'It's Nearly Time!'

Well, I have had a nice, relaxing day at home today! After a busy week of visiting friends, Christmas meals, 'Tom's Midnight Garden' at The Stables Theatre (very good!) and a trip out to Pett to attend the annual, 'Carols in The Barn' event (where we all gather  in a barn, sit on straw bails and sing Christmas carols accompanied by cattle and a whole host of other farm animals) it has been nice to take it easy for a change.

I had a good time at my Shorelink Writers Christmas meal in Westfield, which is where this festive photo of me was taken. Didn't do the 'rounds' of the Westfield lights though as, with all things this year, I arrived rather late. Things have definitely been stressful regarding Christmas this year and I do feel I've let myself down in a number of areas but I guess I ought  to be thankful that I've had plenty to do and people to see.

Me in one of my 'conservative' Christmas outfits!

Tomorrow is likely to be another quiet day at home though my brother and his kids are coming to visit in the evening. It will then be time on Boxing Day for my annual tilt at the bookies! I think I only really bother now because its traditional - I can't recall EVER winning anything worth having on a personal level during the Christmas period in over 30 years! Me and my mate, Paul DID win a few quid on our joint bets last year though so I shall keep my eyes peeled for any pigs I see flying over my house in the next few days!

As I'm getting older I'm beginning to feel the lack of a 'Mrs Christmas' in my life more keenly but I am TRULY blessed with some WONDERFUL friends and more of them are female these days, which is a HUGE improvement on the previous 40 odd years! I can even count a 'funny story' regarding my 'perceived love life' amongst my 'boring life stories' to tell people thanks to his fact, which revolves around a coffee bar in Hastings I visited on three consecutive days with three different female friends! The woman behind the counter gave me some VERY disapproving looks  on the SECOND day when I turned up with someone new and on the THIRD day she gave me that kind of 'I don't know how you do it or where you get the energy' kind of glance! When my friend that day was overheard saying that she'd better, 'give her husband a ring' as we were being served I was surprised not to get my hot drink poured down the front of my trousers! (lol)

Actually, its quite un-nerving how 'universally trusted' I am with other people's wives!

Hmm, It must be the way I walk, I reckon!

(Note for the P.C. Brigade ... JOKE! ITS A JOKE! you know, HA HA and all that? LOL)

Happy Christmas folks!

'Baldy - The Gingerbread Man'

One of the Christmassy things I picked up during my time in Skipton was a VERY festive cuddly Gingerbread Man (who I've named 'Baldy' after his Dad - me!) who came supplied in a plastic bag with a few chocolate truffles. I LOVE Gingerbread Men and ALWAYS feel guilty when I take a first bite into one (Ouch!) as cakes or not I suspect Gingerbread Men have feelings! Seeing as their purpose in the world is to be a 'lovely snack' or a 'fun cake' I also know that Gingerbread Men fear going stale and being thrown away much more than being eaten. In fact, it is the duty of each Gingerbread man to maintain a 'soft and delicious upper lip' when the time comes for him to lose his head and little Gingerfolk learn all about how happy they make us all when we eat them at school - so actually, there's no reason for me to feel bad at all!

Baldy and his friends

'Baldy' is SO CUTE its unreal and I did wonder when I was in the VERY Christmassy shop near Skipton Market if I should buy one of his relations to give someone for Christmas? Knowing how important it is to the Gingerfolk, however I was worried that the recipient of my gift might not be as keen as me and I would NEVER want to be responsible for a Gingerbread Man to end up either in a bin or reduced to being sold at a boot sale! You have to be in touch with you 'inner child' to fully appreciate the magic Gingerfolk bring to your life and a lot of people I know are now WAAYY too adult to empathise with a Gingerbread Man.

I asked Baldy why there aren't any Gingerbread Ladies? Actually,  once you hear his answer the reason is quite obvious when you think about it. Baldy told me that the first person to make a Gingerbread Man was Queen Elizabeth 1 of England. His ancestry goes right back to a bowl of dough made in the 16th Century he said and Queen Elizabeth crafted the first batch herself out of love for some of her male guests. The feminine touch that created those first Gingerfolk was so full of love in fact that Gingerbread Men do not need female partners to reproduce themselves they only need for someone to copy the recipe Queen Elizabeth 1invented and for that person to follow the instructions she left behind and 'POOF!' a whole tray of new Gingerbread Men can be created!

Baldy's Pal

Isn't that great? Perhaps I would have done better had I been a Gingerbread Man? It would certainly have saved me a fortune on dating agencies - that's for sure! (lol)

Baldy has made friends with a chocolate Santa and his polar bear friend at the moment and the Christmas tree decoration I bought from L.R. Ceramics at Skipton Town Hall Market comes to life and hangs around his neck at night time when I'm asleep. I'm glad Baldy has his little decoration buddy as Santa and the Polar Bear will probably disappear over Christmas - as will many of the real Gingerfolk who are currently resting in paper bags in cupboards at home or on display in the window of your local bakers...

'Merry Christmas!'

Well, todays the day! I hope you all have something fabulous lined up to make the day a memorable one. My Christmas is not going to be a spectacular event this year but at least I am not flooded out like a lot of poor souls and spending quality time with loved ones is never time wasted...

Funnily enough though I have been thinking about the years I spent Christmas on holiday the last day or two. Its always refreshing to travel and see a bit of the world but as my Christmas holiday to Kufstein in Austria proved, the grass (or snow in this case) is not always greener on the other side.

