Christmas doesn't really do it for me. Too much food, too much tv, too much of much. And as my work doesn't really permit long holidays outside July/August or the Christmas period, I always escape the European winter for a few weeks in that period. Which means I have had many a great Thai or Australian christmas in recent years. Christmasses that involved nothing more than a curry in a plastic chair at the beach restaurant on Koh Samet or a picknick on Coogee Beach (with the exception of x-mas '06 that I spent with my mate Emily and about 40 of her relo's).
What I love however, is the whole x-mas build up. And London is the best place for this I think. That said, they do start a bit early. Where the americans wait for Halloween and Thanksgiving to be over, and the dutch don't really start after Sinterklaas, the poms start their x-mas season in October. At restaurants you will see the christmas dinners advertised, the supermarkets already stock christmas chocolate and the many card shops have christmas cards on sale already. When I passed Trafalgar Square on Thursday, the carols were being advertised, two months in advance. And I must confess, I slowly start getting into the mood. So far I have only looked at places to listen to the carols, but Handel's Messiah in Royal Albert Hall has been booked. And I have to admit, shamefully, that I also bought my christmas cards last week. But that is it for now. It is still 17 degrees and sunny, so no more chrissy until the days go shorter and the weather gets gloomier.
What I love however, is the whole x-mas build up. And London is the best place for this I think. That said, they do start a bit early. Where the americans wait for Halloween and Thanksgiving to be over, and the dutch don't really start after Sinterklaas, the poms start their x-mas season in October. At restaurants you will see the christmas dinners advertised, the supermarkets already stock christmas chocolate and the many card shops have christmas cards on sale already. When I passed Trafalgar Square on Thursday, the carols were being advertised, two months in advance. And I must confess, I slowly start getting into the mood. So far I have only looked at places to listen to the carols, but Handel's Messiah in Royal Albert Hall has been booked. And I have to admit, shamefully, that I also bought my christmas cards last week. But that is it for now. It is still 17 degrees and sunny, so no more chrissy until the days go shorter and the weather gets gloomier.
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