Do you sometimes look at the collected clutter and just wonder "where on earth do I start?" I do this, often on a daily basis, as my stacks of papers and jumbled odds and ends begin to look like the leaning tower of Pisa, but with much more chance of collapsing. Every time I really set to and tidy everything up, away, or consign it to the bin, I have this great feeling of satisfaction and vow that I will never let the place get untidy again. This lasts about as long as it takes to put the vacuum cleaner away! I was musing the other day about the joys of having one of those little robot cleaners, and someone passed the comment - very unkindly I thought - that it wouldn't have much to clean in my flat as it couldn't get around or under the accumulation of "things" that I have on the floor. Can't afford one anyway, but that really would be my idea of heaven. Either that or a daily cleaner!
Have I spoken before of the abysmal state of parking around where I live? I am sure that I must have as I love a good whinge now and then, but I came home the other day only to see notices attached to every street lamp stating that on Tuesday I will be unable to park along two streets due to "gully cleaning". Well, I don't really understand what the council are trying to say. I mean, we have gutters - house gutters and the street gutters - but where on earth are the gullies that they are supposed to be cleaning? There are certainly no gullies around where I live. I suspect that some little clerk, who gets paid much more than I do, sits in an office and spends his time coming up with all these words that he has heard somewhere else (possibly American in origin; not that there is anything wrong with American you understand - except that it is not English), and puts them out there as if it is his mission in life to change the English language into something different. I am digressing a little though so I need to rein myself in and continue my first thoughts. All the houses around my way which do not have the good luck to have a drive or garage, fight for the few available places and at this time of year the parking gets worse as Christmas shoppers turn into Scrooge and decide that it is perfectly acceptable to park in a road that gives them two hours free parking rather than pay the car park fees. This is all well and good until I decide that I need to go out. Whether I come back at nine thirty in the morning or four in the afternoon, I now have to drive around the block at least once in the vain hope that someone will drive off before I make a second pass and that no-one else has nipped into the place before I get there. And going back to my comments about gully cleaning, you can bet your life that the council will not allow those us (that have parking permits), to park anywhere else without expecting us to pay either for a parking ticket, or a fine if we don't. Shame on them.....
I never go into town on a Saturday. Even though I only live a couple of minutes walk from the town centre, I have absolutely no desire to punish myself by going in on a Saturday when the whole world and its mother is there. However, last Saturday I had to make the trip as I was singing carols in the local shopping centre. The name of the centre is a story in itself as it was first called Stoneborough (and will be forever called that by me!) and then it changed and decided to call itself The Chequers. This was fine apart from the fact that it had a big mural on one of its walls depicting a chess set. Now everyone knows that Chequers is another name for Draughts - well everyone apart from the person who decided that the mural would be of a chess set. Now it has a really grand name and is calling itself The Mall. What was I saying about all things American......
... Back to the carol service story. I knew that I was going to be in the centre, singing my little heart out for two hours. What I didn't bank on was the pianist going from one verse of a carol straight into the next without even enough time for me to take a breath! To say that I was a tad tired at the end of that marathon singalong is a bit of an understatement, but I did enjoy singing the carols and the other Christmas songs like Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. I have volunteered myself for next year already, although on the proviso that the lady pianist slows down a bit! She did ask me if I would like to go to her church for midnight mass service on Christmas Eve but I told her that I would be very firmly tucked up in my bed by then!
So, now that I have done the carol singalong and checked out all the Christmas lights and decorations in town, I can justifiably say that my Christmas countdown has begun in earnest. I have my turkey already in the freezer and I would have had some other goodies if I hadn't eaten them already (which means that I either go and buy some more or forgo them as I shouldn't be eating them anyway!) All I have to do is decide when is the best time to go and pick up the fruit and veg (well not so much the vegetables as I hate them with a passion!) and I am done. Luckily for me I don't ever need to run around like a headless chicken in the run up to Christmas as I only have myself to look after. I really don't envy all the wonderful women of the world (and some men too) who have to use almost superhuman efforts to bring Christmas to a satisfying conclusion.
I would like to wish all my followers and all those that might have just found my blog whilst looking for something else, a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year - when I shall return.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS! XX
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