A department store in Kufstein. Typically for my luck they were closed while I was there!

I was going through a bit of a depression in 2007 and so decided that the best thing I could do was to book up a Christmas  break and head off to the land of snow and mountains. At that time I was in work at a music merchandise company called 'Masons Music Ltd' and the workload up until Christmas there was always incredible. Virtually every day would involve doing some overtime and the amount of phone calls we used to get was amazing. It was hard work and very tiring but my boss was a great bloke and was always very generous to us all at the end of it. He used to take us all out for a meal, give us extra wages AND let us take a present from the warehouse so putting in so much effort was never difficult just tiring.

Anyway, with all that work ahead of me I knew that I needed something to look forward to and so a holiday to 'Kufstein' in Austria in a 4 star hotel seemed ideal. Snow, snow, slopes, fairy lights, carols and MORE snow was I felt sure to be on the agenda and a 4 star hotel should be quite a swanky place to stay as well! To be pampered and to be forced to be jolly and make new friends seemed like the ideal remedy to my woes...

Snowless Kufstein - Nice lights though!

As ever, however, things did not quite go to plan! Sure, Austria had all the snow anyone could want but Kufstein itself was almost snow free. My idea of soft, crunchy, fluffy snow also went out of the window as an excursion to Kitzbuhel on Boxing Day proved when all I found there was a wet and quite dirty looking place where no where was open! Salzburg was lovely but it was just one day out of seven and the 4 days of traveling there and back on a coach almost killed me...

Worst of all though was my 4 star hotel. The 'luxury' I expected to find turned out so bad in fact that I made the following two videos to upload on Youtube when I got home...

Things did not start out well from the minute we arrived at the hotel. My name and the names of another couple were not on the guest list and because of that I think they and I ended up getting the 'spare rooms' usually designated for our drivers. The fact that neither of our drivers ended up staying at the hotel seems to back this up though they might not have chosen to do so  because they'd been there before!

A friend of mine always tells me that I become very funny whenever I get depressed. The upside of this story is that both of the videos above turned out to be huge hits on Youtube. Because of this I really got the bug for making films and as of now have over 240 on my Maybrick44 channel! I wouldn't want to put you off going to Austria for Christmas because it is a beautiful place but if you do go make sure you go for longer than 7 days if you are traveling by coach because for three days actually there the traveling spoils it. If you can, stay in Salzburg because it has a lot of winter charm and is full of festive atmosphere. Be VERY careful where you stay though and make sure you check out your hotel online BEFORE you book up.

I DID get my 'revenge' on the hotel staff though because I had packed a complete Father Christmas outfit into my case and came down Christmas Day dressed up in it. I went in to where they were holding the disco, took over the mic and made a few speeches/had a few jokes with the people I knew from my coach. NO ONE realised who the hell I was so it was quite hilarious really - the staff did not know whether to grab me and throw me out or not!!!

Me as Father Christmas in Kufstein, Austria 2007

This Christmas story does have a happy ending though. Aside from gaining a new interest in making films I got some great footage and pictures of Salzburg and the Von Trappe Mansion (The Sound Of Music?) which I subsequently used for the artwork of my 'In Words, In Music...Of Life, Of Death' poetry/music album. Some of the other footage I got on that holiday went into my videos for 'Its Christmas Time' and my latest festive song 'A Winters Tale' so all in all it wasn't a disaster just not the uplifting experience I hoped for at the time...

Merry Christmas! xxxx 

'A Family Christmas?'

Heres something that I hope will put a smile on your face this December! I wrote this a few years ago as part of a series of 'Tall Tales' based on ridiculous ideas that - the Battle Of Hastings was a misunderstanding over a game of conkers - The Beatles were named in memory of a charity darts match and that Politicians were going to penalise those who die before the age of retirement by creating a 'bucket tax'...hang on a minute, that's NOT such a crazy idea is it! (lol)

Anyway, I think this sums up a lot of peoples festive 'sessions' so have a read and a good laugh!

Is Christmas not a time for celebration, frivolity, hilarity, good will to all men, hugs kisses and thoughts of peace? Do we not all welcome ‘rarely seen’ relatives from afar with open arms? Embrace our Mother In Law and our sisters 16 children tenderly?  Share laughter filled evenings playing parlour games and chatting over a glass of wine?

 What? What was that? What planet am I on?

Let’s face it folks, for most of us Christmas is usually enough to make a months holiday in February to the beach at Rock A Nore with Victor Meldrew seem like the ideal package holiday!

Every year, families right across Hastings find themselves ‘treated’ to twelve day’s of Christmas as only the Devil himself could devise. Screaming kids ‘whoop’ as they play noisy computer games, jump up and down on your new settee or delight in teasing the Cat. Family feuds ‘come home to roost’ over the Christmas meal and ‘the missus’ storms off upstairs ‘never to speak to you or your disgusting family again’ while her mother reminds everyone why ‘she always said her daughter should never have married you’. Then of course there are the ‘armies’ of Carol singers that interrupt your ‘serene and blissful existence’. With their horrendously off key versions of ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ they throw snowballs at your windows if you don’t part with a few quid.  Have you noticed how they always stop singing as soon as you give them some money? Its as if their visit is in some way intended as some kind of ‘Christmas Protection Racket’- you give them some cash to go away and they in return put you out of your misery. It’s all perfectly fair really you know?

