December 25, 2010

• If it's Christmas

  How come I cannot get my family into one room for any more than 10 minutes, unless we are all three of us eating supper?

  We lack traditions: we lack, now my parents are back down south, a group of people to meet with at the pub.  We've been to Midnight Mass, and that's about it until Present Time.  The tenor-vibrato choir was notably absent this year and most of the descants were provided by the congregation rather than the actual official choir (two, probably alto, ladies).  Still, in a church which is fit-to-bust with about 50 bodies inside it, this was lovely.  The minister was overwhelmed by the excitement of midnight and I have no idea what the point of his sermon was.  Something along the lines of how one small person can change the Whole World, to Have Faith and to believe that God will bring things all out for the best.  Also, that the church was a friendly church.

  We stomped back to the car in deepish snow, and then drove back along pretty deserted roads.  By that point, it was almost 1 am.  Fell into bed, slept lots, woke up, opened stocking.

  Meantime, the Marine and I had a jolly nice Thursday night, with good food, and alcohol.  Definitely fling material.  A wonderful palate-cleansing sorbet after the final paragraph of my relationship with A, which involved me losing my temper for five minutes and chucking him out of the flat.  So much for that vaunted communication.  I suspect he is telling all his friends that I'm mad: however, since he's described himself on FB as being " a Machiavellian, competitive, amoral, materialistic, status oriented cynic", I think... well.  If the worst thing I've done is throw the contents of a glass of squash about in the heat of the moment....

  I'm somewhat ashamed of myself.  I haven't thrown any drink over anyone for years.  And, you know what?  It still produces an adrenaline rush.  I don't recommend making a habit of it.  Twice in one decade is more than enough.

  So.  The situation in Belarus is still grim: The most beautiful, sad, article explains and expresses it so much better than I can.  There is very little in the UK media about this: it's as though Lukashenko has silenced us as well as his detractors in Belarus.  It's wrong: it's mad!  If you win an election with that amount of a majority (and no-one believes that's a true reflection), then why do you need to silence those who opposed you?  Having protested outside the Belarussian embassy on Tuesday night, I've been avidly checking the media.  Naturally, IndexOnCensorship.org covers it best.  The NY Times has an excellent article too.  I'd like to point out that the blue ribbon that's been on my blog since the word go, nearly, isn't just there to look pretty. Write.  To the Embassy.  To your MP, MEP, Senator, Representative.  Tweet.  FB.  Make a polite noise: and have more than the Minister for Europe condemning what's going on.  The whole world should condemn this. The whole world should know.

  And on that note, and not feeling terribly Christmassy: but I hope you all do, I shall see you tomorrow.

   

  xxx

  • 8:14 am
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