However, if you did venture this way for that reason then there is a good chance that you are in the festive spirit and one thing I can assure you is that this blog post is full of that!
For it is the Sunday before Christmas and my now weekly ritual of settling down to write some words of reflection from the 7 days gone by has coincided with me in high spirits for the week ahead...as it does this time every year!
It does help the week started with only 3 days at work (even if they were a little busy!) before officially breaking up until January 5th 2015! THE 5th...of JANUARY...2015!!! January of the 5th variety! I am only repeating it so many times as I am still in a state of disbelief that what lay ahead of me was 18 whole days away from work!
Now I'm not trying to rub it in for anyone who hasn't finished work for Christmas or have to work over the festive season but I am merely relaying my thoughts on why you find me in such high spirits.
Anyway, next on the festive agenda was a Thursday morning spent pounding the streets of Shrewsbury finally finding time to complete my Christmas shopping...a whole week ahead of the big day...and after 4 hours all decisions had been made, purchases completed and every site even vaguely Christmas related in my hometown had been taken in...I challenge anyone not to feel festive after that!
And if that wasn't enough, Friday was finally upon us...a day that had been pencilled in for months...a day that meant my girlfriend and I would be venturing back down to Ol' London Town for the 3rd and final time this year to stay with friends and gratefully participate in a trip to the Theatre on the Southbank to see the comedic PowerPoint genius called Dave Gorman!
Now I could go on for hours about my love of all things Dave Gorman over the past 15 years but I realise that that sentence alone kind of speaks for itself and I don't want to come across any geekier than I already do, neither do I want to bore those not interested or give away anything for those yet to see this tour.
Needless to say, the man who inspired my style of writing and love of all things graph and PowerPoint related was as incredible as ever and a wonderful time was had by all...well in our party of 4 at least, I can't speak on behalf of the other couple thousand or so people but you catch my drift!
Of course, afterwards as we strolled along the Southbank and back towards our homeward bound destination, we took in all the sights and lights that London had to offer, providing the perfect festive ending to a magical day!
(The London Eye by Night)
Then once Saturday arrived, the festivities just kept on coming as we decided to brave a trip in to Central London to join the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers and peruse the offerings so called "Panic-Saturday" had to offer...even if no panicking was seen, neither were there more shoppers than usual and no hustling nor bustling occurred!
Add in to the mix joining our friends on their drive back up to Shrewsbury for their Christmas break, a road trip filled with Slade, Wham, Girls Aloud (who knew they made a Christmas album?!) and of course Chris Rea, let's just say it was like Top of the Pops Christmas Special...minus Fearne Cotton of course!
All of this topped off with a Sunday spent watching Four Christmases (never seen before but worth a watch this time of year), The Holiday (Manly I know and even though it was my girlfriends' choice, I didn't exactly protest), Sister Act 2 (one of my all-time favourite feel good films and one I'm not ashamed to know word-for-word) as well as Gavin & Stacey, all whilst wrapping the remaining Christmas presents and eating plenty of food, leading to the perfect festive ending to a week of festivities!
So let's do the maths...
18 Days off work + Christmas Shopping + Christmas Lights of London + 3 Hour Christmas road trip with friends + Christmas films and wrapping presents = One very happy and festive Andy!
And as this is more than likely the last blog post from me before you all wake up on Christmas Day to see what delights Santa has left for you, let me wish all my lovely readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...although I will re-empathise this sentiment next week when I post my final blog of the year, a nostalgic look back at 2014 as well as all that 2015 may hold!
p.s. For anyone wondering, the beard still exists...even if the grooming is still a little sketchy!
p.p.s. For those of you lured in by the title, here is your reward for sticking with me...
Twas the Sunday before Christmas
And as I sat on the couch
Hopefully no creatures were stirring
Especially no mouse!
The festive cheer was high
And the big day in sight
As I typed on my keyboard
Hoping to fill you with delight
Only 4 sleeps til Santa
Too much excitement to contain
It seems all the joys of Christmas
had taken over my brain
So fill your days with loved ones
Your nights with festive cheer
Remember to be good boys and girls
And St. Nicholas will soon be here!
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