British Mobility Christmases

Overheard:

Hay: "On my last trip to Nice I was told by two people that I look like Emma Thompson."

Chairman: "You look nothing like Emma Thompson. There again, the British all look alike to foreigners."

I  wonder how long it will be before councils have to widen pavements. Once we're all in mobility scooters there won't be room to pass or overtake.

When you think what Christmas comprises, it's basically a weekend off work and a Sunday roast. Why the hell does it take some people 4 weeks to organise it? When I was in my 30s I wondered why my parents did less and less each year for Christmas, reaching the point where they didn't even bother with a tree. As I get older and into my early 60s I'm beginning to realise why, but in my case it's nothing to do with being disinterested in Christmas, but more the mass hysteria that now surrounds it. Perhaps our capacity for hysteria is the same as decades ago, but modern technology affords a greater ability to become hysterical.

Hay and I went to a town-edge DIY superstore yesterday to return some unused paint and buy some light bulbs, but came home again when we could find absolutely nowhere to park in a normally two thirds deserted car park - Christmas shoppers were using it as an overflow for the town centre car park, which was gridlocked.