Happy Christmas Everyone

May I wish everyone the very best at this seasonal time of year. Belated greetings on the celebration of Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Al-Hijira, Yule and Litha. Have a happy Christmas, Makar Sankrant, Oshogatsu, Zarathosht Diso and Ashura. Whatever is your thing and whoever is your God, if you believe in one, may peace and happiness be with you over the winter holidays. Salaam and shalom to you all.

Yesterday morning I received an email from my dad, with two photos attached. The first picture shows a toy Santa, sat up high on the brightly decorated Christmas tree with a sack of presents alongside, waiting for the real Santa to pay a visit on Christmas Eve. This year my brother Joel is spending Christmas here in London with his mum-in-law Jacqui, while mum and I are spending the holiday week up in North Yorkshire with dad. As per last year, it will be the best of local food. This year the livestock get a break and surf takes over from turf, as we indulge ourselves on king scallops, king prawns, crab, mussels, smoked haddock, smoked salmon and baked stuffed sea bass, along with roasted Maris Pipers and a selection of Yorkshire's finest root vegetables, brassica and herbs.

There was just one potential problem with our plans, illustrated by the second photo which shows dad's driveway, pictured from an upstairs window on Monday night. The local road is under about a foot of snow and the hill up from the village has been impassable to all but four-wheel drive vehicles. But never mind. Dad has parked his car on the main road up in the village, so we can get out to do the last-minute shopping. And neighbours have offered him the services of their Freelander to ferry us from the village if needed.

And that's what it's all about, really. Fighting its way through the materialism and self-indulgence, Christmas and New Year is all about community, friendship and people helping and supporting eachother. So together we can all celebrate the ending of one decade and the coming of a new one. As it happens, we didn't need the rescue service and we arrived safely a couple of hours ago. The food is in the fridge and the freezer, a bottle of Cava has been opened and we're ready for the festive season regardless of what the weather brings. I hope you are too. Wishing you all the very best. Aidan.