Sunday 24 December 2023
Not only is it one day to Christmas, it’s a week until the last day of December and thus the end of 2023. I am still not feeling particularly festive, despite having been in central London yesterday. I wanted to walk around central London early morning before shops open and crowds came. It was lovely, though somehow even central London didn’t seem massively Christmassy. I imagine it would have done later when the shops were all open and it was busy.
I got off the very quiet train at London Bridge and walked through Borough Market. Only a few stalls were open and there were a few queues (vegetables, meat and fish). Of course there were Christmas decorations up, but it still didn’t feel hugely Christmassy. Maybe it’s more of a reflection of me than my surroundings, I don’t know, but from speaking to friends I know I’m not alone in this mindset this year.
I had wanted to go to one shop, Uniqlo, to buy some non-Christmas things (thermals) but also something for my mum (thermals). I did only go into Uniqlo, and in fact, for the first time ever, arriving ten minutes before it opened at 10, I waited outside to get in. It was amazing. I actually thought it would get busier around that area much earlier, ie soon after 10, but even when I left it wasn’t particularly busy. There were no queues, no crowds and I was able to buy what I wanted and have a choice of every single payment point, ie no one else was making a purchase when I did.
I was only in Scotland four full days between my Doha trip and leaving for London/Christmas and I did go to Lockerbie one day, but only for food and the post office. This is probably the first year I haven’t really done any Christmas shopping other than Uniqlo, which I visited to make a specific purpose rather than a full shopping-wander. I bought a few things in Doha, which doesn’t count because – I don’t know, but it doesn’t count when you’re away; wandering around the souq is part of the being-away thing. Incidentally, I saw a fancy date stall in Borough Market so had a look at their prices. Wow. In Carrefour in Doha, which is overpriced, there is a huge date and dried fruit, nuts and spices area, all fresh and mostly weighed to order. The dates there were overpriced, with good Saudi or Jordanian medjool dates being around QAR 75 per kilogram (roughly £17.50). At the date souq, no bargaining on my part, the good Jordanian medjool dates were around QAR 35 (roughly £7.50 per kg). The Borough Market ones, also imported, though I didn’t notice where from, were around £35 per kilo. I know, they should be more in the UK than the Middle East, but I was pleased I bought as many kilos as I did in Qatar.
Anyway, Christmas shopping. Point being, I didn’t wander around any towns or look at lights and decorations. I also, for various reasons, didn’t arrange annual Christmas karaoke, I wasn’t able to meet up with my friend Bev for our annual Argentinian steak dinner at a restaurant in Blackheath and I haven’t gone out for any drinks, meals or even met up with any friends. Oh my, I do sound really curmudgeonly. But I was away, I’ve been between places and I got Covid.
Looking out the window of the balcony here, there are significantly fewer Christmas lights and decorations to be seen. I suppose my limited enthusiasm for spending money this year is reflected all around. It’s been a financially challenging year and I feel sad that so much of Christmas nowadays is about excess and the kind of excess that entails spending money.
Despite all that, I’m glad to be in London and glad that I’ll be seeing my mum tomorrow and that we will be sitting around the tree and decorations she’s put up and we will be having a Christmas celebration with lots of good food and scaled down presents, which I see as a positive not a grumpy comment.