Ah yes, it always feels good to finish work on Dec 24th after 24 days of continuous overtime for your ‘Christmas Holiday’. As long as you’re not late for work on Boxing Day morning you will qualify for your £15 Christmas voucher (minus tax of course) that you can spend on anything you like in store (as long as it is out of code) to thank you for your loyalty throughout the year.

The best thing about Christmas though is of course the giving and receiving of presents…

You spend an absolute fortune on your relatives – enough to put you in debt for the next three months or so only then on Christmas day to watch them unwrap their gifts and ‘sniff’ at the contents of your ‘lovingly’ wrapped parcels. “Got this already” little Jimmy glares up at you as he tosses the £49 computer game onto his ‘what a load of rubbish’ pile.  “You know I hate blue Nana’ shouts 10 year old Sophie bursting into tears, throwing her half unwrapped new dress to the floor and storming off to her room.

 The one consolation in all of this is that you at least get to do your own ‘annual amateur dramatics’ when opening your own gifts. “Oh Mum, what a lovely present!” You gush at the 9^th pair of slippers you’ve received in so many years. “Socks and pants to” you continue mouth open and wide-eyed. “So useful” pipe up the rest of the family as the world stops still for a moment like in those old horror movies.

Then of course there’s the card writing – how you love to make up witty slogans and buy ‘just the card that’s right’ for each of your relatives. You even hold out hope at that point that they will buy you a decent card themselves this year rather than one of those ‘deluxe’ cards in packs of ten from Tesco’s for a quid.  Seventeen year old ‘Eco Warrior’ Simon even manages to get out of giving you a card or wrapping your present at all under the guise of ‘saving the planet’ and you have to smile sweetly as you take a crumpled looking box of chocolates out of a re-used supermarket carrier bag that smells like old boxer shorts.

Finally, there’s the age difference to deal with…

 “Oh God not the bloody Wizzard Of Oz AGAIN (tut tut). They put that on every single year, that and John Wayne in Stagecoach” chips in Grandad watching the telly at deafening volume while the kids chase each other around the Christmas tree.  Over the years, you’ve noticed how Grandad always likes to add his own special brand of Christmas cheer to the holiday season.  “That’s what I’d like to do to the little toe rags round here that keep vandalising everything. I wouldn’t mess about I tell you, I’d shoot the bastards” he always bellows watching the news after the Queen’s speech. The then follows a five or ten minute lecture on the state of the law in this country today and how that Farmer Tony somebody went wrong because he didn’t shoot BOTH of the burglars that kept breaking into his farm. This is traditionally followed by an announcement that National Service should be brought back and then (while standing to attention) the whole family are forced to listen to 15 minutes of “when I was in the army” stories and told how you had to learn discipline in those days. “If the Sergeant Major said jump you bloody well jumped!” ending up as the punch line.

Yes, it’s a grand time of the year is Christmas… I bet you can’t wait!

So, if any of you have Victor Meldrew’s address – do me a favour?  Drop Jim Hollands a line and ask him to pass it on to me.

HA HA HA

Merry Christmas to you all!

'The Story Of The Snow People'

Remember I told you earlier about my love for the Church-in-the-Wood nature reserve near Hollington, East Sussex? Well, I made this rather silly but I think quite inventive festive promotional film for my album 'Timeless' there in 2010. After a particularly heavy snowfall that year the whole of my area was covered and Church-in-the-Wood was as near to the fictional beauty of Narnia as it is possible to get in the real world...

Walking through the woods I came across something that really made me laugh ( I won't tell you here what it was else it will spoil the fun when you watch the clip below)! As soon as I finished laughing I knew I had to come up with something fun and so I decided to do a 'Brian Cant', make up a story to tell and make a little film to enable me to share my festive discovery. 'The Story Of The Snow People' was the result and I think I did a pretty good job building up the tension! I think kids will enjoy this as well and seeing as I don't have any of my own its kind of nice for me to think I might be making a few tiny tots smile.

Anyway, take a look! If you don't think much of the story or of my acting I'm sure you will gasp in amazement at how beautiful a 'winter wonderland' Church-in-the-Wood looks...   

'A Dickens Christmas'

As mentioned in an earlier post, I love Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' and think its the best story ever written. Regular readers of this blog will see just how inspired by the timeless story I have been (and continue to be). A few years ago I did a bit of research into the life of Charles Dickens and was amazed that discover that he actually visited Hastings in 1861 during one of his 'reading tours'. The following is an article I wrote about 'A Christmas Carol' for 'Hastings Town' magazine in 2009 - have a read and see if you agree with what I have to say? If not, why not leave a comment and start a discussion about it?

‘A Dickens Christmas’ by Tony May

In the midst of the current recession, most of us are struggling a bit financially these days.  Thus, no matter how much of the spirit of ‘old saint nick’ resides in us, to hear the word Christmas being banded about again ‘so soon’ is unlikely to make us feel jolly.

Christmas has become so commercialized these days, the religious aspect of the festive season hardly gets a mention now and as a whole, the secret to enjoying a true ‘family Christmas’ has been lost. As far as giving and receiving presents goes, the traditional motto of “it’s the thought that counts” has, thanks to the birth of television and the rise of the media, been replaced in the public consciousness as “it’s how much that it costs”.

So, what is at the heart of the problem?

My Nan (who is 99) has often told me of the fun her family used to get up to when she was young enjoying Christmas dinner together at the table, singing carols around the piano and playing ‘parlour games’. The funniest game of all was when her father, Maurice, who had a devilish sense of humour, would ‘do something’ or ‘make a motion’ that everyone had to mimic exactly. Should anyone get even the slightest thing wrong they would have to pay a forfeit and Nan, recalls with a smile, how one Christmas she had to stand on the top step in front of their house and sing ‘God save the King’ at the top of her voice. Great fun indeed - not a mobile phone, games consul or television in sight.

