Boxing Day Christmas Message

Well, I had hoped to put up some photographs from Christmas Eve's wonder amongst the sand dunes on Perranporth beach, but my connection is so terrible, that it actually took 20 minutes to upload one photograph, so I don't think I'll bother. I would like to say I'll get around to uploading some in the new year, but I am far, far too lazy.... so I probably won't.

Was a good walk amongst the sand-dunes though - up to St Piran's Cross, a huge crucifix out in the middle of nowhere and centuries old, looking like some lost Black Sabbath album cover. Then walking through the out-of-season caravan park, which I always think should feel more eerie than it actually does - all those empty windows, and places where people can hide and all those ghosts of lost summers. It does retain a slight dream-like feel about it, but seems most serene and unfortunately not mysterious. Then along and over the sand dunes themselves, the place where I thought I saw a mysterious 'dwarf-shadow-ghost' over the autumn of 1999, the miniature cliff I scrambled down to escape the dunes when I got lost after dark there with Bracken the Yorkshire Terrier in that same autumn. Perranporth doesn't change much. Makes me almost wish for my old walkman and the tapes I was playing at the time. The tape I remember playing the most was 'Rebel Extravaganza' by Satyricon. Not listened to it in years. Probably not since then. I never particularly liked the album. At that point in black metal history where musicianship was turning too technical and un-atmospheric - almost like the caravan park, you could say. It was one of the tapes that Andy recorded for me on those late 90s trips to Middlesbrough.

Christmas Day yesterday, which was somewhat overshadowed by a dreadful headache, which meant that a) I couldn't eat very much Christmas Dinner and b) spent most of the day asleep trying not to be sick. I have no idea where this particularly ferocious headache came from - no alcohol since Saturday night, and I don't normally get headaches, certainly not as bad as this one was. It did mean that I didn't even really enjoy the Doctor Who Christmas special, as I was far too concerned with the potentiality of throwing up. After Doctor Who I retired to bed, feeling both too hot and too cold. My hypochondriac mind soberly considered the possibilities of swine flu and meningitus and other sudden life threatening illnesses. When I woke up though I felt better and went back into the living room to watch the Royle Family Christmas Special with Mum, Dad and Nan. When everyone had gone to bed I even managed to watch episode one of 'Frontier in Space', a Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story, part of the 'Dalek War' box set that was a Christmas present, which is looking very good so far. No gentle sentimental science-fantasy here, its all very serious galactic empires, martial reptile races, thuggish alien mercenaries and space ships carrying cargoes of flour...
No sign of the headache this morning happily.
Might try to take Misty out for a walk along the cliff top path later.

Well, back to Brighton on Tuesday, then back to work on Wednesday. At least it is only for three days before I have three days off for the New Year weekend.
And then.... back to normal, and whatever 2011 brings.