The word that should never be mentioned in November

Country Living with Francis Farragher

If the truth be known, I don’t really mind Christmas that much at all, once it arrives, but it’s the pre-December build-up that often sets off a little tingle of trepidation in my inner-consciousness. Christmas does have its real consolations especially when loved ones are returning from abroad and I suppose that the notion of doing little to nothing for a couple of days – apart that is from eating, drinking and being merry – does give a break to the grind of the normal work regime.

Alas, that doesn’t apply to everyone, with staff required to keep our emergency services and hospitals ticking over, but for the vast majority of the proletariat, there’s at least the little consolation of taking some downtime on the 25th and 26th days of December and on New Year’s Day.

Long gone are my days of making New Year resolutions, but I’ve tended to replace that habit with a list of dos and don’ts that click into place from the early hours of December’s first day.

With the passing of years, the first and golden rule of the festive season is that any post-party hangovers are limited to just one in number.

The zero tolerance approach has been tried in the past with a very poor success rate so at least if a concession is made to have one day of self-inflicted suffering over the Christmas, it can become that tad more bearable, but festive hangovers are truly awful animals.

It probably is an age thing, but it is one of the great feelings of the festive period to wake up in the morning without that little wrecker with a lump hammer belting away persistently at both your temples, and not stopping until the evening sunset arrives.

Then there’s tiredness, both mental and physical, that makes even the most trivial of tasks like emptying the ashes or throwing a few cups into the dishwasher, seem like at attempt at climbing Kilimanjaro. The only modest consolation to be taken from such personal disasters is that they are self-inflicted and that they will eventually go away.

My second great Christmas resolution is not to over-eat on more than four occasions, with the notable exceptions being a couple of party dinners, the inevitable feast of the 25th, and one ‘pigging out’ with a greasy take-away followed by the best part of a box of Quality Street.

For more,  read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and  county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Country Living with Francis Farragher

If the truth be known, I don’t really mind Christmas that much at all, once it arrives, but it’s the pre-December build-up that often sets off a little tingle of trepidation in my inner-consciousness. Christmas does have its real consolations especially when loved ones are returning from abroad and I suppose that the notion of doing little to nothing for a couple of days – apart that is from eating, drinking and being merry – does give a break to the grind of the normal work regime.

Alas, that doesn’t apply to everyone, with staff required to keep our emergency services and hospitals ticking over, but for the vast majority of the proletariat, there’s at least the little consolation of taking some downtime on the 25th and 26th days of December and on New Year’s Day.

Long gone are my days of making New Year resolutions, but I’ve tended to replace that habit with a list of dos and don’ts that click into place from the early hours of December’s first day.

With the passing of years, the first and golden rule of the festive season is that any post-party hangovers are limited to just one in number.

The zero tolerance approach has been tried in the past with a very poor success rate so at least if a concession is made to have one day of self-inflicted suffering over the Christmas, it can become that tad more bearable, but festive hangovers are truly awful animals.

It probably is an age thing, but it is one of the great feelings of the festive period to wake up in the morning without that little wrecker with a lump hammer belting away persistently at both your temples, and not stopping until the evening sunset arrives.

Then there’s tiredness, both mental and physical, that makes even the most trivial of tasks like emptying the ashes or throwing a few cups into the dishwasher, seem like at attempt at climbing Kilimanjaro. The only modest consolation to be taken from such personal disasters is that they are self-inflicted and that they will eventually go away.

My second great Christmas resolution is not to over-eat on more than four occasions, with the notable exceptions being a couple of party dinners, the inevitable feast of the 25th, and one ‘pigging out’ with a greasy take-away followed by the best part of a box of Quality Street.

For more,  read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and  county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.