In his Christmas Message the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke of the skies above Bethlehem being full of fear, while King Charles talked of shared values in a time of conflict and the Pope referred to the futile logic of war.
Some fine words were spoken, along with others that could and will be criticised no doubt.
Meanwhile Benjamin Netanyahu made an appearance in Gaza on Christmas Day to promise more months of death and destruction.
The gap between what might be seen as the two souls of Christmas is yawning and the gap exists because countries like the US and the UK continue to give Netanyahu the green light.
Growing protests from below around the world calling for Palestinian political rights are the key to stopping this and to turning those Christmas sentiments of the Archbishop, the Pope and the King to something that has an impact on reality
41 years since the Flying Pickets were the Christmas No.1
Xmas No.1s have varied a bit over the decades to include some that are still remembered and played now and some that are, er, not.
It is 41 years since the Flying Pickets version of Yazoo’s Only You was at No.1
The group were actors who had come from the radical theatre group 7:84 (7% of the population own 84% of the wealth). The lead singer Brian Hibbard (the one with the sideburns) went on to a series of popular acting roles in Coronation Street and the like but sadly died in 2012. They had been active in the 1972 and 1974 miners strikes and the 1984 strike was just three months off.
The Flying Pickets were regulars on the London New Variety circuit, a weekly evening of radical music, theatre and comedy staged by CAST (the Cartoon Archetypal Slogan Theatre, sometimes known as the Campaign Against Shakespearian Theatre) which was the brainchild of Roland and Clare Muldoon who went on to run the re-opened Hackney Empire.
A reminder of the radical 1980s, the political world which amongst other things helped to form the current and immediate past Labour leaders, although that is barely acknowledged by the current incumbent.
The Times (26th December 2022) reported that researchers think Henry V111 was responsible for bringing the turkey to Britain. Its Editorial rightly noted that it is the bird of choice for those who eat poultry and that it features in Dickens Christmas Carol. It missed the point perhaps deliberately about why Dickens had Scrooge buy the Cratchits a turkey. The poor in the 1840s would eat goose at Christmas if they could afford it. Turkeys were unaffordable except for the rich. Dickens was attacking a market system that rationed food by class. The Times did however admit that turkey only became the Christmas bird after 1945 when production techniques in the farming business allowed for a vast expansion of availability
Happy Hirsute Christmas from the Beard Liberation Front. Beard of the Year 2023 announced December 28th
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has sent hirsute Christmas greetings to all beard wearers and extended seasonal solidarity to the clean shaven.
Voting in the final Beard Off round for the Beard of the Year 2023 is now complete
The winners of each of the three Close Shave rounds competed in the Beard Off Final, together with the highest placed runner up.
Eric Cantona won the first round, Jamie Driscoll the second and Michael Rosen the third. Humza Yousaf was the highest placed second place.
The long running contest, in recent times determined by on-line polls- looks for the individual who has promoted the most positive image of beards during the year.
To qualify for inclusion a beard must have been worn for the majority of the calendar year but it is not essential that a beard is worn during the vote.
The voting closed just before Christmas with the outcome announced on 28th December
Campaign for Real Santas says forget Suella Braverman, Santa is welcome here, watch out for Tory imposters
The Campaign for Real Santas, which campaigns for Santas to have genuine organic or knitted beards, has said that it’s the peak time for Santas
Despite what former Home Secretary Suella Braverman may think Santa is not an illegal entrant. Santa is welcome here.
The Campaign has issued special Xmas guidelines so that if Santa is spotted it is easy to tell if they are genuine or a Tory imposter.
HOW TO SPOT A GENUINE SANTA
1 Tug the beard of the Santa. If it comes away easily, then the Santa is FAKE
2 Tug the beard of the Santa again. If the Santa swears then they are genuine. If they simply repeat a ‘ho ho ho’ mantra they may be a Tory
3 The Campaign for Real Santas says that genuine Santas must have just the right mix of bonhomie and gruffness and a real organic beard.
4 If the Santa tries to take a present from a child instead of giving them one they are a Tory Imposter.
CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, Santa is a key part of the Christmas story. Someone who travels the globe without papers and hands out presents for free. It’s everything that Suella Braverman and the Tories hate, as well as the beard of course.
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Home Secretary James Cleverly has brought the hirsute into disrepute again with statements about Government processing of asylum claims that were demonstrably untrue
Before Christmas Cleverly disgraced the hirsute by making a ‘joke’ about the spiking of drinks and date rape
The Ambridge sends a sad farewell to Roy Tucker who has died at 53. He featured regularly in the Ambridge Socialist down the years, rarely in a complimentary manner, a reflection of the excellence that the late Ian Pepperell brought to the character. He brought a humanity to Ambridge too often missing in its ruling class characters. A full obituary will be published in due course
Ruling Class split over lemon drizzle cake
As Christmas approaches a serious split has taken place over Jill’s Lemon Drizzle cake. Jill’s cakes are a centralpart of the culture of ruling class Ambridge but Stella has criticised her latest bake. Its more serious than the Great British Bake Off. Stella is still determined to spend Christmas at Brookfield however.
