Christmas Tipple

Carte Noir coffee freshly brewed So whatd'ya get? My pressies: A tin of ceiling paint, a light shade & a toilet roll holder from Patrick M&S jim-jams, slippers and a CD compilation of works of three 16th century composers including Allegri's Misere from the parents Various bath potions from my sister & bro-in-law A poetry anthology entitled 'Atomic Ghost' (poets respond to the nuclear age), Mario Pettrucci's Chernobyl poetry, Gershwin cd, perfume and some sweets from my brother C Bronze statue of Siva and an ethnic bag from my brother B Arsenal calendar and diary from brother T Book of Spike Milligan's previously unpublished from brother G oh, and twenty quid from my friend M. Not a bad year. jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Sat, 2006-12-30 14:57

#11

I got a new kettle, a calendar, a bottle of ylang-ylang and patchouli massage oil, a bottle of ink, some shower gel. Then there's the 1l bottle of Famous Grouse, 3 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of Christmas ale (my friends are trying to tell me something... thing is, I have to finish it all up by tomorrow night as I'm giving up drink in the N Y - not a resolution, but a necessity!) No books this year. Wanted Simon Armitage's 'Gawain' amongst others. Ah well... there's still plenty to read. Got my brother the Spike Milligan book, Jude. What do you think of the letters? Liked the Harrods ones. Not so sure about the immigration ones. How's the decorating going? Bathroom?

Sat, 2006-12-30 15:10

#12

cath_carr

pale pink tea coffee and sugar tins, several candles, chocolate orange x2, huge tin of quality street (yum), new house phone with two spare handsets (for burying in childrens bedrooms), cath kidston nokia (bird)(also yum), a big tea tray with sides, a stainless chocolate fondue kit, and a huge china cup and saucer (pink roses on it). A sewing kit from mum (very funny) and some fake bright yellow Prada socks... garcgh. Oh and Andrea Levy's 'small island' which is so far brilliant. No booze. Lots of pink. Strange christmas.

Sat, 2006-12-30 15:19

#13

What's pale pink tea taste like? Sounds nice.

Sat, 2006-12-30 16:25

#14

I haven't even started Spike yet. Too occupied with nuclear poetry! Decorating is almost complete. I put a coat of damp-proof on the kitchen ceiling today so it's ready for its topcoat. Bathroom all painted and complete with Clint Eastwood piccy. I also forgot to add...a Two Ronnies LP. Don't ask! jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Sat, 2006-12-30 16:57

#15

Nowt wrong with The 2 Ronnies in my book. Is it the one with the Dr Spooner sketch? Classic. Glad you've got Clint as a pin-up. Gives hope to all us old, weather-beaten-looking geezers.

Sat, 2006-12-30 18:17

#16

Normally I despise Christmas but this year I had the most amazing day. My eldest, fast approaching four really got it this year. He's autistic so there's never been any sort of recognition to the big day from him, but this year he really did get it. The excitement at the presents was something I have to say, but he doesn't talk so when he signed for a cake and was handed a huge tin of sweets the look on his face said 'this is the best day ever'. My youngest, eighteen months, was as excited as a child could be. I have to confess it all brought a tear to my eye. Present wise was good, people actually listened. I don't like recieving crap but most of all I hate people buying crap that'll end up in a landfill. But people insist, this year, they chipped in and I recieved a first edition Royal Doulton toby jug of Winston Churchill at a snip. Something for the kids when I depart. nobody

Sat, 2006-12-30 18:34

#17

mississippi

1 bottle 12yr old Glenlivet (last year it was 10yr old Glenmorangie and the year before, 15yr old Glenfiddich). Sounds great apart from one thing, I don't drink whisky! Every year I delicately tell the donor of this and by next Christmas they forget! (Step-mother, though she's too old to do her own shopping and leaves it to the fat bitch across the road that takes liberties) A radio gadget to connect to my MP3 player so I can tune the car radio to the same frequency and listen cable-free. (Eldest son) The Radio Times Guide To Movies 2007. A massive book, 1700 pages with over 21,000 movies listed. (Youngest son) 'The Ed Sullivan Shows'. A 'new' triple DVD set featuring the full shows from the 1950's on which Elvis Presley appeared. (Terrorist) A tin of posh biscuits. There goes the diet AGAIN! (Youngest son's girlfriend)

