celebrity status

Talking of things that we do not really need, we seem to be in a phase of decline in which anyone who has been on TV becomes a celebrity, and that status draws in the worshippers like moths around a flame. The media is obsessed by them and whole sections of newspapers are dedicated to the raising of mere mortals to pedestals that they can only fall off.

I watched Celebrity Pointless on tv the other day. Not only did I not know who any of the supposed celebrities were, but could not see how on earth they had gained that status. What did become obvious throughout the show, was that whatever they had done, clearly did not require a brain, and the whole show was a demonstration of sheer stupidity, something that they all seemed to revel in. Stupidity has become a badge of honour, something that anyone can strive for and achieve with minimal effort.

Celebrities are role models for the next generation; it is no wonder that educational standards are falling. 

Things that we really do not need.

This is the season when we are reminded constantly that we live in a world where the only think that matters is money.  Without it you are in trouble and it seems that the more you have, the more you want. So many people have far more money than they can possible spend in a thousand lifetimes and yet they still want more.  In pursuit of more money we are exposed to barrage upon barrage of temptations and expectations that are designed to separate us fools from the money that we have. In consequence we buy mountains of garbage that we could really do without. In no particular order we have -

Bottled Water.  We live in a country where tap water is cheap and clean and yet there is a flourishing market for bottled water, much of which probably comes for a tap anyway. It is seen as essential to have a bottle of water with you wherever you go and you must also drink it the right way. It has to be drunk through the side of the mouth, not the front, and it must also have the right label.  So we are accumulating vast quantities of plastic waste simply for the sake of fashion.

Christmas wrapping paper.  Thousands of miles of printed paper is used each year to wrap gifts that no-one really wants and is torn up and thrown away into landfill along with the excessive packaging that seems necessary to make cheap plastic rubbish  attractive and saleable at inflated prices.

Christmas crackers.  Was there ever any product more ridiculous or less desirable?  How many tons of materials and how much energy is wasted in their production each year? I am sure that the chinese economy is maintained by them but really?

Christmas lights.  Ever since the Griswolds' Family Christmas, it seems that some people like to illuminate their neighbourhoods for the month of december. They are wasting so much energy and goodness knows how they pay the electricity bill when it comes. On top of that other people drive around their neighbourhoods to look at the displays, thereby wasting fuel and pouring more exhaust fumes into the already polluted air.

Christmas food generally.  Super concentrated calories that have short lived appeal. Christmas cakes and puddings laden with sugar, fruit and alcohol seldom get fully consumed and much of what we put on the table gets left and discarded.

Plastic toys and games.  I remember when plastic was a novelty. It has worn off!

Christmas cards. Why oh why do we send them?  Probably because everyone else does and though the post office makes a fortune, it is an annual chore that most people would quite easily shed.

I could go on, and I know that I do tend to, but then what is this blog for? Maybe we could do without that too.

That time again

I went on the bus into town yesterday as I had one or two things that I wanted to buy and for once I chose not to leave everything until the last possible moment.
Being a monday and being not too close to the actual event, the shops were not the usual feeding frenzy and all seemed pretty quiet and almost normal. Normal that is apart from the fact that all of the shops seem obliged to play endless streams of christmas muzak and many of the poor workers were dressed as elves. I did feel for them, sitting at their tills for hours on end, looking both bored and stupid.  I don't think my tenuous grip of sanity would last a day in those conditions; give me ten minutes of Bing Crosby or Wizard and I would need to insert the nearest christmas tree into whoever was responsible for inflicting so much agony on so many people.
Anyway, job done I returned home feeling quite smug, now able to complete the small part of the process that I have any responsibility for.
There was a time, many years ago, when my main cast at Christmas was to fill the children stockings. Sorry if this is a spoiler for anyone, but the man in the red suit and the rest of it is a myth.  I would of course leave it until Christmas Eve and late on christmas eve at that. I would have been to the pub for a few drinks with friends and would return after closing time to find a mince pie and glass of sherry waiting for me.  Having struggled to deal with this offering I would then fill the socks with bits and pieces and quietly transfer them to the foot of each of their beds. They never once woke up so I guess I was able to keep quiet.
Now it is the grandchildren that hang up socks on christmas eve and it is their parents job to maintain the myth and the harmless lies that we tell our children, while we look on and enjoy the memories of our own childhoods.
So we are near to the end of the process; so much time and energy spent on wondering what to buy and then buying it. So much umming and aahing about the annual christmas card battle and the huge expense on stamps, the stocking of vast quantities of alcohol and food, the yards of wrapping paper and the real enemy - sellotape, the end of which is forever vanishing.  Soon it will all be over and the landfill sites will be festooned with the waste and the big businesses will count their profits while we wander witlessly into another year.
Wishing that anyone reading this has a joyful time with friends and family, enjoy your Christmas or whatever you choose to call this festival of capitalism gone crazy.