I'd like to be the first to be publicly reprimanded for saying: Happy Birthday.

bad BOY!!

Err, that would be bad GIRL.

At least you didn't wake him up at 0530 to sing it to him live, only to discover that no, he wasn't already up because he's not working today. Oops.

(Sorry again, Thomas.)

this is the good bit about living alone - pick and choose the bits of celebrating you want. For me that means one, maybe two non-light non-noise non-sparkly decorations on the desk, some extra snacks and drinks in case people come round, cards for my friends, small presents for my family, and I go to my parents for feeding in the evening.

And I get plenty of mates coming round for a quiet cuppa because they can't cope with the tinsel, music and aging relatives at their family homes any more...

oh, and happy birthday, it seems... :)

I hate christmas too. wonder if it's something to do with living on your own. Worked the last three and will be working this one too. the wonders of releif positions. means i dont have to spend time with cousins i have nothing in common with, other than i fancy the hell out of a "cousin in law". is that wrong?
working new year again which means more funn. quite like it actually, you kind of know what you'll get.

No.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hope it's a good one. :)

really? Happy Birthday in that case.

Incidentally, how's the spam?

Interesting BBC news website article about newspapers plagiarising blogs and how they are being named and shamed.

Don't know what it is but I love Christmas. It is very stressful trying to please all three sides of the family, but I like decorating the tree, hanging stockings and giving out presents.
Maybe I'll get lucky and get 'American Firetrucks 1930 - 1939' to go with the rest of the series, who knows.
I must admit I don't like the poignancy associated with bad news stories. Is a death at Christmas time any worse than any other time? I wonder how non-christians see that. I can usually empathise about things, but I have a blind spot about this.
Any commenters have a view..

as far as religion goes, I'm not really anything. But I celebrate Christmas for much the same reason as people on this island have had a midwinter festival for time immemorial. It's cold. It's dark. The sun has gone away, the happy chemicals aren't being boosted, the shadows are everywhere, and we need light, and celebration, and food, and cheer.

And then I get that, and I'm beating the dark, I'm happy, I have my family and friends, I have my little spot of light and warmth, and I hear about some poor bugger who's not got that - someone's died cold and lonely, someone's family is missing a piece - the contrast between light and dark is more keenly felt.

I suppose, to use a bit of a simile, it's like being tucked up safe and warm in bed and hearing the thunderstorm outside and thinking "bloody hell, I'm glad I'm not out in that" but knowing someone *was* out in that, and suffered for it.

I haven't expressed this very well, I'm sure there's someone who can put it better, but I think you can work out what I mean if you think about it.

As a retired Paramedic I can understand how Reynolds feels about Christmas. I was lucky as I seemed to cop for 6-2 shift for years over the holiday, the quietest shift. But all those parties, particually the office ones and the hysteric drunks they produced. Then there was the new Year to look forward to...