If you are reading this on Christmas Day I wish you a happy, peaceful and holy Christmas. I don’t have any truck with calling it “the holiday season” or similar weasel words denying its place as the second (or third?) most important date in the Christian calendar.
I am writing this on Christmas Eve, staying in Bath, and will be at the Abbey for Sung Eucharist tomorrow. Coming down yesterday on an uncrowded train two things struck me. The majority of passengers were Chinese and they had brightly coloured suitcases, in some instances larger than them. Remember that just 5% of Chinese have passports and that their economy is growing at about 6%. Their growing prosperity will allow greater numbers to travel abroad. That’s why we need another runway at Heathrow and can expect to see ever more Chinese visitors in the UK and Europe. Already announcements at Bicester Village station, only opened last year, are in Mandarin. They are unfailingly polite, rather timid and I’m delighted that they want to visit the UK.
Have a souper-douper Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you, Christopher.
Many thanks for giving all of us each day a special gift of an interesting, witty and fun(ny) post. You have enriched our morning reads and made us smile, setting us on course to navigate the dispiriting daily events throughout this past year.
A very merry Christmas, Christopher; and long may you entertain, amuse, and enlighten with your blog.
Merry Christmas to you, and a happy and prosperous New Year. I am reading Osborne’s Luther, and will soak up any Biblical epics they put on TV. That’s one way of hanging onto the holy dimension inspite of my galloping agnosticsm.
Best wishes. R
The Far East has invaded Mürren in Switzerland. Hordes of them are coached in to the valley, go on the cable car up to the Schilthorn to see the Alps from 10,000 feet, clear view or impenetrable fog alike. The announcements are in Mandarin and Japanese, never German. Locally the Japanese are considered to be polite the Chinese rude. In my opinion the Chinese jostle, talk loudly, but are cheerful and humourous. They put their arms around the skiers ask to pose with their skis, even put their feet on the skis, hold the sticks and pretend to ski, roaring with laughter as photographs are taken. Heaven help the Alps if they actually take to skiing. There simply isn’t room.