Kmflett's Blog

Christmas Menu, The Farmers Dog
Available 2nd to 24th December – £40 for three courses
Starters:
Scotch broth, crispy kale
Smoked ham & turkey terrine, pear chutney
Baked Brie, Cumberland sauce
All with Cotswold sourdough
Mains:
Turkey breast, pigs in blankets, sage & onion stuffing, roast potatoes
Pan Haggerty, mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes, pickled apple
12 hour slow cooked beef, horseradish mash, crispy onions, Hawkstone Black gravy
All with seasonal veg
Desserts:
Beauvale Blue cheese, quince jelly, crackers, honey walnuts
Warm treacle tart, whisky mascarpone, apple syrup
Damson bread & butter pudding, Cotswold ice cream

Wetherspoons

Prices vary by location but unlikely to be more than £15 for a main Christmas meal & alcoholic drink(KF)

No need to book, just turn up and enjoy the festive offering.

The Christmas menu will be available from Wednesday 13 November until Tuesday 31 December (excluding Christmas Day).

Festive meals for 2024 include the ever-popular dish of sliced turkey breast and winter vegetables.

Turkey
Enjoy four slices of turkey breast, with a pork, apricot & cranberry stuffing, roasted Chantenay carrots and parsnips, Maris Piper mash, two pigs-in-blankets, peas, cranberry sauce and gravy.

This meal, together with all the festive meals and Deli Deals^®, includes a drink* (soft or alcoholic).

Following the huge success of the big cheese burger (Brie slices, topped with two halloumi fries and blue cheese dip on the side, with chips – and a choice of patties), available once again this year, a NEW 11″ big cheese pizza has also been added, to the festive menu.

Cheesemas
Also served as a small-plate 8″ big cheese pizza option, both pizzas are topped with mozzarella, Brie, Cheddar cheese, blue cheese sauce and rocket, for a truly indulgent ‘cheesemas’ feast.

If you are a true cheese-lover, check out the Christmas menu small-plate options and the big cheese chips – with Brie, Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and blue cheese dip.

Wetherspoon’s Brie & bacon burger, as well as the chicken & stuffing burger, has also been joined on the menu by the NEW vegan five gold rings burger.

Vegan
The vegan option comprises a Beyond Meat® plant-based patty, BBQ sauce, iceberg lettuce, tomato and red onion, topped with five onion rings.

Deli Deals^®
All of the Deli Deals^® (which are chicken, stuffing, bacon & cranberry panini, Brie & cranberry panini, small southern-fried chicken & stuffing wrap and southern-fried chicken & stuffing wrap) include a drink* (soft or alcoholic) and can be ordered with additional side dishes.

Sweet Treat
Finish off your Christmas meal with a sweet festive treat of a cookies & cream blondie.
This gooey, warm white chocolate brownie is packed with white chocolate and crushed cookie pieces, served with vanilla ice cream and more chocolate cookie crumbs.

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL SANTAS

Organised by the Beard Liberation Front

18th December

Contact Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL SANTAS WARNS ON CHRISTMAS FAKES

The Campaign for Real Santas, which campaigns for Santas to have genuine organic or knitted beards, has warned on Christmas Fakes after self styled MP for Clacton Nigel Farage posted a picture on Twitter showing himself with an absurd false bearded and fake Santa

The Campaign says that the Santa in the picture is about as genuine as the MP he is greeting, that is not at all.

The Campaign for Real Santas believes that only Santas with genuine, organic or knitted beards should be deputies for Santa, world famous for his organic beard, in the run up to Xmas

CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, the Real Santa is popularly supposed to have a naughty and nice list when it comes to Christmas presents and Farage will be at the top of the naughty list. He stand opposed to all the things that Santa stands.

Willow Farm

The Ambridge Socialist

22^nd December

The Ambridge House Struggle

This Christmas the ruling clique in Ambridge are engaged in a house struggle which inevitably has hints of class struggle too.

