Saturday, 23 December 2006

Occupational hazard

Jackie woke up feeling very much under the weather: an occupational hazard for a receptionist at a GPs’ surgery. I told her to take it easy, and she promised she would.

I drove to Southend to spend the day with my daughter Nancy, still fresh from the triumph of her Albert Hall appearance. The fog had finally cleared and we spent a pleasant day wandering among the Christmas shoppers and visiting the cinema to see “Flushed Away”, the new Aardman film. Nancy got to open her Xmas presents and after the film she wanted to visit Starbucks. It was her first time and she loved her vanilla Frappuccino. While we drank, we talked about music and aged ten she is an expert on R&B, but curiously knows nothing of Dr Feelgood. Sometimes it’s pointless trying to explain.

While I’d been away, Jackie had not taken it easy at all but had tried to spring clean the entire house. The house looked marvellous, considering the still prevalent flood damage, but Jackie looked very unwell. I fed her Lemsip and honey and put her to bed early.

I watched Robert Beckford talking eloquently about Christianity and Rock Music. It made me want to buy a Marilyn Manson album.

On the radio, there was one of those perennial news items about “politically correct” councils trying to ban Christmas. What utter tosh. Most of us happily use the term “Christmas” to describe the winter festival at which we exchange gifts and decorate fir trees. But the festival has its roots in pagan cultures. Much of the popular imagery and traditions of Christmas come from nineteenth century German and Scandinavia, and most of the rest derive from twentieth century Disney and Coca-Cola.

As a life-long atheist, I exchange Christmas greetings with friends of all faiths and no faith: christians, atheists, muslims, hindus, agnostics, jews, and a few others besides. In the far forgotten past it was a time to celebrate the winter equinox. Now it is a useful time to pause from work and reflect on peace and goodwill. Of course, Christmas has particular significance for most christians. But attempts by certain christians to claim exclusive ownership of the festival is deeply offensive, highly divisive, and intellectually lazy and dishonest.

My metaphorical horse seems to have got rather high, so I think I’ll dismount now. I might need a (metaphorical) step-ladder.