Cliff!
Ha ha! Reminds me of...
'What do you call a man with no arms and no legs in a pile of leaves?'
Russell
laughing even more...
I just read that first joke in 'thelondonpaper' (a free publication that gets handed out to pedestrians everyday during rush hour), and had to share the joy.
Something else I just read 'thelondonpaper' that wasn't so funny: sunset is at 3:58!
That is just not right.
I used to gripe about the winter in Chicago when it would be getting dark as I was leaving school at 4:20; I never thought it could be worse! And it will get even worse, since the 'shortest day' of the year isn't until the end of December! I might cry if the sunset time starts to get too close to 3:00. Pair an early sunset with a gloomy, cloudy, rainy day in London and you might as well put your pjs back on after lunch because there's not much hope for daylight on days like that. It's difficult to get motivated to do things outside or to leave my room when it gets dark so early.
The thing about cities is that they never actually get very dark because there are so many street lights, etc. Plus, with the addition of Christmas lights strung everywhere, it's almost as light at 8:00pm as 8:00am.
Christmas lights have already been up in London for a while. Just like in the US, it appears that the beginning of the Christmas season is getting earlier and earlier. But since there's no Thanksgiving Day in the UK, no one can use the 'celebrate one holiday at a time' arguement against this trend. Most of the controversy I've heard about lighting up London so early revolves around wasting electricity and fossil fuels--which is also a valid point. I wish the fanatical holiday decorators in the Chicago suburbs would consider this argument a bit more.
On Saturday I was pleasantly surprised to come across a large decorated Christmas tree in Covent Garden. However, as I walked closer, my holiday cheer faded... the tree is scrawny and it is poorly decorated. If this is London's equivalent to New York City's in Rockefeller Plaza, it's a sad comparison. I took a picture of it, but the patheticness of it can't be fully captured with a camara so you'll just have to trust me that you're not missing anything.
A couple of weeks ago I was on Regent Street which is also decorated for Christmas. There are some elaborate light banners strung up across the street from building to building. Looks quite pretty at first until you notice that the banners are decorated with characters from an animated movie that's coming out soon. I'm not sure if these can be considered Christmas decorations. But actually, maybe that's the point--they wouldn't want to imply anything religious about the holiday because people might be offended. How thoughtful.
Something else I just read 'thelondonpaper' that wasn't so funny: sunset is at 3:58!
That is just not right.
I used to gripe about the winter in Chicago when it would be getting dark as I was leaving school at 4:20; I never thought it could be worse! And it will get even worse, since the 'shortest day' of the year isn't until the end of December! I might cry if the sunset time starts to get too close to 3:00. Pair an early sunset with a gloomy, cloudy, rainy day in London and you might as well put your pjs back on after lunch because there's not much hope for daylight on days like that. It's difficult to get motivated to do things outside or to leave my room when it gets dark so early.
The thing about cities is that they never actually get very dark because there are so many street lights, etc. Plus, with the addition of Christmas lights strung everywhere, it's almost as light at 8:00pm as 8:00am.
Christmas lights have already been up in London for a while. Just like in the US, it appears that the beginning of the Christmas season is getting earlier and earlier. But since there's no Thanksgiving Day in the UK, no one can use the 'celebrate one holiday at a time' arguement against this trend. Most of the controversy I've heard about lighting up London so early revolves around wasting electricity and fossil fuels--which is also a valid point. I wish the fanatical holiday decorators in the Chicago suburbs would consider this argument a bit more.
On Saturday I was pleasantly surprised to come across a large decorated Christmas tree in Covent Garden. However, as I walked closer, my holiday cheer faded... the tree is scrawny and it is poorly decorated. If this is London's equivalent to New York City's in Rockefeller Plaza, it's a sad comparison. I took a picture of it, but the patheticness of it can't be fully captured with a camara so you'll just have to trust me that you're not missing anything.
A couple of weeks ago I was on Regent Street which is also decorated for Christmas. There are some elaborate light banners strung up across the street from building to building. Looks quite pretty at first until you notice that the banners are decorated with characters from an animated movie that's coming out soon. I'm not sure if these can be considered Christmas decorations. But actually, maybe that's the point--they wouldn't want to imply anything religious about the holiday because people might be offended. How thoughtful.
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