All of a sudden lots of celebrations are upon us
One particular store has been advertising their products with a catchy tune from last Christmas but without the words.

“It’s Christmas, Christmas blah blah”

“It feels like some sort of bolero” you find yourself singing the missing lyric as the weeks go by,
It’s as though they know you know what they know but daren’t let it out yet case it’s too early.
“But we do know”
“Can’t wait” for that Dickensian choir knocking on the front door, with renditions of Silent night etc.

More like some scraggy looking youths singing
“We wish you a merry Christmas we wish you a merry Christmas”
“Oh, and a happy new year”
Grubby little hands out stretched waiting for maybe a gold coin.

Then there’s the Halloween effect,
Its not celebrated in the same extent as in other far away lands and I always remember it as the time local child militia come banging on your door with the threat “trick or treat mister”
“No sweets for these urchins, its money or else”
To be fair there are some youngsters with their parents who have taken a little time to enter into the spirit of things.

Just aside, we go through our lives telling our kids not to talk to strangers, don’t take sweets off people you don’t know… and lo and behold…

Bonfire night is when the empty shops in the land open to sell dodgy fireworks.
You can get the super mega blaster 32 shot air bomb for display purposes only “for a fiver”.
This isn’t a firework it’s a” bomb “and on a cold wet November the fifth in gardens up and down the UK dads stand over these weapons cigarette in mouth trying desperately to light the touch paper with an eye on the most direct escape route.
More often as not the promise turns out to be a little limp.
“Phizzzzz burp burp phut.


Ah the smell of burning the sound of fire engines and dogs barking, the anticipation of next day’s news of some poor soul getting a little to close to the mega blaster that worked.

Having said all that,
“Love this time of year” loads of memories.