It's CHRISTMAAAAS!

For so many generations,  it's great to see Noddy Holder return to the limelight every December. Slade's Number One hit from 1973, Merry Christmas Everbody, is still played relentlessly at joyous festivities throughout the UK, 50 years on. Who would have predicted that? Maybe Bing Crosby? Written by Irving Berlin, White Christmas was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, during WWII, and is still in the Christmas charts every year.

The leading contender for the 2023 Christmas Number One in the music charts is  Last Christmas by Wham, from 1984, presumably referring to Christmas 1983 which was 40 years ago and the same year that Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth reached No. 3 in the charts, a collaboration by David Bowie with Bing Crosby, six years after it was recorded, just a month before Crosby's unexpected death.

In the 2023 race, the leader is is closely followed by The Pogues with Kirsty McColl's A Fairytale of New York, released 1987. 

These are all great songs which we are happy to sing along to year after year yet, with the exception of Noddy Holder, the people who sang the main lyrics are no longer around. We're so lucky that they left us their voices to listen to every year.

If your favourite isn't listed, put it in thecomments!  

Merry Christmas, Everybody. 

Beebopalula

White Christmas Collection Highlights

From the film Holiday Inn:



Link to duet with Rosemary Clooney (from the same film)

Bing Crosby sang duets with many artists, including Frank Sinatra:



& around 70 years later, with Michael Bublé!



Bublé has taken on this role of White Christmas duets. Disappointing not to find a video of the Shania Twain duet but here's the audio only version:



Also, the Kellie Pickler version was dreadful but a duet with Kelly Rowland is good.



...which brings us to the end of the White Christmas Collection Highlights.
Hope you enjoyed it.

BeeBop!

December - the recurring theme of Christmas

Trying hard not to be so 'humbug' about the whole Christmas thing, I've put up some decorations and a very nice tree AND splashed out on a couple of garden lights. It all looks quite nice... but there's no magic.

Starting with Christmas Cards - I dislike waste and, to me, that is exactly what Christmas cards represent. Whilst I genuinely appreciate the warmth of the greeting, the card itself presents a problem. To not waste the effort that went into the design and printing, in the past I used old cards to create new cards or gift tags for the following year, the surplus of which I donated to the village school who sold them cheaply at Christmas Fairs. Brilliantly, I have found somebody else who will use cards in this way so all cards are now recycled with very little effort from me.

Bah... Humbug!

Writing cards is a major effort, though, as I have lost my ability to write legibly. During the past 3 or 4 years, I've managed to send some cards to people I know. No plan, no list, just writing a few cards in response to those that trickled through the door. By mid-December, there's more of a deluge and, unable to keep up, I give up so only about 40% of the Happy Xmases have been reciprocated. That's assuming that Royal Mail employees can decipher the address scrawled on the envelope.

It's only a few days to Christmas and I haven't purchased a single present. Nor have I any inclination to do so but it's expected and, to be honest, the heavily decorated tree looks lonely without any wrapped gifts beneath it. However, the gift tokens that we'll be buying for our many nephews and nieces (because that's what they want) won't do the tree justice. Gift tokens - no wonder there's no magic... oh my god, I'm going to stop now. I've depressed myself into humbug mode after all... this wasn't the direction I meant to go with this post but, well, hey ho ho!

Em.Nester