Christmas is coming and the informed rants are getting fat...

I have to admit that I'm a little taken aback - I've now received my first blog abuse!

Certain commentators of the spangly feline variety took exception to the excessively christmassy nature of my last post. Words like 'twee' were employed in an uncomplimentary manner and some seem to feel that it did not carry the usual geekish cynicism which we've all come to know.

Reading it back again I admit that I probably went overboard with the picture of the tree (just showing off with my birthday camera). I'll admit that it was somewhat twee...

...BUT...

...the pure truth of the matter is that my life does occasionally wander into twee-ville.

Occasionally I wonder whether I should take steps to remedy what appears (to some) to be these intermittent acts of non-cynical twee-ness in my life, but then I note that the alternative prospect - of spending ones life trying to be "cool", "arch", "alternative" and "right-on" ALL THE TIME - doesn't seem to do it's adherents much good.

Been there, done that, wore the disdainful t-shirt, ate the ecological fair-trade burger and tried to choreograph the guardian-reading musical.

I'm 33 and I own Dalek bubble bath for (insert cosmic being of your choice)'s sake - being twee is the least of my worries!

On the subject of my regard for Christmas - I really don't attach much importance to the Judaeo-Christian Mythology of the event. It's a midwinter festival (rather like lunch is simply a mid-day meal) and it rather neatly breaks up the monotony of December in the same way that nipples break up the monotony of a man's chest...

(that last observation courtesy of spanglepuss herself)

In fact I'd go so far as to say that Xmas is the least religious festival that I can think of.

As a child I was extremely greedy and it was about Xmas presents (receiving of), television and food (in that order).

As a teenager I discovered food and the social pressures that forced me to start buying presents for people who weren't related to me - so it became about Xmas food, television and presents (receiving and [reluctantly] giving of).

As an adult I found that Christmas television sucked and so it became about Xmas food, presents (giving and receiving of) and television.

(This was also the point that I probably became aware that "family and togetherness" was supposed to be involved - I think I got this area covered by taking my laundry home with me).

Nowadays I spend a few days with either my (reduced) family or with Tallulah's wonderful relatives and I enjoy the true meaning of Christmas - NOT BEING AT WORK.

So, apologies to anyone out there who, like spanglepuss, coughed up a hairball over the previous post. I sympathise with Christmas-phobes - my father suffered the onset of his final illness on Christmas Eve - and sometimes I feel like I'd like to give it a miss.

But another (possibly less cool but probably more self aware) part of me feels that isolating myself disdainfully from the whole experience might be tantamount to cutting my festive nose off to spite my face.