Christmas Is Coming

We've had the Winter Solstice, huzzah! The cushion of gloom will now begin to lift, as the hours of lightness lengthen, and the world becomes once more a place of growth and hope. The turn of the seasons is as real as the ebb and flow of the tides, and of our own moods toward life, the universe and everything. Huzzah.

Christmas is coming, however, one of the more distressing times of the year for the doomed singletons of the world. It would be overwhelmingly miserable, but for the bucketloads of uplifting books, movies and television series kicking around this cluttered little place. Right now, the great romantic comedy 'Holiday' is playing to one side, and being generally wonderful. 'The Code Of The Woosters' is waiting on the book piles, and there is a pile of studying and proofreading to get someone busy. Yes, there is a survival plan, which might just work...

'Holiday' really is a good movie. It has the trappings of a boring melodrama, but escapes that status by sheer force of will and charm. It has never failed to cheer. In the depths of the cold dark Winter of hilly South Wales, a light influence is something to be treasured. It even has sister films in 'Bringing Up Baby' and 'The Philadelphia Story', for a trio of (disputed) excellence.

There are Christmas traditions to be upheld, which can help a successful traversal of the holidays. The Rathbone/Bruce 'Sherlock Holmes' movies will be revisited, as will the legendary 'Beiderbecke' trilogy of mini-series, and 'The Belgariad' and 'Nursery Crimes' novels. How's that for a scrumptious feast of happy-ish things? 'The Compleat Enchanter' could pop out as well.

The inherent sadness of the holidays for some people is not to be underestimated. Many people all over the West will have fun, but many others will face their own inner demons. Spare a thought for them, and help someone, if you can. Christmas is supposed to be about giving and helping, isn't it? Oh, in this era of inequality, it's a more important season than ever.

O.