Bah Humbug - It's December again! 16 days to go!

Friday 9th December. An early morning respite in my tutoring and studying schedule. I took advantage of the strange weather - it is uncommonly hot for this time of year - and set off on my regular, morning walk. As usual, there was the dog poo to dodge, the hole under the kerb drains, and cars.

I was excited this morning. After five months of frustration with a malfunctioning oven, the technician was finally coming to replace the PCB. Why oven's need PCBs, beats me, but I suppose, we live in the internet of everything.

Five months?

Yes, five months. This is Singapore. Distributors pride themselves in taking a brand, but forget that the brand also needs to be maintained. No spare parts. They had to be shipped in. Shipped in from Turkey - not the big bird, but the country. Although according to Google Translate, Turkey in French, is Les Pays de Dinde. Really?.

Whatever, it was being shipping, but only, only when the container was full.

For five months, I was unable to roast anything, although sitting outside, I often found myself roasting. For five months, I was unable to bake a cake, and if I did venture down the route of trying it out - just in case - it would take 2 hours to cook and the cake was raw in the middle. Not pleasant.

What do you make of that, Jamie Oliver??

The appointment was scheduled for between 10am-11.30am. Just enough time for me to make sure that the oven was in working order before heading out to tutor.

I was excited, I would have a working oven, ready for Christmas. I never thought I would find myself over the moon about an oven, but the moon was waiting there, and there was a way over it. Only a few more hours of waiting.



10am passed. 10.30am came and went. 11am sneaked around the corner.  11.30am loomed. I had to leave. So much for my oven repair.

The oven did finally get repaired - after 12 noon. I am not sure what time zone they were on, but definitely not in mine. And what happened to politeness when someone is busy in a meeting or teaching?

Six missed calls.

They remained missed, I was feeling Scrooge-like tendencies creeping.


My incredulity was topped off, when rather than leaving me an invoice to pay, they asked the lady who helps out, to take a photograph of the works order.

Now I was feeling extra Bah flipping Humbug, and I ignored it. A photograph is not an invoice.

I decided that oven cooking would take place on Saturday. Then I would have more time to savour the delight.

Bah Humbug! - It's December - AGAIN! 23 Days to go

And so we enter the second day of Advent.

I managed to go for a walk today. And I avoided the Christmas Muzak. However, I did not avoid having a fight with a load of tinsel that was strewn over the floor outside a building. The debate was whether to gather it up and do something with it, or mutter something about surplus population and waste of money. I picked it up and placed it out of the way of trampling feet.

Rather Christmas spirited of me.

Which reminds me, if the price of Champagne in the supermarkets insists on being so stupidly expensive, then it will be a Prosecco Christmas. But oh, yes, didn't Boris mention something about more expensive Prosecco? Or was that in the UK? Well, whatever, I think it will have to be a Scrooge-led Christmas this year.

Bubbles out of the way, I prepared Stave 3 of Charles Dicken's masterpiece - A Christmas Carol to work on with my Friday afternoon pupil. There is a tenuous link in here somewhere about the tinsel and surplus population.

Today is going to be the Ghost of Christmas Present. Except he doesn't bring any presents, just want and ignorance.

And why wasn't this version available when I asked my pupil to watch the movie?

Oh, Bah, flipping Humbug. Only two days down and how many more to go?

Bah Humbug - It's December again - 23 Days until Christmas

Bah Humbug, it's 2nd December, and it's a Tuesday. What could be worse? 

Monday I suppose.

Have you noticed how the price of chocolate increases around Christmas (and a few other overly commercialised festive occasions - like Halloween)? 

Perhaps we should ban chocolate all together - after all it rots teeth, gives you zits and a headache.

The concept of Advent Calendars with chocolate is an awful idea - just another way to pump more sugar into the mouths of babes and young ones.

And, remove copious amounts of cash from parents who, not want to be seen as mean and out of touch (sorry Quentin Blake), opt for the melt in your mouth version.

Not so me! - or not quite so me.

I wait until the beginning of the month, just when the supermarkets believe that everyone who will buy a calendar has bought one. Regular as clockwork, big discounts - so I suppose I end up paying the normal price for chocolate instead of an over-inflated supply and demand type of extortion.

If you have boys, then they rather revel in the idea of eating two or three pieces of chocolate in one go rather than the rationed one a day.

Who says you can't be a Scrooge at Christmas?

BAH HUMBUG