The simple truth is that today we all have too much. How many times can you think of for example where you have become exasperated because you cannot think of what to buy someone? Most people have hundreds of books, compact discs and DVD’s gathering dust on shelves in their living room already while bigger items are so expensive you just cannot afford to buy them. Every year it gets more difficult, stressful and likely to give us a headache, a lot of us turn into Ebenezer Scrooge and spend most of November and December announcing to the world how much we hate Christmas.

But it doesn’t have to be that way and frankly, it shouldn’t.

Imagine yourself back in the days of Charles Dickens for a moment. We must all have seen at least one film adaptation of Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’.  Can anyone honestly tell me they were unmoved by the scene near the end where Bob Cratchit takes home a large Turkey to feed poor Tiny Tim and the rest of his family? Remember, also, the joy on the little boy’s face when he finds a big juicy round orange in his Christmas stocking.

Yes folks, an Orange. Not a brand new Playstation game or consul, not an ipod nor a pair of designer trainers, a humble orange.  I am also willing to bet that he spent far more time gazing at his beloved gift and thinking how lucky he was to have it than any of our kids do today. As the saying goes, less is more, sometimes, and it would do all of us good to remember that these days.

Interestingly, Charles Dickens himself made a few visits to Hastings during his lifetime. He had a sister who lived in a house named ‘The Briars’ here and on the 8^th of November 1861, at The Music Hall he read extracts from ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Trial From Pickwick’ as part of a public reading tour.

The Music Hall was situated where ‘Yates’s’ is today (opposite Debenhams) and also had an entrance in Havelock Road. According to the Hastings & St Leonards News of the day, the reading was a huge success and a great many people without tickets had to be turned away. Dickens was apparently a very talented performer. Earlier in life, he’d had some experience as an amateur on ‘the boards’ and this it seems served him well. Aided by some stage accessories, he performed magnificently changing his voice and facial expressions skillfully to produce many an emotional response from his audience.

A lot of  ‘well to do’ people attended the Hastings reading and afterwards two rows of carriages could be seen extending half a mile up, what was then Bohemia Road, waiting to pick them up.

It was initially hoped that Dickens might make another professional appearance in Hastings but sadly this never came to pass. His son, also Charles Dickens (1837-1890), did however visit the town and like his father before him performed a public reading of his father’s works. This visit took place on the 23^rd of February 1889 at The Public Hall (The same venue as his father had visited) and Dickens junior read extracts from ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Bob Sawyers Party’.

Before I finish, I should tackle one of Hastings most common rumours connecting ‘Dickens Cottage’ in High Street with the great man. In fact, the connection with the Dickens family is not through Charles Dickens himself but via his youngest son Sir Henry Dickens (1849-1933) and his wife Lady Dickens. They were friends with a Miss M Valette who owned the cottage and visited her there occasionally. She apparently gave her home its name because of the couple’s visits and because Lady Dickens considered it to be the ideal setting for Dickens’ Christmas book ‘The Cricket On The Hearth’ published in 1845.

So, there you go, Hastings has a genuine connection to the spirit of the man who brought the traditional meaning and values of Christmas so powerfully home to all of us.  Let’s do him and each other a favour this year then and CHEER UP A BIT! HA HA

Lots of love to you all this Christmas,

Antony May 16/09/09

Information from this article gathered in part from ‘Hastings In Dickens and Dickens In Hastings’ by Edward G. Preston, Wikkipedia and ‘Hastings And Men Of Letters’ by Gerald Brodribb.

'Two Great & Unusual Christmas Compilations To Look Out For In November'

I am always looking out for new Christmas music to acquire at this time of the year and never grow tired of discovering new festive songs to (hopefully) make each year a special one. Well, now that I have this blog I'm going to flag up some of the forthcoming CD's on the way this year!

Firstly, for lovers of the 1950's, theres a great looking compilation out on Nov 4th entitled 'A 50's Christmas - Times For A Cool Yule'. A double CD, it has 50 festive songs to discover and interestingly includes a number of early U.K. seasonal hits that are now otherwise almost impossible to find on CD. Since I started my research into the U.K.'s festive hits I've had much more interest in the early classics and so this is on my pre-ordered list at Amazon.com!

 The 1950's were a bit before my time but its nice to  be able to step back and experience a totally different feeling Christmas inspired by records from just the one era. A lot of more popular compilations mix and match songs from all eras and perpetuate the same selection of established classics each time. I'm really looking forward to getting hold of this set even though most of the tracks were not U.K hit singles. Most of the content originates from the states so its going to be rather a showbizzzy collection I imagine but hey! I love Marilyn Monroe and so I'm up for a U.S. Christmas! I hope the quality of the sound is as good as the appealing cover. It makes a HUGE difference to a music nutter like me if a product I'm interested in looks great. At the end of the day a CD is just a CD but if the cover looks desirable then I'm much more likely to buy it!

The second compilation I want to draw your attention to is for those of you who love soul & disco music. 'A Funky Christmas' is in fact a CD re-issue of an old Cotillion records compilation from 1976. While the cover looks a bit naff, the album is of real interest because it includes two Christmas songs by the group 'Luther'. Now it will be no surprise to any of you who don't know already that the lead singer of 'Luther' was Luther Vandross. None of the bands original albums have ever seen the light of day on CD (Vandross himself ought up the rights to prevent this for some reason) and so the two tracks from the band here are just about all that its possible to get. 