Sat, 2006-12-30 18:53

#18

Ah whisky. Only drink it when I'm pissed. The ten year old malt etc reminds me of visiting family. They're all Scotish and drink whisky, in a social occasion I asked for something to mix it with. Absolute horror. Didn't I realise it was a ten year old malt? Mix it? It was similar to walking into a strict Muslim household and pissing on the Koran. I made up for it though, a few days later, when smashed, I sank about half a bottle neat. The reaction was the same, you don't treat ten year malt like that, but at least a showed them. nobody

Sat, 2006-12-30 20:08

#19

I've gotten through so much good whisky in the last week that it genuinely scares me. Looking at my empty bottles, I think 'Who's been at that?' Only me, though. I can feel my kidneys aching. It's no good cutting down. I have to give it up.

Sat, 2006-12-30 22:50

#20

Kidneys? What the fuck do they know about alcohol consumption. Don't believe the hype, drink and be merry Al, you only live once. In an a boost to your future of not drinking, since I have stopped, every women I've engaged in sexual activity with I aint regretted, but I had a lot of fun pissed. nobody

Sat, 2006-12-30 23:00

#21

Yeah, nobody. Shame the two don't go together. What the kidneys don't know, the liver must. You only live once... but I want to make it as long as possible. Happy New Year, mate.

Sun, 2006-12-31 02:19

#22

maddan

Just come home to discover that my aunt, who I've seen once for about five minutes in the past two years, has managed to buy an almost perfect present 'the idiots guide to wine' - uncanny. I have been bought an awful lot of shirts in America - not entirely sure if that was my present or my mother's.

Sun, 2006-12-31 14:50

#23

Happy New Year to you as well Al, hope you're well. nobody

Sun, 2006-12-31 15:07

#24

justyn_thyme

Jude, that's quite a romantic list of presents from Patrick! I got a few emails and e-cards. Heard from a friend in Calfornia another in Oklahoma a few from elsewhere. "You don't need the light of the Lord to read the handwriting on the wall." Copies of Warsaw Tales available through www.new-ink.org

Sun, 2006-12-31 16:53

#25

hox

I have a new dressing gown, various books and CDs, a wallet, choccy mints, and from myself a new go-faster laptop with megabytes and kilohertz and shiny buttons and green lights.

Tue, 2007-01-02 14:07

#26

To save starting a new thread, I've been reading Spike and I find his letters interesting, especially his comments re immigration (it's too late - they're already coming in via the womb). Many brand Spike as a racist but I think he makes some intelligent points about preserving culture? Your thoughts? jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Tue, 2007-01-02 16:21

#27

No, I donâ€™t think Spike was a racist, Jude â€“ though the more sensitive might look at some of the stuff he said and wrote and interpret it a different way. It doesn't give the full picture of the man, though. He was fond of acting out the old racial stereotypes in his comedy, but I donâ€™t see that as amounting to racism necessarily â€“ though some will argue that promoting the idea of stereotypes amounts to the same thing. It's something that will be argued ad infinitum. Having said that, that letter of his where he talks about â€˜procreating their own speciesâ€™ struck me as not being far short of some of the stuff the BNP says â€“ even if he didnâ€™t mean it in the way they do. People will read into it what they want to. Heâ€™s clearly more concerned, as you say, with the loss of cultural character than with any ideas of racial superiority. But then, the BNP would say the same thing. What do you think of his assertion that a multi-racial society is something we have to â€˜put up withâ€™?

Tue, 2007-01-02 17:02

#28

I think having a multi racial society has more benefits than drawbacks. If it does have drawbacks then yes we do have to put up with it! Dr Anthony Clare co-wrote a book with Spike called "Depression and How to Survive It" and Dr Clare recounts some of Spike's other racial comments. Speaking of a niece in Australia who married a Chinese man he exclaimed, "One day there'll be a Patrick Milligan somewhere and he'll be Chinese!" He isn't bashing the Chinese. He's saying something important about belonging and how providing a cultural identity is more difficult in a mixed race marriage...I *think* jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Tue, 2007-01-02 17:49

#29