Theme for Next Month: Christmas

Perhaps inevitably, the theme for December will be Christmas. It's going to be a really strange one this year, but in some ways that just makes it more important.

At the time of writing I have completed four of my tasks for Christmas:

• The decorations are up. This was done over the course of the weekend, yesterday being the first Sunday in Advent.
• Given the greater importance of greeting cards this year, I will of course take on my share of filling them out and posting them. At least some of these will need done very soon, but as of just now it is a task that has not been started.
• There are the presents to buy and to wrap. I have one more present to choose and a further three to buy (though one of these is itself made up of several small items). Alas, at least one of these would benefit from the shops being open, but I'll find a way to manage.
• Finally, there is the Christmas food. For the second time, I'll be cooking a Christmas Dinner. Naturally, this will be the final task to conclude, though there may be some things to do in preparation.

More than all of that, though, I'll need to give some thought to how this Christmas will be different from the norm, and try to find ways to make it extra-special, especially for Funsize, who is perhaps enjoying the experience fully for the first time.

Theme of the Month: Wash Up

 As is probably obvious, this has been a hugely productive month for blogging, largely because I've made sure to actually write things! I suspect the output has been more than a little patchy in quality, but it has at least been present, which is the first step.

The upshot is that I am now close to being caught up on both blogs, and hopefully in a position to finish the year having achieved my targets!

Celtic's Management Woes

Something has gone horribly wrong at Celtic, and it's realy hard to see Neil Lennon surviving the last bad result. My personal suspicion is that he simply has a natural lifespan at any club, after which his style starts to grate, his opponents work out how to beat him, and things just naturally come to an end.

Unfortunately for Celtic, it's really hard to see how they can get a new manager who they can afford, who is willing to take on the job, and who understands the importance of this season above all others. The two names put into the fray - Gordon Strachan and Martin O'Neill - both feel like retrograde steps, but it's hard to come up with any better alternative.

All that said, it's probably for the best of everyone in Scottish football (except for Celtic of course) if they don't win ten-in-a-row. Firstly because it shows just how pathetically weak our game is that one club can dominate to that extent, but secondly because that then immediately creates a new obsession - forever after the other side will have to equal, or better the achievement. I'm afraid the whole thing is just poisonous.

(Finally, it is of course worth noting that Rangers have had a collapse in the second half of both the previous two seasons. Despire the way they're currently playing, there really isn't any guarantee it wouldn't happen again.)

The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

 I can't believe I forgot to blog about the new Star Wars Holiday Special!

The original Holiday Special is of course legendary, largely due to being awful. It has two redeeming features:

• It introduced Boba Fett to the world (though, of course, I maintain that he is wildly over-rated)
• It is almost impossible to find, meaning that almost nobody has actually seen it, actually including me.

However, one of the key benefits of switching to the Lego format is that this enabled them to lean in to the inherent silliness of the occasion - since both the concept of a Holiday Special for Star Wars and the various Lego animations are rather goofy, the people making this could simply lean in to it and come to something that was actually rather fun.

And so it is with this holiday special - don't go in expecting a hard-hitting adventure, a massive new piece of Star Wars lore, or anything like that; don't expect the plot to really make too much sense or to hold up under scrutiny; and don't over-think it. Just watch, enjoy, and have the occasional chuckle.

Or watch something else instead - that is, of course, also a valid option.

A Suitable Boy

As it happened, I was in the midst of reading the novel just as the BBC started their TV adaptation of "A Suitable Boy", so we set it to record and left it at that. In the event, LC decided she wasn't interested, so I've watched it myself, finishing last night.

After what they had done to "War and Peace", "Les Miserables" and "The War of the Worlds", I was really nervous about this adaptation. As it happened, though, those fears were unwarranted - always nice when that happens.