With some nice songs from The Impressions, 

Margie Joseph, John Edwards and others as well as a few 'funky Christmas instrumentals' this album is sure to be full of sweet delights. I have checked out a few of the songs on Youtube (maybe more on that later) but don't want to spoil the surprise too much when the CD arrives so won't hunt for any more of the tracks. I can tell you though that Mr Vandross sounds every bit as good as we all remember and that must make this album worth the price of admission alone!

Well, more Christmas blogging about forthcoming releases later. 'Funky Christmas' is due to be released in the U.K. on Nov 11th this year.

Happy Listening!

'Spare A Thought For Donny This Christmas'

In case you have never heard of the man, let me tell you that Donny Hathaway was simply the greatest Black vocalist ever. Now, you might well think that I exaggerate! What about James Brown? What about Luther Vandross? Oh, and a certain Mr Steveland Morris (Stevie Wonder)! Well, if I was to tell you that Stevie Wonder himself considers Donny Hathaway to be the greatest there has ever been and admits to actually adapting his own style in order to sing more like him then maybe you wouldn't think me so crazy...

So why isn't Donny more widely known about? Well, that's hard to say but I guess it is fair comment to state that while the mans albums were successful in U.S. R&B circles unlike with say Stevie or Luther none of Donny's work ever really crossed over into the main charts. Tragically, Hathaway suffered with depression (something which never helps - trust me!) and was eventually diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. In order to control this he had to take powerful drugs daily but, according to Wikkipedia, was not always consistent in doing so with tragic circumstances...

On Jan 13th 1979 Donny's body was found on the sidewalk beneath the Essex Hotel in New York. On investigation it appeared that Donny committed suicide from his 15th floor apartment but he had been recording with Eric Murcury and James Mtume earlier that day and had been saying some very strange things, so much so in fact, that the session was stopped and Murcury and Mtume went home. We will never really know for sure what happened that day now but what is certainly true is that the world lost one hell of a talent that day...

To celebrate the life and times of Donny Hathaway and to remember him to the world at Christmas I am happy to present here the 'funky' Christmas song Donny left us with 'This Christmas'. Do yourself a favour and check out more of this great mans music - it really is good for the soul...

'The Art Of Going Mad Decorating The House At Christmas'

I absolutely love people who make a real effort to decorate their homes in the run up to Christmas. As long as they don't put the decorations up too early they can go as mad as they like and I often stop, take a long look and have a smile. There is something magical about the power of light and when darkness falls in December if its not too chilly I often go for a walk around my area to look at peoples decorations. When I see a large Christmas Tree twinkling back its good will message to you through their living room windows it really makes me feel welcomed and as if I'm enjoying the same festive feeling that whoever lives there has got. Many a time I am tempted to knock on the door and say a few words. How lovely it would be to be asked in for a Christmas cuppa and a chat... Somehow, I never do though, people today are much more suspicious and scare very easily. I'm not the best looking chap in the world but I'm not the scariest! The sad thing is though that the PERCEPTION today is that people you don't know are to be feared whereas in the old days you were simply a 'neighbour from up the road'.  If I see people about in their front gardens or driveways though I often pass on a compliment. Sometimes this leads to a pleasant conversation for a few minutes with a mutual 'have a good christmas then' at the end. I'm not lucky enough to have a special lady, have no kids and I've never been married either so I often feel a bit 'left out' as much as I love the festive season. Little chats, smiles, waves and get-togethers with friends really help so much so please think of those you know who are unattached this Christmas. As wonderful a time as it is it is often pretty lonely for a lot of people and a tiny gesture of kindness can make a HUGE difference to someones day. 

The pictures you see here are of a house of VERY Christmas people I know who live in Battle, East Sussex. I am an amateur recording artist and have written a number of Christmas songs with Harvey Summers (that man again!). The first new Christmas song I recorded is called 'Its Christmas Time (Christmas All The Year Round)' and for the video for it I asked the inhabitants of this house whether they'd mind if I filmed the outside of the house. I'm glad to say that the family were only too happy to help and my video has now had over 9,000 views on my Youtube channel! ( Maybrick44)

Its amazing what fun you can have with a small video camera and the determination to sit and edit things until you are blue in the face using imovie. Just take a look at this...

'A Christmas Tale (Or Two)'

I have always been a bit of a joker and love to throw people into a state of confusion every now and then. I have also been known to dress up as Santa and turn up at parties dressed as the old gent. The twist to the story, however, is that I REALLY AM Santa but don't let on to anyone I told you...

Anyway, the tale of one of my funniest moments ever as my alter ego, is bound to make you smile so I am posting it here. I am a regular contributor to a local magazine called 'Hastings Town' and the following piece was published in that magazine a year or so ago. I swear on my mothers life that every word of the following is true so don't think for a second that it isn't. Yes, I really am that potty when it comes to Christmas!

The above photo was taken in Bruges, Belgium at Xmas 2005. I took a Santa outfit with me on holiday and then surprised everyone (including the tour operators and hotel staff) by coming down for dinner on Xmas eve dressed as Santa. 'Just popped in before my big nights work' I told them!

‘A Christmas Tale’ by Tony May

I always like to write something Christmassy and light hearted for the December edition of ‘HT’ and so this year I thought I’d take a leaf out of our old friend ‘Jimper’s’ book and recount to you the story of my most extraordinary (and I promise on my mother’s life –TRUE) Christmas experience of all.

