THIS IS AS CLOSE TO A CHRISTMAS PARTY AS YOU’RE GETTING
So come on in.
No need for a limit on the drinks tokens this year – because they’re all on you! You’re so welcome.
Normally we’d kick off our annual virtual Christmas party with a few reflections on the year. But this year we thought – let's not. Instead, let’s jump straight into the action:
We’ve got book recommendations, a bit of creative carol singing, some great tunes and a proper pub knees up.
Merry Christmas!
OUR BOOKS OF THE YEAR
What we read while the world burned
Well, it wouldn’t be much of a Christmas party without a huge booklist, would it? No it wouldn’t. While we all agreed that it was difficult to concentrate on reading this year, the books we did manage to get through helped us a lot. Here are our recommendations from 2020.
LOOKING FOR CAROL?
Creative festivity for the age of COVID
Restrictions breed creativity. In a year where lots of people couldn’t make it to the usual carols shoutalong, churches have had to improvise. The result is a surprisingly impressive array of short movies that bring the festivities into your living room.
There's a trendy modern one here. One for the kids here. And an alternative – but just as festive – one here.
HAVE YOURSELF A TINY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Festive bangers from NPR
NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions have been the best thing on the internet for a long time now. Over the years they’ve hosted some legendary Christmas specials - which have been compiled for your festive viewing pleasure here.
CHRISTMAS DRINKS WITH CHAS AND DAVE
They don’t get their knees up like they used to
If we can only go to the virtual pub this year, let’s go to the best virtual pub ever. The year is 1982. The entertainment is Chas and Dave. The beer is almost certainly warm. And the knees are all the way up!
WHEN ALL THIS IS OVER
A hopeful lockdown poem by Harry Baker
‘The world of everything we knew is somewhere we cannot return. The world of everything that’s new is one we’ll build from what we’ve learnt.’
AND FINALLY, A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE WRITING CLUB DESKS...
WELL, IT'S BEEN A YEAR
Is my microphone on?
It’s been one heck of a ride, hasn’t it? Not the fastest of rides. Or the most exciting of rides. Not a ride you’d want to do again, probably. But a ride, nevertheless.
So thank you for riding it with us. We hope you have a great Christmas.
And we’ll see you in 2021.
