A week of bizarre occurences

The period of time between Christmas Day and New Years Day is somewhat bizarre in my opinion. It's filled with an extraordinary amount of leftover food, a large amount of alcohol and for 95% of people a work ethic that, if discovered the other 11 months and 3 weeks of the year, would leave you looking for another job and signing on to the dole. 

No-one really seems to know what to do with themselves during this time. And so, to help create more madness we have the ever indulgent and slightly ludicrous Boxing Day sales. Now don't get me wrong, I understand the premise, but I just cannot for the life of me fathom why people put themselves through this shopping gauntlet. Suzanne Collins, I'm certain, was using the Boxing Day sales as the basis for her Hunger Games franchise. A bloodthirsty sport, with little room for remorse or compassion, people in one day turn from selfless and generous human beings to discount price obsessed zombies. 

Why on earth do people sacrifice more of their time off work to battle the queues and store assistants caked in makeup (again akin to the Hunger Games if you have seen either of the  movies). The shopping gauntlet is now undertaken over the Christmas period, and for the January sales as well, surely we can find better things to do with our time on this strange week?

My week between Christmas Day and New Years Eve started with a family visit to London's West End and a genuinely hilarious production of Jeeves and Wooster (from P.G. Wodehouse's iconic double act). 

 

Stephen Mangan and Matthew MacFadyen are fantastic as the upper class buffoon Wooster and his faithful and ever patient butler Jeeves. Slapstick comedy and a theatre setting mesh incredibly well in this memorable piece and I couldn't recommend this production highly enough. A visit to Joe Allen's, a restaurant in the West End steeped in theatrical history with a classic American feel polished off a great night. 

From the London West End I headed up north to Newcastle for a reunion with my Agassiz Village family. Never to do things quietly, or sensibly for that matter, a week of drinking, partying and general stupidity ensued with friends from far and wide. Anchorman 2 was much enjoyed after many long months of waiting (yes I am a big Anchorman/Will Ferrell fan) and I rediscovered for the 100th time just how bad I am at bowling! New Years Eve was celebrated with a large amount of alcohol, a number of drinking games and a large amount of singing and hugging.

For a week that is most definitely out of the ordinary in every way, it can be a fantastic opportunity to catch up with old friends and family and eat & drink until your heart is content. If you aren't proactive, however, then be careful. You might resort to duelling with the shopping addicts of the high street in a bid to find something entertaining and productive to do with your time...and as we've established there are many better avenues to go down.

Happy New Year to you all!

Ginge