Now, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to work out that, for a 45 year old, I’m not your ‘usual candidate’ (Cowboy hat anyone? No? Really?) or a stereotypical male but Christmas is one time of the year when it can be a great advantage to be a bit ‘odd’ or to have a reputation as ‘a bit of a nutter’!

Why? Well, I have a little secret that not many people know about – I like dressing up… No, not in women’s clothes (ooh, you lot always think the worst of a guy) but as Santa Claus and I have done a fair few ’nutty’ things dressed as the old gent over the years.

The funniest instance of all was when (having just joined Shorelink Community Writers Group in 2004) I turned up at their Christmas party dressed as St Nick complete with full beard, hat and a sack full of presents slung over my shoulder. The then Shorelink Chair, Robert Brandon, opened the door to me and the look on his face was priceless! Robert obviously had no idea who I was but how could anyone refuse Father Christmas entry to a Christmas party? Realizing this and for a bit of devilment, I decided to wait a while once inside before revealing my identity. Witnessing Robert stumble and fluster whilst trying to introduce me to all present was truly hilarious and when I finally did pull my beard down and take my hat off (its really hot in all that garb I can tell you) everyone had a right laugh and Robert and I have been good friends ever-since!

In fact, that night will live long in my memory for a lot of reasons as I had been causing similar havoc about Hollington before even making it to the party (which incidentally was held at the recently demolished ‘Nicola Rodmell School Of Dance’ in Silverhill).

Dressing up in a Santa costume is not quite as easy as it may seem. As any professional will tell you, trying to make sure your beard doesn’t fall down, that your whiskers don’t tickle your nose and make you sneeze and to get those large black boots with sleigh bells attached on at all takes a monumental effort. Because of this and having planned a lift to the party with a friend, I got into my outfit at home. Well, in the end this friend rang me to say he couldn’t make it! So, there I was dressed as Santa Claus with no way of getting to the party? What could I do I thought? Surely, if I was to call a taxi and tell them that ‘Father Christmas wants a lift to Silverhill’ I would either be told sarcastically to ‘use my sleigh’ or they would think my call was a wind up and not show up - no buses were running either so that option was out.

Thus it was that, like some scene from a badly written script for ‘Only Fools & Horses’, I eventually WALKED up to Silverhill wearing the full costume. Doing so was not only one of the most bizarre and comical things I have ever done but THE most revealing about human nature. The vast difference in how people reacted to me was amazing. Lots of people waved and honked their car horns as they drove past and a fair few of their children nearly went into orbit with excitement in the back seats. Reactions were much more mixed however from those I actually came across in the street. Most were friendly and shared a word with me or pulled my leg but some seemed frightened and deeply suspicious of me and kept their distance. Until then, I would never have thought it possible for anyone to be wary or scared of Father Christmas but I suppose people are so used to hearing of terrible things these days that whenever they cannot clearly see your face they automatically fear the worst.

You can imagine the chaos I caused then when en-route I popped into ‘Costcutters’ in Battle Rd (it was a ‘bring a bottle’ party). After casually plodding around to the drinks section and selecting what I wanted, I calmly went and joined the queue for the tills. How hilarious that must have been for those watching the security cameras upstairs. That must be one of the most boring jobs of all time and I bet they rubbed their eyes a good few times before believing what they were seeing! The lady in front of me in the queue saw the funny side of it though – “I never thought I’d be queuing up with Santa Claus’ she said with a smile. I have to say the staff were all very nice too and so, overall, it was a happy experience.

Best of all though was the incident that occurred just before the Silverhill traffic lights…

Walking fairly briskly and ‘jingle-jangling’ as I went, I started to make up ground on a woman walking alone ahead of me. Eventually, I saw her quite naturally glance back over her right shoulder to see what the noise was. What happened next though I swear happened in true ‘Laurel & Hardy’ style, for after walking on for a few seconds as if everything was perfectly normal, the lady’s head whizzed around again and she stopped dead in her tracks. “Ho, ho, ho” piped up I and waved – trying to be friendly.

Well, whether in shock, fear or utter disbelief, thereafter the woman stood motionless until I reached her. “Its o.k. I’m on my way to a Christmas Party,” I said, smiling (but failing to realize that she wouldn’t be able to see my smile because of my beard). To my relief, the lady fell about laughing at this - more so in fact than I expected.  The more she tried to compose herself and speak to me, the more she once again burst into a fit of giggles. Well, as often happens in such circumstances (this happens to you a lot then? –Ed) it wasn’t long before I started to laugh as well!

When, finally, my newly found friend regained her composure, she told me of how she’d been under a lot of strain recently following a bereavement and some financial difficulties and to her alarm had been acting a bit strangely. Fearing she was ‘cracking up’ she’d gone to see her Doctor who’d prescribed her some pills - a side effect of which could be hallucinations!

“You can well imagine then how I felt after glancing behind me to see Santa Claus walking calmly behind me in the street!”

The lady and I continued on our way for a few paces together before going our separate ways at the Silverhill traffic lights…

“There’s no way I’m going to tell my family about this as, with all my recent problems, they won’t believe me and I will probably end up sectioned!” she said with a huge smile upon her face as she left.

That lady (I don’t think I ever did get her name) and I shared a ‘one in a million moment’ that day and it is still nice for me to think back on how I, in my stupidity and with my Christmas sense of fun, provided someone with a badly needed reason to laugh at life at just the right time. I bet she still thinks of our chance meeting at least once every Christmas, like I do!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! 

