Before...

One long continuous necessary evil, that's decorating for you. Everyone knows how it is. You just about finish refurbishing the whole home, when the first room you originally started on needs to be decorated again. Is this our lot in life? Mostly spent on work, travelling to work, sleeping, doing daft things on the internet and, if you're lucky, you might actually be able to enjoy a tasty meal in peace. There are times when I've envied Superman (from DC Comics fame). He had his Fortress of Solitude to get away from all the noise, all the bullshit, all the negative conflicts, all the humdrum, all the "must-do-this, must-do-that" routine crap, etc, etc.

If you're old enough, then you may recall Bill Grundy presenting a short one-off programme called "Abolish Christmas" which was broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1981, with him covering all the reasons why he sympathised with Ebenezer Scrooge. Even at a young age, I ended up agreeing with most of what he said. The total waste created by the sheer commerciality of the festive season is getting harder to stomach with each passing year. Sure, children's happy faces as they unwrap their presents are priceless, but having to fake greatfulness for something you've received that you don't actually need?

Over the years, a traditional Christmas has been presented as a family orientated pastime. A special time for loved ones to get together so that they can make a truce for a day or two before reverting to non-speaking terms for the rest of the year. Doing Christmassy things like going to church for Xmas mass when perhaps you should be going on a more regular basis, burning / under-cooking the turkey, watching the Bond film (old Viz joke) and falling asleep on the sofa as you try and will the hours to whiz by whilst looking forward to the Boxing Day footie. Or not.

There are people that spend Christmas on their own. Of those that do, some are made to feel more lonely for that day simply because of the way Xmas is presented to them by the media. So many people get suckered into that. I once spent Christmas on my own when I couldn't get a plane to see my parents. I was dreading it, but when it came, I took a walk down the high street to find my local cafe was open for business. I went in an ordered a fry up just like I would've on any other day. I can't recall what I did for the rest of it, but it seemed like a normal, run-of-the-mill day. No big deal. What was all the fuss about?

But it's not just holidays like Christmas or Easter that can prey on the insecurities of the lonesome. New Years Eve and especially Valentine's Day can feel extra miserable for singletons. Because of all the media / commercial hoo-ha that you simply can't get away from, the feeling of isolation can be hightened at those moments. Loneliness is that strong an emotion because, as humans, we are sociable beings. I recall watching an old black and white episode of The Twilight Zone about a victim of a US military experiment that was induced into sleep where he was made to lucidly dream that he was the only person in a deserted town. It drove him mad. Sometimes I think today's media is driving some people down the same road by portraying celebrating groups of happy, like-minded souls all making merry together when for the rest of the year they could be at each other's throats, not wanting to piss on a neighbour if he / she was being burnt to a crisp.

Programmes highlighting the plights of carers, volunteers and hospital staff seem to be extra popular at Christmas time for some reason. Maybe it's because the hightened holiday sentimentality is more receptive to this type of broadcasting. Viewers who don't normally give a flying fuck suddenly become emphatic or grief stricken with what's transmitted on the 25th. Bizarre. How on earth can mentalities be changed like that? Why do employees constantly regret the Xmas office party? What makes them behave the way they do? Or is any holiday season simply a licence for anyone to turn into a prat? I must've bypassed the 18-30 brigade somewhere along the line, as it's all quite incomprehensible to me. I used to get off me 'ead every hour of the waking day - I didn't need an excuse.

That's why I liken these type of festivities to ongoing house rennovations. You do a bit of decorating, rest for a bit, and then you do some more. Likewise with holidays, you go through one, rest for a bit, and soon enough another festival comes along. Stress by numbers, where the numbers are dates in the diary. 'Tis the season to be humbug.

The above picture is where I normally do my recording. I'm not doing any hobby based activity at the moment, 'cos I'm in the process of decorating it. It's slowly getting there. I'd like to have it finished by Xmas, but then I'll have another room to decorate. The ongoing nature of all this automatically stagnates my mind into a state of procrastination.

Oh, for a Fortress of Solitude.

Have a cool Xmas everyone!