Crying All The Way To The Chip Shop » It’s Chriiistmaasss!!!

Christmas Bonus

londonlee — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:47:53 +0000

Crude? Juvenile? Yes. Does it make me laugh like a drain? Double yes.

One Day of Christmas

londonlee — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:18:18 +0000

Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing (I’m staying home, thank Jesus) I hope you have a good one and Father Christmas brings you everything you wanted. I’ll see you sometime next week.

Download: Mistletoe – Isaac Hayes (mp3)

Two Days of Christmas

londonlee — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:46:05 +0000

Download: 21st Century Christmas – Saint Etienne (mp3)

Three Days of Christmas

londonlee — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:11:09 +0000

Download: It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) – Love Unlimited (mp3)

Four Days of Christmas

londonlee — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:06:56 +0000

Download: Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis – Tom Waits (mp3)

Five Days of Christmas

londonlee — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:07:50 +0000

Download: The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot – A Girl Called Eddy (mp3)

Off for the Hols

londonlee — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:50:57 +0000

I’m not all that moved by the blogging spirit at the moment so I might as well shut up shop early for Christmas. I’m not actually going anywhere, for the first time in three years we’re spending Christmas at home which I’m looking forward to big time as I’m in dire need of a break (and some mince pies) without any farting around with traveling. Pity we only get one day off over here in this supposedly Christian country though, weeks and weeks of hype and build-up and — poof! — it’s over in one day and everyone goes back to work on Boxing Day (or they would if it wasn’t on a Sunday this year but you know what I mean.)

But however long it is I hope you and yours have a lovely holiday and I will see you sometime on the other side of it.

You might also enjoy a nice Yuletide tune sung by the Auntie Carols.

The Yule Blog

londonlee — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Every year the wife and I alternate spending Christmas between my family and hers. Unfortunately it’s not really a fair exchange as my family live in London — The Greatest City In The World – while hers are in a small, rural North Carolina town that isn’t so much in the middle of nowhere, more like the remote outskirts of nowhere. You know those movies where the hip and sophisticated couple from the big city get stranded in some nothing-happening small town where they don’t have a Starbucks and have never heard of Sushi but learn important life lessons about the honest values of simple country folk? Well, it’s a bit like that except the only lesson we’ll probably be learning is that Barack Obama is a Muslim socialist out to destroy America.

But, apart from the whiff of right-wing craziness, they’re nice people and I’m looking forward to going because the great thing about being somewhere where there’s nothing to do is, well, doing nothing. I’ve had at stressful time at work lately and a week spent just sitting back in their Laz-y-Boy recliner and reading books, watching movies, doing a bit of writing, and taking lots of naps will be better than Zen meditation for clearing my head of all the bullshit. If we can avoid talking politics it should be a very nice week, especially if the wife’s black-sheep-of-the-family cousin shows up with some of his homemade moonshine.

I won’t be back until the New Year so have a good holiday everyone, hope Father Christmas brings you everything you want.

Download: Father Christmas – The Kinks (mp3)

Home for the Hols

londonlee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:56:00 +0000

I’m flying off to London today for a weeks holiday so there won’t be any new posts until after the festive season. It’ll be the first time I’ve been “home” for Christmas in probably 10 years so I’m looking forward to it more than usual for the obvious reasons: Seeing the family, cozy pubs, turkey and roast tatties (they don’t have those for Christmas in the States), mince pies, the Queen on the telly, the tree in Trafalgar Square. If you avoid Oxford Street the city is a lovely place to be this time of year.

So have a very merry Christmas everyone. I’ll see you on the other side of it.

Download: Driving Home For Christmas – Saint Etienne (mp3)

Turkey and Telly

londonlee — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:05:00 +0000

I’m off to spend Christmas week with the in-laws in rural North Carolina which is a long way from England in more ways than one so I thought I’d recreate the English Christmas Day experience here, at least the television part of it.

First off is the Christmas edition of Top of The Pops, essential viewing for us youngsters while the grown-ups were either in kitchen roasting a turkey or down the pub in their new jumpers getting lightly sozzled. This one’s from 1973: Slade, Donny Osmond, and Tony Blackburn in the most horrendous tank top. Poptastic!

Then it was time for the Queen’s speech. Put down that fork, stop eating and stand to attention everyone.

After everyone had got stuffed to the tits with pudding and pies, Uncle Dave had drunk a whole case of Double Diamond, Gran was on her third Sherry and Dad was lighting up a Henri Winterman’s cigar, it was time for the whole family (and the whole nation) to crash out in front of the telly and watch the Morecambe and Wise Christmas show.

And don’t forget the Quality Street…

On the radio it wouldn’t be Christmas without the obligatory seasonal pop records as stars big and small tried for the much-coveted Christmas #1 spot in the charts. I always thought this Elton John one was a cracker (pardon the pun), though it only got to #24 in 1973.

Download: Step Into Christmas – Elton John (mp3)

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you and yours have a good one. See you in a week.