Just five days to go until Christmas … blimey! The year has flown by so fast that even Santa on his magical sleigh with his troop of famous reindeer would struggle to keep pace.
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As in previous years (I am getting old), I have struggled a little to get into the festive spirit, though the Christmas jumpers and lunch outings have helped. Now that all the presents are bought, the cards are sent, the trees are up, the presents are wrapped and the time away from the office is drawing close, I am easing into the yuletide “zone”.

I drove to work this morning listening to a Christmas CD and reflected that music is one of the most fundamental parts of building my sense of occasion. But this won’t surprise regular readers because every few years, I write a Christmas tunes inspired post; earlier efforts available below.

This year I have two new recommendations to share for albums that have really worked for me.
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The first up is “Twisted Christmas” by Twisted Sister. This 11 track CD, containing a selection of well-known Christmas tunes with a heavy metal twist, is great fun and, if you’re a rocker, you’re going to love it.
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1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"       
2. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"
3. "White Christmas"
4. "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
5. "Silver Bells"
6. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
7. " Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"          
8. "Deck the Halls"
9. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
10. "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas)"
11. ""We Wish You a Twisted Christmas" (hidden track)

The second top pick is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Christmas Time Again”. Another eleven-track festive rock sizzler.
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1. "Santa's Messin' with the Kid"
2. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
3. "Christmas Time Again"
4. "Greensleeves"
5. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
6. "Run Run Rudolph"
7. "Mama's Song"
8. "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin”
9. "Classical Christmas"
10. "Hallelujah, It's Christmas"
11. "Skynyrd Family"

Christmas pop is good fun but Christmas rock is better. If you fancy a break from Wham and Frankie goes to fucking Hollywood, then look either of these albums up.

I am going to my final gig of the year on Saturday night, hopefully the Bleach Boys will perform “White Christmas” and that’ll be me all set for a period of indulgence, excess, fun and family.

I hope that you have a lovely time over the festive break surrounded by those that you love. 

Best wishes,
Adrian

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Previous Posts
2011 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/the-theme-tunes-to-christmas
2013 http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/christmas-compilation-humbuggery
2015 https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/wishing-you-a-metal-christmas

A great move from the EU today just as the five days “crunch debate” gets underway in the Commons.

The advocate general of the European Court of Justice has indicated that the UK could (most probably) revoke article 50 and stay in the EU without the consent of the other 27 member states.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hal…lel…ujah!

Seriously, the full blown choral, orchestral, firework supported vision occurred to me as soon as I read the news.

At last there is a decent alternative to the prime minister’s shoddy leave “deal” or the possibility of a “no deal” exit.

Bearing in mind the utter farce that has been Brexit from the start to date (not to mention the damage to our currency and markets), let’s have another referendum, put the matter back to the British public and ask them if they think they made the right decision last time. 

I have written about Brexit and the politics surrounding it a few times (some of which are shared below) but have generally been relatively quiet on the subject over the last two years or so. Why, well what difference would it make once article 50 was triggered?

I’ll be frank, my belief is that the referendum should never have been held in the first place. As an analogy, if your car was broken down, or if you were in hospital awaiting an operation, would you let a group of unqualified, inexperienced but enthusiastic folk loose on your engine or your body?

You wouldn’t, you’d wait for a decent mechanic/surgeon that knew what he/she was doing.

With Brexit, the British public just didn’t know what it was doing. How could it? The public at large is not made up of economists, lawyers, negotiators etc. and the information/histrionics we were all presented with was flawed, spun and at its worst, totally fabricated. And then there was the illegal and/or immoral campaign funding and the questionable digital campaign manipulation. And, and, and…

The original referendum results were so close that a rematch shouldn’t be out of the question. And for any of those that were wavering anyway, were protest voting because they didn’t think ‘leave’ would prevail, or for those coerced by the opinions of their loved ones, the chance for another vote might be appreciated.

Even today, the politicians arguing about the publication of the government’s legal advice have achieved a contempt of parliament outcome. Furthermore, May’s “deal” is expected to get rejected by parliament and there is so little time left before the UK leaves the EU that we can only choose between and rock and a hard place.

From a parochial perspective, when I cock things up, I’ll admit I got it wrong, apologise to those I have affected and then go about putting things right. The public should have the chance to admit that, in hindsight, it’s original decision might have been wrong.

I know many, including some of my friends and family that, will disagree with me but we should have the chance to pause, reflect and reassess before we make any decisions we later regret. And in a new referendum, if the public still chooses Brexit, then at least we all go into the abyss not being lied to and with a better appreciation of the challenges/consequences.

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Previous Posts
https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/resigned-to-mediocrity
https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/election-irony
https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/march-moaning
https://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/eu-hokey-cokey
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