Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Christmas song # 7

A few hardy dog walkers are out and about on the beach. The rain is heavy and the wind strong so most folks are sensibly staying dry and warm inside. Archie, the arthritic labrador, seems oblivious to the elements and plods along at a stately pace. His owner attempts to get him to hurry along but is ignored. The Met Office forecast shows it raining every day for the next two weeks. The silver lining is the forecast is almost always wrong. 


The Sanderlings are out in force. Of all the birds that call the shoreline their home the Sanderlings are a favourite. They scurry back and forth with a determination to avoid the waves that manages to be  both comical and intense :https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/sanderling . Out here at the last wee house a sparrow hawk has been roosting in the doocot. All the smaller birds ( with the exception of the wrens who remain safe in the bramble thickets ) have wisely moved on to safer spots. 


More biscuits for cheese being set out in the supermarket. Whoever knew cream crackers were so popular? The lady at the front door informs cheerily us that they'll be open from seven in the morning until nine at night in the run up to Christmas. She says half an hour before the doors close is when a surprising number of people discover the turkey they ordered isn't going to be delivered in time by the courier firm.


In the bakers a new sideline - chocolate pizzas and chocolate 'fish and chips ' ( and lipsticks ). These must appeal to a extremely youthful demographic. The white chocolate chips look particularly unappealing.


Even the pizza chain is getting into the full on seasonal spirit. Who knew that ' Cola glazed Ham Hock Romana ' was a thing ? In fact it's more than a thing - it's the ' ultimate Christmas crowd pleaser '. 'The Font' is of the view that Cola glazed Ham is a sure sign we're on the way to 'civilizational erasure'.



Christmas song # 7 sung in a very rustic 'Suffolk' way. There is something of a  'Grandma's been at the cooking sherry' vibe to this performance :https://youtu.be/0EAbKsXVXtA?list=PLz4WJxnUfxraquNmpSuftdXubUwqMWvuK&t=46

Will this Philippines brand come to St Andrews? They seem to have hit all the other main student towns Has anyone eaten here ? :https://www.jollibee.uk/

Not really happy the UK has sunk to #20 on this list. Still, better than some others :https://factsinstitute.com/ranking/countries-ranked-by-freedom-of-press/

It's been almost six years since we were last in China. Seems a lot has changed :https://christophermschroeder.substack.com/p/parallel-universes-my-notes-from


8 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Loved the Maddy Prior piece... and that China article was absorbing. Just right for filling a very wet, lightning and thunder morning by the Clyde... YAM xx

Lisa in France said...

What a wildly beautiful sea in that first photo. I enjoyed today's music - it was nice to hear a recorder played by someone other than a five-year-old. It's interesting that Jollibee doesn't have much of a presence in Asia outside of the Philippines even though many places like Tokyo have large Filipino populations - not sure what that means, but I wonder how they will do in the UK. The piece on China was fascinating. It's clearly not the best time for the US to have an ignorant and incompetent government.

Travel said...

Stay warm and dry.

Allison said...

In the US South, the original version of soft drink glazed ham used Dr Pepper. It's a disgustingly sweet beverage, and it's hard to imagine what caused someone to develop the recipe in the first place.

Anonymous said...

The discussion of “996” in the article on China and the thought that organizations in America may be adopting this policy is rather scary. It is reminiscent of enslavement … not just in America but other countries as well.

Anonymous said...

'Civilizational erasure '. Look like 'The Font' has been reading what our great leader has been saying about you Europeans! Nancy in Dekalb.

rottrover said...

People in the US have been pouring coke over hams since I was a little girl in the 50's. Never a fave with our family! I'm not aware of Jollibee in LA and we usually follow most trends! Loved today's Christmas song!

The Bougalou Bear said...

Jollibee came to Toronto some years ago and the outlet in my neck of the woods seems to be doing reasonably well. The sweet spaghetti is probably somewhat of an acquired taste, but the fried chicken is OK and I like the mango pie.
I agree with The Font; the sky is falling, as my gaulois ancestors would say.