The Boy and The Coconut Tree

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Happy Hannukkah and hoping that 2015 is a super fantastic year  for all of you!  And here is a Christmas episode of Modern Family, Enjoy!

Today is referred to as " panic Saturday " the last Saturday before Christmas when people do there last minute shopping for gifts and for things that will probably end up in the bin by next Saturday.  The British shopper is keeping the UK economy afloat but I wonder how much of that money is spent on credit cards and on UK made things. We are probably doing more to help the Banks and the Chinese than we are our own country!? I am avoiding the shopping areas of London today and for the next 2 weeks, I don't want to be trampled to death by crazy idiots wanting a reduced wide-screen television in John Lewis. I did the last of my shopping yesterday, I managed to spend £130 in less than 2 hours, a record for me but I used to be a shopaholic and had a lot of pent up buying to do. I found out yesterday that I was going to be in work in January and reasonably paid as well, my salary in January will be 62% higher than it was in November, a huge leap and I had almost given up hop...

I've celebrated Christmas or part of Christmas in Australia, the USA, and Vietnam and now it is the turn of Spain or more specifically, Catalonia. In Vietnam and the USA the Christmas resembled the one I am used to, trees, Santa Claus, Reindeers and images of Snowmen etc, Australia was almost the same except the heat on Christmas day was 100f and I ate grilled prawns in someone’s garden and drank chilled beer from a cooler. Here in Barcelona over the past few weeks the lights have gone up, the trees are decorated and the stores are full of the signs saying Bon Nadal or Feliz Navidad depending on what language you speak. In Spain the children receive their gifts on January 6, it is a holiday called Reyes (Kings) and is the day the 3 Kings arrived to visit the baby Jesus etc. and gave him gift vouchers from M&S and Argos (or is that the British version), or something like that. In some Spanish households the children also receive some gifts on Christmas day the sa...

As I have my 2 hour lunch break in a café on this cold windy day (needed a scarf today) I am watching the world go by as usual. Central Barcelona is a great mix of people. Next to me are 2 Russian girls who have lip implants, either that or they are having a bad allergic reaction to the coffee. Across from me is a Japanese couple and the guy is wearing a backpack that is taller than me. His back must be made of steel to carry that around with him all day. Winter has finally arrived here in Barcelona, last week it was 20c, today it is 11c and the locals are dressed as if they lived in Siberia. It isn't that cold and the sky is blue and the sun is shining. I am dressed for Spring, they are dressed for the next ice age. Even those Russian girls had fur on, probably a favourite pet that recently died (it looked like rabbit though they acted as if was mink). They begin the Christmas festivities early here too. The lights are going up, the plastic snowmen and santa clauses are ...

It is Halloween on October 31 st , it has always been on October 31 st . Try telling that to the crazy people I encountered on my evening out in London last night (October 27 th ).   On my train journey to central London, people were dressed as Vampires, Zombies, blood stained nurses and doctors (though they could easily have been real and simply finishing a shift in A&E). There was a woman dressed as a crazed zombified Bette Davis, a guy dressed as a vicar with blood stained face yet there were no Jimmy Saville costumes? Too soon perhaps? This is a little gripe about the need to celebrate everything early.   Halloween is one example but Guy Fawkes Night is another. There have been fireworks going off in my area for weeks now and I doubt there will be any left by November 5 th and as for bonfires, this area of London has seen enough arson and fire so you would wonder if the locals of SE London are giving Bonfire night a miss? And Christmas, well Oxford Str...

As the end of October approaches and the stores already have their Christmas displays up, my mind has turned to Christmas and Christmas gifts. When I was a kid, and relied on my pocket money, it was easier to buy gifts for my parents, sisters and grandparents, now that I have a bigger budget and access to bigger and better stores (online and high-street), I am stumped .  Feeling festive yet?  As an uncle to 2 nieces and 2 nephews I always want to be the cool uncle, buying good gifts but not being too lavish as not to spoil them or push noses out of joint. It is bloody hard!  This year I am going to Paris for a Christmas shopping trip in the hope that French style, French prices and the rudeness of French shop assistants will inspire me?  If anyone has a good idea what to buy for a Dad then please comment. He is the hardest individual to buy for, especially as he doesn't drink or smoke.