Christmas Links #4

Stars In Their Eyes - Christmas Special 1992:
"Stars in their Eyes Christmas Special recorded from ITV in 1992. Favourites from the first 2 series join together to perform a special version of Do They Know it's Christmas."

Taste test: the cast of Mother Goose rate the best festive fizz:
"The opening, last night, had been a triumph. The first schools matinee, this afternoon, met with near-riotous approval (the kids, wildly excited, had just piled out of the doors). And this evening, there is no show. So were the cast of Mother Goose, the Hackney Empire’s gloriously raucous annual Xmas pantomime, up for blind-tasting a few bottles of seasonal fizz, from basic supermarket plonk to one of the best bubblies in town? Oh yes they were …"

Christmas 2014: 14 best turkeys:
"Finding the perfect turkey is the first step to a memorable Christmas Day. But with so many on the market, choosing the best festive bird can be mind-boggling. This is not helped by the myriad of differing needs that families have. Whilst some want frozen, others want fresh. Whilst some want just a crown, others want a huge, whole bird to feed hoards of hungry relatives. And for many, the most important factor of all is that the bird has been treated well."

18 Surreal “Star Wars” Scenes From A Galaxy Not So Far Away:
"Artist Thomas Dagg has found unique and subtle way to incorporate Star Wars into seemingly ordinary modern scenes."

All your secret santa woes are over, with The 12 Rubbish Novelty Mugs Of Christmas:
"It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the time to buy something a bit cack for the office secret santa, or for family members you know next to nothing about. The perfect solution: an ‘amusing’ mug!"

New York Christmas Tree Lit Up:
"The giant Christmas Tree in New York's Rockefeller Center was lit up after a ceremony that included performances from Trisha Yearwood and Mariah Carey."

White Christmas:
"Bing Crosby dreamt of it, children wish for it but what counts as a white Christmas and how likely is it to happen? BBC Weather's Sarah Keith-Lucas explains."

Newly discovered letter reveals what really happened during the 1914 Christmas Day truce:
"The Christmas truce may have become one of the defining episodes that shapes our perception of trench warfare in the First World War, but a recently discovered letter shows how the event impacted on the soldiers on the front line in 1914. "

The New Statesman Christmas campaign 2014: end the detention of women seeking asylum:
"This year’s NS online Christmas campaign supports for Women for Refugee Women, a charity set up by longtime contributor Natasha Walter. The NS has covered the conditions at the Yarl’s Wood detention centre before, for example in this piece by Laurie Penny; this by Caroline Criado-Perez and this by Alan White. It is shocking that women who have often experienced sexual violence are locked up indefinitely while awaiting deportation, and Natasha’s work with WfRW has always foregrounded the words of those who have been through this process. Read Alice’s story below, and support our campaign by joining the 50,000 people who have already signed the Women for Refugee Women petition. "