“As little as possible,” is my answer to whenever I’m asked what am I doing for Christmas?

So, why have I just cleaned the house? About to prepare vegetables? Make curry? Cook rice? Lay the table? Get ready for guests? Doing laundry? Anticipating two hours of washing up later? Turning on the social button in my head to be pleasant to friends and loved ones?

And what do I get in return?

Two hours at lunchtime today in my local, the Jenny Lind.

Vinyl night tomorrow night in my local, the Jenny Lind. I’m dedicating all my disc time to Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica. If they don’t like it, well, they know what they can do if they can’t appreciate genius.

And snatched minutes reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Wondering why all along he didn’t bother to tell her how his first wife died? The latter not asking the former why he doesn’t? It may be 428 pages of well written prose but this is what happens when I take Daphne to bed instead of the other creative genius in my life, Virginia Woolf.

By the way, did you know the ConDems cancelled a £13 million grant to the charity, Bookstart, which funds gifting programmes for free books to health centres and health visitors, and free reading material to children starting infant and secondary school? I emailed yesterday my MP, Amber Rudd, asking her if she personally supported this move. If you’re a UK resident, please also ask your MP what their position is on this indefensible policy.

Bah! Humbug!