'Lonely This Christmas'

Talking of this blog serving as a Christmas Hits Jukebox I'd like to start off the festive hit selection with this No 1 single from MUD from 1974.  For a number of years in the late 70's and early 80's (typical me to go mad on someone or something when their/its most successful days were over) MUD were my favourite band. I used to love Les Gray especially and used to dream about being a singer like him. The strange thing though was the fact that I never really considered MUD to be a Rock N' Roll band but more of a rock group. Hits like 'Dyna-Mite' and 'Rocket' seemed more rocky to me that Rock N' Roll  but then I always have been an awkward git who sees and feels things other people don't (or simply wouldn't bother to!).

However I remember the band, there is no denying that MUD's performance of this song on the Christmas TOTP where its snowing and Les Gray has a ventriloquists dummy on his knee has to be one of the most memorable TOTP performances of all time. The decapitation job Les performs on the poor little guy Tommy Cooper would have been proud of! But then that is what I love so much about the 70's Glam Rock era. Bands/artists did not take themselves so seriously as they do today. There were a lot of 'charachters' in the charts (Alice Cooper, Roy Wood (more about him later), Alvin Stardust, Mark Bolan, David Bowie, and my idol (O.k. I made a bad choice but its true!) Gary Glitter and along with bands like The Sweet, Slade, the aforementioned Glitter Band and others musicians had real identities then. Today, I would not recognise most of the most popular musicians if they sat down next to me in a bar and offered me a drink? I mean, how many people in the 70's would have recognised Dave Mount - the drummer with MUD but can you even tell me who plays the drums for Coldplay?
I met Les Gray's brother, Pete, once but thats a story for another day - now on with the music...

'A Song For Christmas'

A project I am currently working on is the massive task of trying to collate a list of every U.K. Christmas hit single. As a lover of both music and Christmas I am loving the work and doing quite well so far. Some of the accepted Christmas hits like 'The Power Of Love' by Frankie Go To Hollywood I really cannot see the Christmas connection with but, hey, ho (or ho! ho!) if it jingles your bell then I guess its Christmassy! One of the best ever Christmas records (Sadly) not to make the chart was 'A Song For Christmas' by John Springate. The record was released twice in the early to mid 80's but failed to make the chart on either occasion. Rather than upload something universally popular to introduce the 'Christmas Video Jukebox' you can come to expect on here, I thought instead I would give you a chance to see the original video for 'A Song For Christmas'. From 1985, here John Springate himself, introduces the song and tells us a little about how the song came about and its history. John was of course a member of one of my fav Glam bands of the 1970's - The Glitter Band his sparkle for the festive season continues to brighten up my Dec 25th each year...

'The Snowman And The Girl'

I am such an old softie at heart and the biggest kid on the planet still at age 48 and so every year when Christmas comes around I get inspired to either write a Christmas song, story or poem. This poem shows what a romantic old dreamer I am. Idealistic, simplistic and childlike it relies on quite a few old Snowman cliche's (and sounds better when I read it aloud that it probably reads off the page because I know how it goes!) but I still want to share it with you! 

‘The Snowman & The Girl’ by Tony May

There was a lonely guy

With Charcoal for his eyes

Who one cold December morn

Found himself born

In a field upon a hill

He stood no shelter from the chill

Of the blast of winter winds

Raindrops as sharp as pins

Then one day he chanced upon

A girl singing a sad song

Her love had left her cruel

And she knew not what to do

Reaching out a twig

His wooly scarf he did give

The girl to dry her tears

His words to soothe her fears

Soon they fell in love

Like two turtle doves

They spent their time together

No matter what the weather

On Christmas day they were wed

Inviting all their friends

Owls and foxes,

The kids from the boxes

It all seemed so right – a very happy sight

Dancing shadows on the ground

That giggling musical sound

Then one January day

The snow cleared away

Leaving nothing of her love

Though she found his hat and gloves

But that night the frost was keen

And upon her car windscreen

The next morning she did find

A letter her love had signed

It said I will be away

For its hard to say

But if you trust in me

I know that we’ll see

Days as before

When the wind blows from the north

All my love for now

From your beloved frosty clown

Cry no tears tonight

For I am alright!

And so my story ends

Of the snowman and his friends

Of the girl and her love

Of two turtle doves…

Antony May 6/12/12

'A Snow Story'

This is a video I put together a few years ago. 'A Snow Story' forms part of a poetry/music concept album entitled 'In Words, In Music...Of Life, Of Death' and is all about how young you suddenly feel when the Christmas spirit grabs a hold of you! I wrote the poem after catching a snowflake in the palm of my hand while walking back home from work one day. I am a HUGE fan of Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' and think it the best story ever written. A lot of my Christmas musical pieces are thus inspired by the Dickensian era and I love to evoke thoughts of the simple Christmas gifts people used to give to each other back then. To think how magical an Orange might be to a poor boy or girl in Dickens time is still for me an inspiration and I often yearn for life today to be less complicated than it is...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little film. It was filmed  at the nature reserve at Church-in-the-Wood, Hollington, Hastings on a magical 'Narnia' like wintry day. I use Church-in-the-Wood quite often to film videos as you will see if you check back here regularly. The music was composed by the brilliant, Harvey Summers and recorded at Broadoak Studios - more about him and there later...enjoy!