Brenda Tucker has returned to Ambridge after 10 years in Sarf London to urge Kirsty to hurry up and sell her existing house so she can buy Willow Dwellings. Helen is living in Kirsty’s house and seems to have no clear idea where she might go. Given she is a member of the Archers Dynasty, there will be plenty of suitable mansions available. She could of course stay with Pat and Tony particularly as Tony seems to want to live in an eco-tent and model railway shed. Meanwhile Natasha is after buying Kirsty’s place even though she doesn’t really have the finance. She is a symbol of a new generation of exploitative Archers (via marriage to Tom).

Kirsty has now decided to accept Natasha’s offer, as a higher one is involved in a chain. Helen can of course live with Natasha and Tom for a bit or something like that. Anyway as the house struggle continues its clear there will be trouble ahead

The Grundy’s Christmas

Eddie has renewed his defence of George on the basis of working-class solidarity. That caused some issues with the Grundy and Horrabin Christmas plans which now seem to have been in part resolved by Ed and Emma having the day at home with Keira. Ed will be playing Santa

Vince Casey’s Abattoir

With Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas pulling back from the RSPCA over issues related to abattoirs it approves surely it is time for an inspection of Vince’s place…

In other news

Leonard has destroyed a lamp shade at Brookfield

A Chartist response to Charles Dickens Christmas Carol, Northern Star, 30^th December 1843

Charles Dickens Christmas Carol was published on 19^th December 1843. Eleven days the Chartist Northern Star had this response which was headed a Christmas Carol

According to annual and praise-worthy custom the unfortunate inmates both of the workhouse* and prison throughout the metropolis, will, upon Christmas-day be regaled with the usual good fare of the season. The proportions of the allowances will vary slightly in different institutions, but in all & good dinner -will be provided.”— Morning Chronicle

Full of drink and-fall of meat, On ourr Saviour’s natal day,

Charity’s perennial treat; Thus I heard a pauper say :

— ” Ought not I to dance and sing

Thus supplled with famous cheer ?

Helgho !

 I hardly know— Christmas comes but once a year.’ ‘ .’

After labours long turmoil, Sorry fare and frequent fast,

Two and fifty weeks of toil,

Pudding-time is come at last! But are raisin*#s high or low.

Flour and suet cheap or dear ?

Heighho

I hardly know— Christmas comes but once a year . ‘

Fed upon the coarsest fare Three hundred days and sixty-days

But for one on viands rare,

Just as if I wasn’t poor .

‘ Ought not I to bless my stars,

Warden, clerk , and overseer ?

Heighho’ I hardly know—

Christmas comes but once a year.

” Treated like a -welcome guest,

One of nature’s  social chain,

Sealed, tended on, and pressed—

But when shall I be pressed again

Twice to pudding, thrice to beef,

A dozen times to ale and beer?

Heigho

I hardly know— Christmas comes but once a year- “

Come to-morrow how it will; Diet scant and usage rough,

Hunger once has had its fill,

Thirst for once has had enough

But shall I ever dine again ?

Or see another feast appear ?

Heigho !

I only know— Christmas comes but once a year

Punch, reprinted in the Northern Star 30^th December 1843

The Guardian has highlighted that there are around 40 political prisoners in UK jails. They are primarily Just Stop Oil and Palestinian protesters who have mostly committed offences of civil disobedience aboit a a political issues.

Until recently such offences would warrant a few weeks in jail at best and certainly not at Christmas. However this changed in the several periods when Suella Braverman was Home Secretary. In various ways she changed and amended laws with the aim of making an effective protest illegal. Labour does not agree with making all protest illegal but it still criminalises civil disobedience. It might be suggested that this doesnt fit well with the history of a Party that owes a great deal of its existence to Chartists and Suffragettes breaking the law to win the vote.

Keeping protesters in jail at Christmas is however not a new thing for the British State as the 23rd December 1843 issue of the Chartist paper the Northern Star underlined. The lead article written by Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor appealed for funds to make sure that the families of those Chartists in jail could have a decent Christmas. He does not reference why they were in jail but very largely due to the 1842 General Strike which was part of the long running Chartist agitation for political rights and the vote

Beloved Friends,—I make no doubt that I shall have a good dinner on Christmas Day but the best sauce that could be served with it would be the assurance that the families of my brother Chartists who are suffering Imprisonment for their principles , were also sure of a good dinner. I have appealed to you frequently on behalf of the principles, and how can I at this season of-the year refrain from begging of you on behalf of those who are suffering from the advocacy of their principles.

