Faffing Friday Edition #28 - The Christmas One Actually
Wham! in my life forever not just Christmas, fancy a snowball?, tablescaping, Christmas grief, Winter Solstice & much more ..
If you do one thing this week in the run up to Christmas you must watch Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped. I watched it on Tuesday night. As far as I know it’s only on BBC iplayer in the UK { sorry international readers }. This hour-long special is an in-depth look at one of the most successful Christmas songs of all time, though curiously, it wasn’t until 39 years after its initial release, in 1984, that it finally became Britain’s festive number one in 2023.
It feels as much of a tribute to George Michael and his genius as it is celebrating the success of the song. I felt very sad watching it as much as it made me feel nostalgic and Christmassy. There is so much George in it from archives and to watch his friends talking about him will warm your heart about the power of friendship. Everyone who was in the original pop video comes together to relive it .. without George 😢
Play this, turn the volume up and sing along with me … 🎶
Wham was a big piece of my life in my late teens. I even saw them in concert in the early days at Whitley Bay here in the North East. 40 years ago, probably. My love of MG never stopped tbf. I even got to visit where he lived just after he died and saw the shrine that became a thing. A friend of mine lived in North London at the time. I remember it being very quiet and sad. Taken too soon 🥺
How has this become a WHAM! Faffing Friday post? 🤣
Moving on .. I had a lovely catch up with a friend on Wednesday for day drinks. The same friend who lived in North London above. Moved the conversation back to WHAM! again!
She’s now back up North in retirement. Aren’t day drinks the best kind? Even my young friends prefer day drinks it seems.
Home and in Christmas pjs by 9pm. Bliss.
When I arrived at my friend’s she said ‘Fancy a Snowball?’ Well .. how could I refuse?
We laughed as we reminisced about memories of being allowed one at Christmas when we were tweenagers. I remember thinking wow! I’m tasting an actual snowball! I don’t remember seeing any adults drink them. It was as if it was one of those drinks the kids were allowed to have. It WAS the Seventies and we had a lot of freedom as kids!! What can I say?
Anyway, it was lush so I’ve been and bought a bottle of Advocaat as I’m feeling all retro and nostalgic now.
Here’s a super easy Snowball recipe if you fancy joining me.
Don’t forget I mentioned the iconic Bubble & Squeak recipe last week for Christmas leftovers, too ⤵️ I love keeping Christmas simple.
Seems I’m talking a lot about food and drink this week. Well, it is Christmas.
I love this listicle of gourmet gifts for foodies. I think this makes great gift giving inspiration for any time of the year. I’m lusting after Croissant butter.
I’ve had one or two glasses of Mulled Wine so far this month so it is with interest that this article caught my eye as I faffed around on the internet this week; is mulled wine good for you? Everything in moderation are the words I used to hear my grandpa say.
Do you tablescape at Christmas? I’d love to know what you do if you do? Are you a matchy-matchy or an anything goes tablescaper? Or are you like - girl what on earth are you talking about? Here’s some tablescaping tips in case you needed them.
As much as I love Christmas it’s also a time of sadness for me and my family. Yesterday was two years since my brother’s funeral. Why think about the funeral as well as the day he died? Well .. it took a whole month from him dying to his funeral on December 19th 2022. That period between a death and a funeral is a strange time and so this was an even longer, strange time. Consequently, Christmas is tinged with this but we move don’t we? I wrote here about the grief rollercoaster ⤵️
I’m a believer in celebrating the changes in life. The Winter Solstice begins on Saturday - or the true, astronomical time of Winter beginning. It also means the light nights are not far off the horizon as we turn the corner on this day. We don’t notice it until around mid-February. But just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. I think that’s quite powerful. Isn’t nature wondrous?
Here’s 10 places to see in the Winter Solstice in the UK.
My eldest son and his partner arrived last night and so we have our first Christmas lunch together before they leave on their next round of family gatherings with his partner’s relatives on Monday. I’m looking forward to some family fun this next couple of days even though they won’t be here for Christmas Day.
We’re off for day drinking and food by the coast tomorrow. A family outing with doggie, Barney Boo in tow.
Saltburn is one of the best seaside places to visit on the North East coast.
Have you been? It’s a heavenly place to bring in the advent of Winter as long as you wrap up warm against the North Easterly wind.
Christmas all wrapped up here. It’s the first Christmas I’ve written here and I can’t explain how much I love it here faffing for you every week.
Thankyou for being here and keeping me company all these months.
Lots of love whatever you are doing over the next week however you celebrate or not if you don’t.
I’ll be back in time for some New Year faffing and chat.
And if you get bored and want to escape for a bit of ‘me’ time you can always read my complete Faffing Friday archives here.
Merry Christmas!
Yay Sharon! Let's celebrate the joy that is the snowball drink. Love it. But Australians round my way don't. When I asked at our local bottle shop as to the whereabouts of their Advocat, I was told that they only ever ordered 1 bottle a year "for an old lady who's since died." Well buckle up buttercup! There's a new old lady in town!
We always had snowballs as kids in the 70s and we bought a bottle of advocate last year so our kids could try it too. Great success!
I saw Wham! in concert several time because my girlfriend was a fan (and secretly fancied Andrew Ridgely). I wrote a post on Andrew vs George recently because they had a big influence on a big decision.
https://raggedclown.substack.com/p/make-it-big