'Santa's Tale Of Woe'

I'd like to begin this blog with a poignant little story I wrote back in 2004 that for me sums up how sad it is now that the evils of a few have been allowed to dominate our thinking in such a way as children - who will ask to be picked up or hugged as soon as they clap eyes on Santa Claus - have to be denied the joy that a warm embrace gives. The really sad thing about this is that we (adults) understand why a big hug is no longer possible but kids do not and must often feel unloved and rejected. My question for you all to consider therefore is, by protecting them from the ills of the few are we doing more damage by denying them the love of the masses? I think so...   

Santa's Tale Of Woe by Tony May

“I teetered precariously on the precipice of life I can tell you” said Santa to Mrs. Christmas shaking his head sadly. Mrs. Christmas handed her husband a glass of mulled wine and gently squeezed his lower arm. “They said I was no longer allowed to touch any of the children, me! Santa Claus! Can you believe that? What good am I if I cannot show love and affection to all the children of the world teaching them in turn to show love to others?”

Santa put down his glass of wine and with his elbows resting on his knees, began to sob uncontrollably. Mrs. Christmas’s eyes narrowed in sympathy. “There, there, dear” she said softly standing behind her distraught husband and gently placing a caring hand upon his shoulder.

How it made her blood boil to see her wonderful, caring and conscientious husband so distressed. She had a good mind to use the sleigh this minute, go to earth and give all those overly paranoid, politically correct busybodies a piece of her mind! Had people become so afraid, suspicious and distrusting of evil that they were no longer able to see the good in any of us? For every peadophile amongst men a million others were loving, gentle and kind-hearted. If the world had banned hugs and kisses then the whole of humanity was doomed. For, without hugs and kisses love cannot grow and in a world without love there would no longer be a need for Christmas!

Contemplating such horrible thoughts made Mrs. Christmas begin to well up. Desperate to appear strong for her still sobbing husband, however, with one last ounce of strength she heard herself say…

“Now, now dear, do not trouble yourself so. I will be back soon with a nice cup of tea and a sherry mince pie – you’ll feel much better then”.

Once safely out of sight and earshot of her husband in the kitchen, Mrs. Christmas allowed herself a little cry. How could the people of earth be so stupid, she thought? Did they not realize that without the time of reflection that is Christmas people would become disconnected from each other, greedy, uncaring and selfish.

“Pull yourself together Amelia! There’s nothing to be gained by falling apart,” She thought to herself…

Wiping her eyes with the bottom of her pinafore Mrs. Christmas swiftly set about filling the kettle with water and put it on the hearth. Then, a few minutes later, all smiles, she made her way back into the living room a tray containing a fresh pot of tea and a plate of sugar dusted mince pies in her hands.

Thankfully, by this time Santa had managed to compose himself once more and was sitting quietly in his favourite armchair staring at the Christmas tree - his still booted feet resting on a footstall. 

“I’m sorry darling,” said Santa managing a weak smile.

“Perhaps I am just a little tired and out of step with the times. Has the post arrived yet?

“Not yet dear but it shouldn’t be long. You pull off those boots and relax in front of the fire – I will see to Rudolph and the other reindeers tonight”.

Santa smiled warmly. “You’re a good woman, Mrs. Christmas, a good woman,” he said tenderly.

Mrs. Christmas placed her ‘tray full of comforts’ down on a small table nearby and walked over to the door to grab her coat.

“Now don’t let your tea get cold. Will you?” She said as she opened the door.

Stepping out into the cold winters eve, Mrs. Christmas gazed up at the stars as she walked the few yards from the house to the ‘magic calling point’.

“Rudy! Rudy!” She shouted.

Almost immediately the sound of sleigh bells could be heard and a few moments later Rudolph’s red nose could be seen glowing like a headlight in the night sky. Then, as if by magic, Rudolph and the other reindeers slid the sleigh to a halt in front of her.

Mrs. Christmas went over to the sleigh and stroked each Reindeer’s coat affectionately.

“You won’t be needed again tonight dears”,she said, releasing each one in turn from the harness on the heavy sleigh. “Off with you now back home to your families but be sure to listen for our call tomorrow”.

One by one the Reindeers galloped off into the night sky. Rudolph, however, seemed reluctant to go and sidled up to Mrs. Christmas nudging her gently with his glowing red nose.

“Yes Rudy, I know, you’re worried about him too. Mrs. Christmas gave Rudolph a loving pat and gently pulled his silken ears.

“Don’t worry Rudy, I’ll make sure he’s fine again soon.”

Rudolph’s nose flashed on and off – something he only did when he was happy – and then with a shake of his antlers he flew back into the night sky.

Mrs. Christmas stood in the snow and watched Rudolph until she could see only the tiniest speck of his red nose in the distance. What was to come of the festive season, good will to all men, love peace and understanding, she thought?

Walking back to their tiny house her spirits were suddenly given a tremendous boost for, the closer to home she got, the louder the sound of her husbands laughter became!

“Ho, Ho, Ho”

“Ho, Ho, Ho”

“Ho, Ho, Ho”

“Ho, Ho, Ho”

Mrs. Christmas wiped the snow away from outside the front room window and peered into their home. There, the morning post scattered about him, was her husband joyously looking at thousands of Christmas cards from the children of earth. With every primitive drawing of himself he came across so another ho, ho, ho, erupted and with every letter he read so the broadest smile swept across his face.

Mrs. Christmas smiled. No one could ever come between her husband and the children of the world she thought for he, after all, was the biggest kid of all…

Antony May 11/12/04