OK, what’s next? We’ve got through to Boxing Day, which is a big relief for those lucky enough not to have had their Christmas disrupted.
My family had been waiting anxiously for our group to meet. One third of the group decided to leave. But it was not the tragedy that struck certain families, whose plans were destroyed by Omicron’s rampaging Omicron.
So in the spirit of cheer, it’s time to celebrate the blob days, this gap between Christmas and New Year when very little happens. It’s worth learning how to do nothing when you have achieved the ultimate achievement.
These days of blob are quite amazing. Warm and cosy, they demand self-indulgence and a narrowing of horizons (which, come to think of it, is not unlike the other ‘blob’, the Civil Service – except for the warm and cosy part).
Blob days should not be used to launch any effort to make things happen. They are for enjoying delicious inactivity.
After the crazed rush of getting everything done before Christmas, the fact that you can’t get anything done at all is a merciful release. There is no pressure. This brings me to the crucial issue of pyjamas.
Perfect for blobwear, Pyjamas work well as a robe. You can just about get by wearing them all day this week (I can’t be the only one who’s been known to dash to the local shops with a coat flung over her PJs).
Exactly when pyjamas – once regarded, along with a pipe and slippers, as dowdy grandad-wear – became the desirable item they are today is not entirely clear. But I do know that in 2016 Dolce & Gabbana gifted all the fashion press a pair of initialled satin PJs and, to my amazement, several colleagues wore them front row in the Milan shows. Not me, I hasten to add… although that was not the first time I was behind the curve. I simply hadn’t realised pyjamas had reverted to their Hindi origins and transformed into daywear.
You can have pyjamas or pyjamas. However, the gubby pair on a viyella with bobbly checks is not as good as one made from pristine silk or pristine cotton. Both are useless to use for sleeping.
And wearing pyjamas this week is not the same thing as it was during lockdown when it was an admission of defeat – a measure of our entrapment.
No. No. It is best to go with a book and an after-school movie.
The ugly side of pretty creatures
Talking of afternoon movies, I watched Dr Zhivago the other day for the first time since I was eight – and remembered absolutely nothing.
Early on, we see Yuri Zhivago – the young medic played by chocolate-eyed Omar Sharif – examining specimens through his microscope.
Early on, we see Yuri Zhivago – the young medic played by chocolate-eyed Omar Sharif – examining specimens through his microscope
He is a superior with a white coat, which suggests he can do medical research. ‘You’ll find that pretty creatures do ugly things to people,’ his mentor says.
This message accurately describes tiny particles that are currently wrecking havoc around the globe.
Covid’s amazing mystery
IT’S great news that Omicron might cause less severe illness that previous Covid strains, but it would be even better if we knew whether we had it.
There are many people in my network who have been affected by Covid over the last few weeks. Not one of them knows what strain it is. These home lateral flow tests do not give us any information beyond a positive or a negative result. The more thorough PCRs however, will. To determine variants, the NHS only screens about one-third of home lateral flow tests.
While I’m not advising Covid one-upmanship –‘my strain is better than yours’ – if I get it, I would like to know.
My freedom trumps Princess’s £550m
Princess Haya’s £554 million divorce settlement sounds stupendous but some might say her ex-husband, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, got off lightly.
Princess Haya’s £554 million divorce settlement sounds stupendous but some might say her ex-husband, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, got off lightly
Her legal team were originally seeking £1.4 billion, which is close to three times that amount. In terms of the Sheikh’s total wealth, the payout could be considered relatively small.
After all, this was a man Princess fled from, and who has been charged with involvement in the kidnapping of two of his daughters.
Princess Haya might have been awarded the divorce biggest settlement ever granted in the British courts but I would trade the many jewels, haute couture gowns, private jets and racehorses not to require hundreds of millions of pounds for the security of myself and my children – especially if my greatest fear was my ex-husband.
This is a novel way to decorate your home
I could not be accused of not researching this article during the holiday season.
With the intention of doing thorough research, I counted 2148 books in my house. After a big Oxfam drop in March, I counted 2,148 books.
After Christmas, this number increased. You don’t know what to do with all of them. We love our books. They aren’t just something you read and chuck out – they become an indelible part of our lives.
To demonstrate my thoroughness, I counted 2148 books in the house.
A bookcase with familiar spines is a sign that you are at home. These books are a part of my life since childhood, through 1985 when I moved into my first apartment and then on. But we have plainly run out of room – even to build more bookshelves.
There are 44 more cookery books if you add them up. We currently have 160 books on the bedside table. You can find more books by the fireplace. These can also be used as a seat.
It’s got to the point where the books no longer furnish the rooms round here – they are the furniture.
Why is ‘holiday’ now such a dirty word?
When did the utterly joyless term ‘annual leave’ replace the far more life-affirming word ‘holiday’?
It’s ironic that while all the HR chatter is about promoting a better life/work balance, the enjoyable notion of taking a holiday seems to have been banished.