"A Suitable Boy" is a very long, very detailed book. Cutting it down to six hours is a massive task. Fortunately, the structure of the novel seems to have supported that well - although the six episodes remain extremely dense, the major plot points have been covered well. The material excised has almost entirely taken the form of subplots that have just been dropped - there's an entire story about Pran's health and career that simply doesn't appear, for instance.

The cast of this adaptation are universally excellent, with those playing Maan and Firoz being particularly of note - the relationship between those two is key to almost the whole novel, and the actors portray that perfectly.

The only character that didn't feel quite right was Haresh - his performance was absolutely fine, and captured the essence of the character, but... the impression I got from the novel was that Haresh was a very plain man, distinguished only when he smiled. The actor here was perhaps rather too attractive for the role. (Then again, maybe it's a case of "TV ugly"?)

But that's a tiny, tiny nitpick. The adaptation was excellent, and I would highly recommend it.

#56: "Faeries", by Brian Froud and Alan Lee

Spidersbane

Poor Funsize got a bit of a fright the other night - she had decided to sit on the floor to finish her dinner, only for a mid-size spider to sneak along the floor to join her. And at a stroke all my efforts to persuade her that spiders are, by and large, both friendly and harmless were undone.

Anyway, I sprang into action, caught the spider in a glass, and then ejected it from the house. It will bother us no more. As a result of this great deed, I am now claiming the title of Spidersbane... at least for now.

I may lay it down again once the offended spider returns intent on wreaking a terrible vengeance!

#55: "The Long Tomorrow", by Leigh Brackett

If Looks Could Kill...

I would have died rather confused yesterday.

I've been feeling pretty lousy all week (almost certainly just because I ate something that didn't agree with me - certainly nothing to do with Covid). And, amongst various tweaks to try to improve my general health, I've decided to start taking a vitamin D supplement, as that deficiency is rife in Scotland. (In previous years I think I've probably been okay, but this year has of course seen me spending a lot more time indoors than previously... especially now.)

So I went to an appropriate shop and picked up said vitamin D supplement. Heading to the checkouts from there, I noticed that the one directly in front of me had a single customer who was just finishing up - and indeed had finished up by the time I got there. So, rather than head to the self-checkout (and potentially have to wait for authorisation to buy what is, after all, medicine), I figured I'd take advantage of the lull and go there.

Except that the checkout assistant gave me the blackest look, and doubled down on it when I said "just that, please". It was most odd.

I suppose it's just about possible that it's about minimising contact - yes, it was just one item, and yes I could have gone to self-checkout and possibly have reduced the contact by one. But I really didn't expect something so blandly inoffensive to become blog-worthy!

Anyway, in other news: this weekend just can't come soon enough!

Experimental Cookery 2020: Rich Pork Goulash with Gnocchi

This one came from "The Great British Bake Off Winter Kitchen" - a book that I like more in theory than in practice, though one that does have some good entries. This one caught my eye largely for the gnocchi, which I really like. (Though LC, alas, does not. Funsize also refused.)

Anyway, this was a quick and easy preparation followed by a long, slow bake - ideal time to go off and do something else. There's certainly a lot to be said for just allowing the oven to take the strain!

The result was very nice. LC certainly enjoyed it a bit more than the goat goulash we've had before. I also thought it was fine, though I remain uncertain as to whether the remaining two portions will freeze okay. All in all a success.

Why There Must be a Plan B

The SNP want Scottish Independence. I suspect that's not a controversial statement. They also very much want that to come about as a result of a binding referendum, held under the authority of a Section 30 Order from Westminster. And I agree that that would be the ideal way forward - the two sides agreeing the terms of the contest, and then the people of Scotland being given the decision to make.

But...

Given the way the polls stand it would be the height of folly to assume that Westminster will grant that Section 30 Order, regardless of the outcome of the election next year. Indeed, the stronger the showing by the SNP, the greater the motivation for Westminster to try to avoid a referendum.

