Between election trails and bushtucker trials, it’s been a mixed week for our columnist, who’s decided to create a NO-vember!
• THIS is the month when lots of people get behind Movember, the annual event involving the growing of moustaches to raise awareness around men’s health. I’m all for a good cause but promoting facial hair is something I can’t get behind personally (although try telling that to my upper lip) so instead I was thinking of drumming up a bit of support for a new movement called ‘No-vember.’
I probably need to work on a better title but basically it’s about putting the ‘no’ into the month. The idea started when a pal and I were walking, and we got chatting about how hard it is to get properly excited, like really and truly beside yourself, about Christmas anymore, because we have so much to indulge in all year round, nothing is really off the table at any stage. Back in the day, the only time we had soft drinks in our house was at Christmas, and the excitement when the bottles of Lilt and Club Orange arrived was off the scale. You daren’t have opened them until December 25th but even looking at them in all their 2L glory was enough to spark real joy. And remember how there was never anything decent on TV except over the festive period? When the bumper Christmas RTÉ Guide came into the house we’d lose our lives going through the schedule and marking what we were going to watch. Sure now we’ve access to so many streaming services that it’s like Christmas night, every night!
I’m not suggesting that we don’t move with the times (and thank god for Apple TV) but I think our parents’ generation had far greater self-control, in general. They took the view that actually, they weren’t worth it! They were prepared to suck things up, get on with it, get over it ... and then December became a time to really enjoy the good things in life, to open the nice biscuits, the fancy chocolates (not forgetting the Lilt!) and to celebrate. I yearn for those days, which is why I’m going to do my best to recreate that magic this year by embracing a simple, almost spartan November. I won’t quite put everyone on bread and water but there won’t be a ‘treat’ left inside the door for the rest of the month, and if anyone dares break rank they’re going straight on Santa’s naughty list!
• I’m also slightly motivated by my complete aversion to Black Friday. The whole idea just gives me the complete pip. As is always the case it’s taking place on Friday November 29th and in keeping with ‘No-vember’ I’m going to solemnly pledge not to buy a single thing on the day. Look, if you genuinely need something, of course it makes sense to purchase when there’s a discount to be availed of, but otherwise, remember that it’s not a bargain unless you need it. Fact!
Ant and Dec are back with the latest series of I'm A Celebrity ... and Emma is watching. (Photo: : Steve Vas / Featureflash)
• Another fact is how bonkers it is that Coleen Rooney is being paid £1.5m for taking part in the just-started new series of I’m a Celebrity. It’s the largest ever deal in the show’s 22-year run. Out of all the ‘celebrities’ Coleen (39) and former boxing champ Barry McGuigan (Thank You Very Much Mr Eastwood!) are the only ones I’ve heard of, which says more about me than anything else really. I’ll still probably watch some of it, to be fair there’s only so much pre-election coverage you can take, and the bushtucker challenges are less off-putting than the promises politicians are peddling at the moment.
• Speaking of the election, the days are flying by at a fierce rate and it won’t be long now until polling day. We’ve had a few canvassers and, true to form, I completely panicked, couldn’t think of anything at all to ask, and pretty much promised them all my number one vote. It’s just as well the elections don’t come around too often as I couldn’t handle the stress of it all. There was one particular evening when I had changed into my pyjamas probably a littler earlier than was acceptable and a car pulled into the drive. I dived down behind the kitchen island, nearly breaking my back in the process, in a complete tizzy. I sweated it out for what seemed like an age, when eventually I realised it was only my sister-in-law, calling to drop something in. What a palaver!
The sooner the whole thing is over now the better, my nerves are shot. I’m hoping the cold spell will deter too many more callers now for the final lap. I absolutely adore this more seasonal-type weather and hope it will banish all the coughs and colds we’ve been struck down with for the past week. The silver lining, though, was being able to justify the odd hot toddy or two, purely for medicinal purposes of course ... definitely not a treat
at all!
