Once again, it was back to the family home to cook the lunch and play with the kids. I had been prepared for an old-fashioned Christmas because my friend D— had sent me an advent calendar at the beginning of December. A proper advent calendar, mind, with pictures behind the doors rather than chocolates, or whatever gimmick prevails these days. She had to go to some trouble to find it: apparently children of today are simply not satisfied with the old-fashioned way.
I, however, was delighted: more than delighted, in fact. I opened the first window and there were a couple of sheep, no, three sheep, with snow on their backs, standing in a snowy field. The second window had some people walking to a snow-covered church. The third showed a donkey in the company of a couple of robins standing on a snow-covered fence. By this stage I was completely unmanned. There is an innocence to these pictures which all but reduced me to tears. That much of the calendar coincided with a cold snap that included actual snow somehow made it even more poignant. This is what you want from an advent calendar: lots of snow, lots of animals. Sheep, donkeys, bunny rabbits, robins, the lot. I don’t even mind having a bit of religion in there. Screw you, late-stage capitalism, and your mediocre chocolates and culture of cupidity.
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