The thing is, if the polls are at all accurate (and a long sequence of similar results suggests they are), then it is likely that the PM who grants a Section 30 Order will go down in history as the PM who ended the United Kingdom. (Of course, that may be inevitable. Were I the leader of Sinn Fein, I would be biden my time until late January, and then calling loudly and long for a poll on Irish reunification. The strict terms for holding one have been met, and with the new President being a huge friend of Ireland, indeed considering himself to be Irish, Westminster probably couldn't resist that one. And with Brexit causing at least some pragmatic Unionists to value the economic benefits of remaining in the EU over the emotional pull of remaining in the UK, we may well be at, or very close to, the tipping point.)

Anyway, back to Scotland...

If we accept that there is at least the possibility that the PM of the day will just say no, regardless of the democratic will of Scots, then there must be a Plan B - what are the SNP going to do next?

Now, at this point the First Minister's loyalists will advise people just to trust Nicola, assuring them that she has a plan, and that all will be well. But there's a problem with that...

Even if we accept that Nicola does indeed have a Plan B, primed and ready to spring into action should Boris (or his successor) refuse a Section 30 Order, she will need to have a mandate to carry it out - it will have had to go before the electorate and been endorsed (or rejected, of course - but in that case all of this becomes moot).

It's not enough to have a Plan B for what happens if the Section 30 Order continues to be refused. That Plan B must be in the manifesto.

#54: "Sharpe's Regiment", by Bernard Cornwell

Experimental Cookery 2020: Veggie Quesadillas

This was one that Jamie did on his "Keep Cooking" show, with the recipe being posted online afterwards. It looked good at the time, so I felt I needed to give it a go. And, of course, I've mentioned before that I'd like to increase our range of vegetarian meals, so I figured I'd give it a go.

This proved to be nice and easy - finely chop a bunch of stuff, mix with cheese, and then sanwich with tortillas and heat. And I rather enjoyed it. LC wasn't so keen.

In future, I think it needs somewhat fewer veggies and quite a bit more cheese. And less in general. Oh, and maybe a little ham.

But it was mostly successful, I thought, and I think we'll have them again... occasionally.

Never Happier to be Wrong

About a month ago, I wrote: However, given that this is Scotland and we specialise in losing in the most heartbreaking way possible, that match will no doubt be the one where we finally put in a great performance, score early one, then desperately defend for the rest of the match... only to lose two goals in injury time. Or something like that.

Last night, that prediction came horribly close to coming true - the strong performance, the early-ish goal, the desperate defence, and then one going very late in the game. And then extra time. As the clock neared 120 minutes, Serbia got another corner, a carbon copy of the one from which they got the goal, and I was certain it was going in again.

But it didn't, and we went to penalties. And, somehow, Scotland have managed to retain our 100% record in penalty shoot-outs. Huzzah!

And so, we're off to a major tournament for the first time in 23 years, and travelling to the distant and exotic cities of, um, Glasgow and London.

A Merry Christmas for my Nemeses

As I've mentioned before, back in the dim and distant archives of this blog, I count the greetings card industry as one of my nemeses. The major reason for this is that greetings cards are basically an example of something people do because you 'have' to do it, at unreasonable cost for almost no benefit, and with significant environmental downsides at that.

Basically, I object to the fact that a huge number of people are busy sending bits of card through the post every year to send one another entirely impersonal personal messages of well-wishes that they don't really mean, and that are only ever acknowledged in their absence.

But.

This year of all years is one where suddenly it all does make sense. It is extremely likely that we won't be able to gather for Christmas, which means that those seasons greetings won't be shared in person. Which sucks, but there it is. And that being the case, suddenly there is some value in using another means to send them. While Zoom and similar alternatives are available, they just aren't the same.

And so, this year... and only this year... I will be doing my bit to support the efforts of my nemeses to part people from their hard-earned cash. Because for once, they're actually offering a somewhat-meaningful service.

Just don't expect it to last!