Harry, Chris and Alice too
Chris has entered the moral maze after Harry asked him to do some horse work. Hopefully we won’t hear too much more about this, which means we probably will. Unfortunately Chris who is Deputy Village Idiot to Tom, has decided to get Martha a donkey for Christmas but without telling Alice
Gagriculture first ever Ambridge Xmas success
Opinion is split over the character of Syksey but placing him at the centre of Gagriculture was a good move. After years of dreadful pantos and the like, getting a stand up comedian in the form of Jasper Carrot do a few gags actually worked…
The following is an extract from Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor (1851) reflecting what we now call the gig economy. However in 2025 some might see the account below as describing foraging
One strong-looking lad, of 16 or 17, gave me the following account: – “It’s hard work, is Christmasing; but, when you have neither money nor work, you must do something, and so the holly may come in handy. I live with a elder brother; he helps the masons, and as we had neither of us either work or money, he cut off Tottenham and Edmonton way, and me the t’other side of the water, Mortlake way, as well as I know. We’d both been used to costering, off and on. I was out, I think, ten days altogether, and didn’t make 6s. in it. I’d been out two Christmases before. O, yes, I’d forgot. I made 6d. over the 6s., for I had half a pork-pie and a pint of beer, and the landlord took it out in holly. I meant to have made a quarter of pork do, but I was so hungry -and so would you, sir, if you’d been out a-Christmasing -that I had the t’other quarter. It’s 2d. a quarter. I did better when I was out afore, but I forget what I made. It’s often slow work, for you must wait sometimes ’till no one’s looking, and then you must work away like anything. I’d nothing but a sharp knife, I borrowed, and some bits of cord to tie the holly up. You must look out sharp, because, you see, sir, a man very likely won’t like his holly-tree to be stripped. Wherever there is a berry, we goes for the berries. They’re poison berries, I’ve heard. Moonlight nights is the thing, sir, when you knows where you are. I never goes for mizzletoe. I hardly knows it when I sees it. The first time I was out, a man got me to go for some in a orchard, and told me how to manage; but I cut my lucky in a minute. Something came over me like. I felt sickish. But what can a poor fellow do? I never lost my Christmas, but a little bit of it once. Two men took it from me, and said I ought to thank them for letting me off without a jolly good jacketing, as they was gardeners. I believes they was men out a-Christmasing, as I were. It was a dreadful cold time that; and I was wet, and hungry, -and thirsty, too, for all I was so wet, – and I’d to wait a-watching in the wet. I’ve got something better to do now, and I’ll never go a-Christmasing again, if I can help it.” This lad contrived to get back to his lodging, in town, every night, but some of those out Christmasing, stay two or three days and nights in the country, sleeping in barns, out-houses, carts, or under hay-stacks, inclement as the weather may be, when their funds are insufficient to defray the charge of a bed, or a part of one, at a country “dossing-crib” (low lodginghouse). They resorted, in considerable numbers, to the casual wards of the workhouses, in Croydon, Greenwich, Reigate, Dartford, &c., when that accommodation was afforded them, concealing their holly for the night. As in other matters, it may be a surprise to some of my readers to learn in what way the evergreens, used on festive occasions in their homes, may have been procured.
The Campaign for Real Santas which every year promotes Santas with genuine beards as opposed to false ones has called on Labour leader Keir Starmer to stop playing soldiers and dress up as a Seasonal Santa instead.
The campaigners say that its understood that Starmer is ideologically opposed to facial hair but on this occasion an organic knitted beard would be acceptable
Campaign for Real Santas organiser Keith Flett said, its the season of peace and goodwill and that must mean Santa Starmer not Soldier Starmer
I won’t claim to be a great fan of the music of Wham or their perpetual Christmas hit Last Christmas the focus of the Whamageddon social media obsession.
The late George Michael however (b East Finchley 1963) was someone with clear left politics. His father was a Communist and as a teenager Michael was associated with the Young Communist League in a period when the YCL (unlike now)did not actually have many youthful supporters.
That led Wham to playing a miners benefit during the 1984/5 strike, supporting the NHS and Michael being critical of the Gulf War.
George Michael was also particularly active in supporting LGBTQ causes, an important part of his perspective on the world.
Some of this did actually find its way into Wham’s music although I’m not sure Last Christmas is a good example of that