Feargus O’Connor, Northern Star 23rd December 1843

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/20/record-number-of-protesters-will-be-in-uk-prisons-this-christmas

There are other things but if you keep note of what former Brewdog CEO James Watt is up to his LinkedIn account is the place. Recently he has praised Melon Usk and complained that Labour’s changes to Capital Gains Tax will mean he has to leave the UK

Meanwhile he has been opining on whether to invest in his partner Georgia Toffolo’s raw dog firm. An investment would attract tax relief but not if he marries Ms Toffolo which he said he plans to do (then again Brewdog is meant to be making an IPO about which nothing at all has happened for a long time).

Less well reported was the event held at Brewdog Waterloo on 15th December where Ms Toffolo and Mr Watt were both in attendance. Mr Watt was pictured holding some actual dogs

45 people and 20 dogs attended the inaugural Festive Dogscars Awards, Ms Toffolo handed out ‘fun’ Awards to the dogs including Humper of the Year.

It all seems a bit odd and perhaps context to why Tim Martin bans dogs from Wetherspoons pubs

Beard Liberation Front

20^th December

Beard Liberation Front says ‘Lord’ Toby Young remains barred for bringing the hirsute into disrepute

The Beard Liberation Front the informal network of beard wearers has confirmed that following the decision by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to nominate self-styled leader of the so called Free Speech Union Toby Young for a Peerage he remains barred as a supporter for bringing the hirsute into disrepute.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, despite claiming to be and advocate of free speech we have found over time that Lord Toby has done absolutely nothing to combat the abuse that the hirsute regularly receive in the public domain.

Nim, Pumps and Jollymeier are gone to the West End, Christmas
shopping as they pretend, but in reality for a dinner at the Vienna
Beer Hall. As I am still a little under restraint, I have stopped at
home and use the time to write to you. But now the dinner bell
rings — for me and Johnny — and so good-bye. Health and spirits
and a sound foundation for Paul!

Engels to Laura Lafargue 22^nd December 1885

Nim Helene Demuth- housemaid

Pumps, Rosher, Mary Ellen, niece of Engels wife Lydia Burns

Jollymeier Carl Shorlemmer, Prof at Owen College Manchester, German SPD

The likely reference is to the Vienna Cafe in New Oxford St near the British Museum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Caf%C3%A9

In 1644 Parliament (not Oliver Cromwell) banned the celebration of Christmas. This was reinforced by further legislation in 1647 and implemented by the Commonwealth Governments from 1649-1660. Key elements were that shops should remain open on 25th December and no religious services should take place. Pubs remained open, although some Royalist propaganda from the time suggests that the brewing of strong Christmas ales was at least restricted.

How much this impacted the lives of people who remained more of the peasant class than industrial workers remains unclear. The focus that can be found in historical research is on those of the middling sort and above who were not supporters of Parliament.

One interesting, and even less well documented, impact of the ban, was what happened after the Restoration in 1660. Church services could resume and shops shut. However it seems that the celebration of Christmas did not resume to a great extent. As Judith Flanders notes in Consuming Passions ‘from the seventeenth century Christmas had been in hibernation’. She was referring to the late 1830s when an early work of Charles Dickens reinvented traditions at Christmas that had long gone unobserved.

Between 1790 and 1836 The Times made no reference at all to Christmas in 20 of those years and in other years the references were cursory. In 1833 a regular meeting of the (Tory) Carlton Club in London was held on Christmas Day and while only three people were in attendance, the reasons for absence did not include Christmas festivities. In 1837 the Court Circular (still to be found in The Times) listed a meeting between the Commander of Forces and the Colonial Secretary on Christmas Day. It was a purely routine meeting.

The long lasting impact of the Parliamentary Acts banning Christmas in 1644 and 1647 does suggest that it was not a hugely popular festival and its reinvention in the 1840s, two centuries on, had a strong commercial focus.