#53: "The Sword Saint", by C.F. Iggulden

Fiat Lux

I have run into an unexpected issue with working from home. When we began, we were just leaving th winter months behind, which meant that I was starting my day just after dawn and finishing up while it was still light. Over the last month or so, however, that has shifted - I now start before daylight, and then finish just as it's getting really dark - and it's never really getting all that light anyway.

The upshot of that is that I'm a lot more reliant on artificial lighting than was previously the case and, sad to say, the lights in the study just don't cut it. Worse, the nature of the light fitting in that room does not lend itself readily to swapping in brighter bulbs, and so the light I've got is, unfortunaely, about the limit.

For the moment, my workaround will be to pull in a standing lamp. This isn't ideal, especially since we kinda need that lamp in another room as well, but it's probably better than nothing. However, it does mean that as we head towards the shortest days I'm more and more going to be on the lookout for a better solution.

#52: "I Know This Much Is True", by Wally Lamb (a book from The List)

The Thing I Didn't Want to Do

Yesterday afternoon I caught myself - there was a task that I really had to do, but it was just hard. Frankly, I didn't want to do it. And so I had spent the better part of two days doing absolutely anything but work on the task at hand. It was all good, worthwhile stuff, but it really wasn't the priority. And, of course, as long as I didn't get the big thing done, it remained an ongoing source of stress.

Anyway, I then focused my efforts have have since dealt with the task. So that's good. But obviously not an ideal situation to have been in the first place.

Hello Old Friend

I received an email from an old friend this morning. That was a very pleasant surprise - I had assumed that that friendship was pretty definitively ended. (There wasn't any drama there. It's just shockingly easy to simply lose contact. The days pile up and become months, the months become years... and then all that's needed is a house move, email address change, or similar, and the connection is gone.)

So, anyway, good to hear from him. Hopefully, that marks a reopening of those lines of communication, rather than just a blip. I really must do better on that front!

#51: "Fantastic Mr Fox", by Roald Dahl (a book for Funsize)

At the Crossroads

Well, today's the day. Today, America goes to the polls to decide whether we continue along the darkest timeline, or whether to change course for one that is marginally less terrible. It looks like they're also deciding whether we go for a No Deal Brexit, or whether Boris chickens out and begs for something slightly less bad.

I really wish I was more hopeful than I am. And I really wish the Democrats had a better candidate, though I'm hard pressed to think who that might be - it's a fairly damning indictment that "he's not Trump" is the very best accolade that can be given to their very best candidate. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Warren blew it, and Sanders was never going to be elected in the US. So Biden it is.

Good luck everyone!

Theme of the Month: Blogs

The theme for this month is "blogs" - I'm going to attempt to get caught up on blogging, both here and on the Imaginarium. So my intent will be to post roughly daily on one or other of the two blogs, until such time as I'm caught up.

We'll see if that works out, but it's going to need some fairly drastic action if I'm going to meet my stated goal for the year!

Halloween 2020

Due to the pandemic Halloween was of course rather different this year. Rather than just having the kids miss out completely, our estate organised a suitably distanced affair - those houses that wanted to be involved decorated the outside of the houses, put up a pumpkin sign in the window, and then left sweets outside to be collected.

Funsize dressed up as a butterfly, although the effect was lessened somewhat by needing a jacket over her costume. We then walked around the estate observing all the various decorations, and making the customary collection.

It was fine. In fact, if I'm honest I think I prefer it this way - I'm not a huge fan of Halloween in general, so being able to boil it down the essentials and to remove the need to answer the door was a definite boon for me.

So that one is no great loss. Bonfire Night will be much more of a loss, of course, with all the organised events being cancelled. On the other hand, Bonfire Night is frankly rather problematic, so maybe that's for the best, too.

That leaves Christmas, of course. Unfortunately, I can't see any possibility of it being even remotely normal this year (and, frankly, it shouldn't be - the pandemic just isn't going to go away in the next eight weeks). But that's a topic for another post...

#50: "Fire and Blood", by George R.R. Martin