weekend has panned out in the end. We got in some quality time but not as much as I'd hoped. 

1611.19 CYCLE CLUB DO

Have you ever been to a sports club presentation? They're pretty much the same as one another. The only difference with the one I went to this weekend was that I was a member of the club.

It was the annual Rockingham Cycling Club Prize Giving on Saturday and I was attending with Morticia. It would be the first time she'd met my cycling buddies. I hadn't raced so I knew there was no prizes for me (maybe I'd win the raffle though?). It was really good to see the achievements of my fellow riders honoured.

The buffet food was out of this world with freshly carved meats and a vast selection of delicious goodies. After the food was the raffle and despite a few close calls we didn't win a thing. Oh well, maybe next year.

Morticia and me at cycling presentation 

My cycling this year has been pretty poor in my opinion but having the opportunity to socialise with a room full of cyclists really reinvigorated my desire to ride. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, even Morticia said she enjoyed herself!

1611.21 TO BALDLY GO THRO TIME AND SPACE

There are 2 big Sci Fi shows on the horizon that have me excited.

There is Star Trek Discovery which I've mentioned before. The show has had a number of hiccups along the way. It was put back to May next year and then showrunner, Brian Fuller took a back seat (blaming his non-Trek workload). I am at this point a little worried about this show. It's destined for streaming which isn't a bad thing except in the US it's going on the networks own streaming service. The rest of the world (except Canada) get it on Netflix. There's little more known about the show other than a basic premise, no actors have been announced or even suggested at this point. In this case no news is definitely not good news.

Secondly, our home grown Sci Fi legend that is Doctor Who returns after a year long 'rest' with the now traditional Christmas Day Special. 'Children In Need' on Friday featured a trailer to the upcoming episode "The Return of Doctor Mysterio". This episode pits the Doctor against a superhero and features Matt Lucus (Little Britain, Alice in Wonderland). There's a new series next year.

Sci Fi is in the doldrums at the moment, it's good to have something to look forward to.

1611.17 PRELUDE TO CHRISTMAS

Well the Christmas preamble is well on it's way with retailers in full festive mode pushing their wares on the great unwashed. I have to admit I've been dragged into this shopping frenzy by Morticia (under duress you understand).

As well as the shops the media is also getting in on the action, pop up channels 'Christmas 24' and 'True Christmas'  are churning out cheesy American Christmas movies 24 hours a day.

Formula for cheesy American Christmas movie is...

Santa's child/sibling/elf arrives in American town/city to find love

+

single parent with sickly cute kid

=

some sort of caper where someone learns true meaning of Christmas oh and the two get together.

You can tweak the basics but most follow this formula. 

What about the pre Christmas traditions? Most are new and created for the purpose of making the said great unwashed buy stuff they don't want.

The John Lewis Ad

This only started back in 2007 and only became a 'thing' more recently. This year's is a bit shit. Better than the pervert on the moon from last year though. You can see this year's ad featuring Buster the dog here.

Buster the dog ©John Lewis

Other retailers such as Marks and Spencer and Sainsburys (and more recently the likes of Aldi) have tried to muscle in on the act. My favourite has to be Sainsburys (their ads are far superior in my opinion), see the latest one here.

©Sainsburys 

None of the ads have encouraged me to shop in the respective outlets so whilst entertaining, they seem to be ineffective.

Black Friday

This nasty little 'tradition' was first brought to our shores (from America) in 2013 by Asda, the Leeds based supermarket chain which also happens to be a subsidy of US retail giant, Walmart. Since then it has spread like a plague being peddled by the likes of Amazon, Tesco and Argos. Black Friday has to be the worst example of greed I've ever seen. I view this 'thing' with absolute contempt. The behaviour it encourages is beyond despicable, watching mad mobs fight over a discounted telly is soul destroying.

Image subject to copyright 

Christmas is a great time to connect with family and friends, eat and drink a bit too much and watch cheesy movies (I do secretly enjoy those cheesy movies) but the greed, especially from big business is unacceptable. Enjoy this time but don't get caught up in the commercialised mess that Christmas has become.

1611.13 LEST WE FORGET

6 years ago I had cause to speak to an elderly chap in his nineties who told me about his experiences during WWII. He lost his entire family in a bombing raid over Sheffield and immediately went to sign up for the army, lying about his age to get in.  It brought a tear to my eye and made me really think about the debt of gratitude we will always owe him and his generation.

Back to today and this morning, my youngest daughter (who is an Army Cadet) was marching with her detachment in Rotherham Town Centre for the Remembrance Sunday parade. Yesterday she was in town selling poppies for the Royal British Legion.

Rags with her freind

It's safe to say that I'm a very proud Dad.

The march was a great success and a perfect balance of reflection and celebration.

A special mention goes to the South Yorkshire Police Band (in which I have friends) who did a fantastic job.