1. David Parkes’ Christmas Hits on repeat (cassette version too for a nice old school crackle)
2. Fixing the Christmas tree lights
3. Myself and the sisters wearing Santa hats *all* the time
4. Drinks and chats at my Nana’s before midnight mass on Christmas eve
5. The annual Christmas day swim fundraiser for the RNLI after morning mass in New Quay

The first one on that list is particularly close to my heart. It was an RTE production of the classic Christmas songs along with a cracking ‘disco’ medley at either end. The cassette has been wheeled out and left in the stereo every Christmas for as far back as I can remember and has been the sound I associate with being at home in Clare for the festive season.

I had a look online last week to see if perchance it ever came out on CD or there was still some way of getting a copy of it as I’m sure the cassette is bound to wear through sooner rather than later. To my delight and surprise it’s available on iTunes for €8.99! You can even get the individual medleys on their own if that’s your pleasure. Can’t believe it was released in 1992 – where the heck do the years go? I was still writing letters to Santa then!

Happy disco dancing

Today December 8th is the last date to get your cards to USA and Canada! The rest of the dates are below:

Amazon.co.uk

Last order date is December 20th for standard delivery, 21st for priority delivery both depending on the availability of items.

Play.com

Last order date is December 19th, again depending on item stocks.

Apple.ie

Most big products (Mac, MacBook) need to be ordered by the 11th, smaller items (iPod etc) by the 20th. Full list is here.

I’m loving David’s daily Lego Advent Calendar and the fact that he’s got snow on his blog

Check out the National Concert Hall for fantastic festive events and performances over the next few weeks

Devious Theatre‘s latest work Accidental Death of an Anarchist kicks off tonight – good luck folks!

Etsy’s Holiday Guide

Happy December

Tom Dunne just did a little feature on Do They Know It’s Christmas on Newstalk. Apparently it was 25 years ago today that the infamous Xmas hit was recorded. Here’s a more facts on the tune:

• Recorded on Nov 25th 1984, released on Nov 29th of the same year
• Co-written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure
• When released it became the fastest selling single of all time in the UK
• It sold over 3 million copies on release
• It is currently the UK’s second best-selling single of all time behind Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’
• Geldof took on and ultimately won over Margaret Thatcher and the British government who originally insisted on taking taxes on sales of the record

Artists on the recording:

Adam Clayton (U2), Queen, Phil Collins (Genesis, solo), Bob Geldof (The Boomtown Rats), Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet), Chris Cross (Ultravox), John Taylor (Duran Duran), Paul Young, Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17), Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran), Simon Crowe (The Boomtown Rats), Marilyn Keren Woodward (Bananarama), Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Jody Watley (Shalamar), Bono (U2), Paul Weller (The Style Council), James “J.T.” Taylor (Kool & the Gang), George Michael (Wham!), Midge Ure (Ultravox), Martyn Ware (Heaven 17), John Keeble (Spandau Ballet), Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Roger Taylor (Duran Duran), Sarah Dallin (Bananarama), Siobhan Fahey (Bananarama), Pete Briquette (The Boomtown Rats), Francis Rossi (Status Quo), Robert ‘Kool’ Bell (Kool & the Gang, whose members were the only Americans to participate), Dennis J. T. Thomas (Kool & the Gang), Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), Jon Moss (Culture Club), Sting (The Police), Rick Parfitt (Status Quo), Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Johnny Fingers (The Boomtown Rats), David Bowie, Boy George (Culture Club), Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings), Stuart Adamson (Big Country), Bruce Watson (Big Country), Tony Butler (Big Country), Mark Brzezicki (Big Country)

It may not be your typical happy shiny Xmas tune but it’s a good tune all the same and those few opening bars still give me a little shiver when I hear it. Or maybe I have some kind of soft spot for it as it was at number 1 and blasted out over the radio the day I was born? Either way, now that I’ve heard it for the first time this year, I think I’m ready to start getting festive. Mince pies are on the menu this weekend

In the meantime…

Etsy goodness

Awesome calendar/wall planner thing from Etsy (above).

37 Signals bring you Haystack – “Find the right web designer for your next project.”

Want to avoid silly unwanted gifts this Xmas? Try making a wishlist at Wishlistr.

It costs €20m to build 1km of road in modern Ireland.

Sexy aprons.

“It’s like getting slapped against the cheek by a dry leather glove with each finger being made of a mini-glove.”

Happy protest day. Will be posting all sorts on here and here throughout the day.

View from my apartment last Winter

Tis that time of year again. Time to sort your holidays for the holidays.

December 26th, besides being my birthday is the last bank holiday of the year. This year it falls on a Saturday which makes the “how many days off do I take?” question a bit more tricky to answer.

Citizens Information website to the rescue. Fair play to them, information is there in black and white and tells us that as the bank holiday falls on a weekend day, we are not automatically granted a bank holiday on the following Monday, as you may have thought. Here’s the skinny:

Public holidays falling on a weekend

Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. This occurs in 2009 when St Stephen’s Day (26 December) falls on a Saturday. This means that Monday 28 December 2009 is not a public holiday. When this happens you are entitled to the normal alternative arrangements concerning employment and public holidays that is:

• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day’s pay
• The nearest church holiday to the public holiday as a paid day off.

Your employer can require you to attend work on those days.