A liberal Christmas: Christmas Eve at Scrooge & Marley’s, Cornhill
It is a Christmas like no other. Again.
Official Government advice is to avoid mixing too much and stay at home. Unless you are working of course, in which case carry on.
No doubt we will find out in due course how many Ministers manage to keep to their own guidelines. Again.
There is a sense from this neo-liberal Government that the idea of the masses having time off, mixing and enjoying themselves is not a happy one. Who knows what might happen when people gather together- they talk about things..
Of course in 2021 there is actually a very good reason why people should not gather, to avoid increasing further COVID-19 infections. Numbers of scientists who specialise in this area have rightly underlined the point. Sometimes one does get the impression that a few of their number actually dislike people gathering together in principle at any time. See the Government perspective above.
It’s worth reminding ourselves of the person who sought (and failed) to be the poster-boy of the original liberal Christmas in the 1840s,one Mr E. Scrooge. As will be seen below he begrudged his clerk having a paid day off on 25th December from his office in Cornhill, City of London. That concession reluctantly made he expected him back at work early on 26th December.
Fortunately one group of underpaid workers who will be following that in 2021 are those who work very hard in the NHS. They deserve our support, where Johnson certainly does not.
At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat.
“You’ll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?” said Scrooge.
“If quite convenient, sir.”
“It’s not convenient,” said Scrooge, “and it’s not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you’d think yourself ill-used, I’ll be bound?”
The clerk smiled faintly.
“And yet,” said Scrooge, “you don’t think me ill-used, when I pay a day’s wages for no work.”
The clerk observed that it was only once a year.
“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. “But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.”
Extract from Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol (published December 1843)
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