Musings

…On a wet and windy Sunday morning. Now and again, I open YouTube and just see what’s available. I’ve been listening to Gerry Rafferty – Get it right next time, it really speaks to me – when I noticed an ‘ad’ for Enigma. Man, that took me back, and I spent half hour or so listening to various Enigma tracks before bed. It left me feeling very mellow, and Saturday night, in spite of the rain lashing against the windows, I slept well. Although I like Enigma, and more contemporary music too, my favourite music comes from the 70’s and 80’s and I often listen to it on the net. For me, they were simpler times, happier times too. Maybe I just have rose-tinted glasses on? I know there were problems in that era, just like any other era, but if I could have a do-over and go back there, I’d jump at the chance to relive those times: great music, some great fashion, jobs readily available, the first stirrings of love…

We’re well into December now, and Christmas is just over 2 weeks away. What a year it’s been! So much upheaval, loss… I am glad to be with my son again though. Many news stories are, not unexpectedly, concerning Christmas with one school threatening to ban any celebrations due to the commercialisation of it all, and another school putting their head (I think) on administration leave because they suggested Christmas be banned so that non-Christians wouldn’t be offended. I well remember when I was employed, being advised not to wish others a Happy Christmas in case it offended them. It’s all well and good being mindful of other people’s religious beliefs, however we shouldn’t be discouraged from celebrating Christmas whilst we live in a predominantly Christian country. To do so, surely, is to offend Christians. As for schools, I think they should let kids be kids, and not try and make everything so politically correct that it sucks the life and fun out of everything. I’m not a rabid Christian, and apart from funerals this year, I don’t know when I last stepped into a church however, living as we do in a Christian country, we shouldn’t be offended by wishes that are based on Christian beliefs.

As a child I well remember spending Christmases, when we were lucky, with our Grandparents in Wales. They always made it such a wonderful occasion even though money wasn’t in abundance. Each Christmas Eve we spent with them, we’d attend midnight mass, which I loved. All the singing, and prayers for peace, and general camaraderie, really touched me as a young child. We’d then go home to a hot drink and be allowed to open one present which was invariably new PJ’s, and sleep happily knowing Father Christmas would visit in the night. Simple times. Now, we send cards, put up a small tree, and my son and I buy each other a small gift, have a special meal, and that’s about it. As adults, we’ve never been ‘big’ on the whole affair though we do enjoy our small celebration of it.

It reminds me: whilst doing my degree, we had to write a piece about a gift that we’d been given and my ‘gift’ was so beautifully wrapped, and such a surprise, that in my story I never opened it. It was from my partner, the Father of my child, and in the real world, he never bought me a Christmas gift, so the story was poignant. My peers were stunned that he never bought me a gift; his reasoning was that I buy him one, he buys me one, it’s money from our joint account, so what’s the point? We used to simply buy ourselves something that we each wanted. Not really in the spirit of giving though is it?

As I said; musings on a wet and windy Sunday morning. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and have a good week.