Christmas Links #23


When 25 Women & a Civil Engineer Decide To Build an 18-Foot Christmas Crochet Tree Together:
"In Goa, 25 women and a civil engineer came together to build an 18-foot Christmas tree made entirely of crocheted yarn. Created by The Crochet Collective, the installation revives a fading craft, centres women’s labour, and offers a sustainable alternative to plastic-heavy festive décor."

"The surprise message that led to a Darlington woman’s starring role in a new Christmas Eve drama on BBC Radio 4."

"Baubles and ornaments sent the author wheeling through time and space. How do they affect you?"

"I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree."

"Escaped animal was seen chasing a woman around Upper Seagry and trying to munch on a festive wreath."

"We often imagine medieval life as dull, dirty and short, with little in the way of material comfort or decoration. However, medieval Londoners were importing toys, treats and trinkets by the boatload centuries before the modern festive rush."

"This story came to me in a dream earlier this year. A MR James-esque tale (says author Jonathan Morris)."

"St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury is in its own right a fixture on the town's tourist trail."

"Welcome to tv.garden, your gateway to free live TV streaming from anywhere.  Our goal is to make discovering and watching global channels as easy and enjoyable as possible."

"Pulling the rabbit of verbal spontaneity from the hat of immediate circumstance."

"People even send spies to the rehearsal rooms."
on Saturday, December 20, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #22

 
The 12 Days of Christmas Movie Quiz:
"Yes, for the first time in four years, we're trying to find film questions about French Hens."

"We asked 121 contributors – British and international – to pick the top ten movies they'd seen in 2025. You can browse all 433 choices they nominated here."

"It’s been another busy year for Ofcom’s broadcasting standards team. We’ve received almost 50,000 complaints about more than 8,000 TV, radio, and on-demand programmes, a clear sign that audiences care deeply about what they watch and listen to."

"Shrieking Victorian phantoms, dastardly occultists and Christopher Lee’s vast head … here we reveal the finest Christmas chillers there ever were."

"MP Tulip Siddiq says decision must be reversed as decisions sparks instant backlash."

"Kylie Minogue has scored this year's Christmas number one, deposing Wham!'s Last Christmas, which topped the chart in 2023 and 2024."

"There are movies that have been memory-holed and movies that are cursed."

"A woman said she was left "terrified" after a goose crashed through her front door as she watched television."

"After coming together and pooling resources to save Christmas for the town’s most impoverished family, a tight-knit Nebraska community reportedly did jack shit this week to make the holiday better for its second-poorest family."

"Dave Willat was just 11 years old, wearing cutoffs and a T-shirt on a warm September evening in 1965, when he showed up for what he thought would be a routine choir practice at his church in San Rafael, Calif., a small city about 20 miles north of San Francisco. His voice was on the cusp of changing, and he expected to rehearse the usual Sunday hymns."
on Friday, December 19, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #21


"In their first-ever feature-length festive spectacular, Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are joined by special guest Mark Gatiss, as all three nominate their favourite and least-favourite Christmas specials."

"...adapted by Eddie Robson and Jonathan Morris respectively, are full-cast adaptations of two little known Christmas tales by Charles Dickens, now available to purchase as a download."

Evri dumps parcels for multiple customers miles away on driveway:
"A pile of 14 Evri parcels has been discovered on a driveway in Coalisland, County Tyrone."
Editor's Note:  Evri are the absolute worst.

"Royal Mail seems intent on adding a new Christmas tradition this year: baffle customers by closing post boxes just when they’re needed most."

"2026 is set to be a phenomenal year for cinema and TV. In our Modern Visionaries portfolio, we met 34 of the names currently moulding the face of Hollywood."

"It’s a time for sharing, so in a spirit of goodwill to all cinephiles, a dozen directors, including Guillermo del Toro, Wes Anderson, Alice Rohrwacher, Luna Carmoon and Steven Soderbergh, choose their favourite Christmas films."

"Christmas is known as a time of indulgence and overeating, but some festive foods might actually be beneficial to our health."

"Forecasts of print’s demise have been around for as long as press barons have been buying ink by the barrel. We asked a panel of print icons how the medium has fared in the first quarter-century of this millennium."

"Ever wonder how ghosts can reveal more about the living? In ‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas,’ Mulder and Scully face not just supernatural tricks but a haunting reflection of their own fears and partnership."

"Early last year, Lauren Laverne was standing on stage with Sir Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen – as you do – while the latter gave an acceptance speech at the Ivor Novello Awards."

"From flaming time-killers to franchise-branded blazes, TV fireplaces are now "home for the holidays" to stay."

"Christmas party food, Soreen Salted Caramel Lunchbox Loaves...."

"“Minute for minute, I think Morecambe & Wise is costing [ITV] more than The Sound of Music is costing us”, surmised Bill Cotton, controller of BBC-1, as he announced details of the channel’s Christmas line-up for 1978."

"British academic and his Nigerian wife repeatedly stopped from hosting family members, including at their own wedding, due to visa restrictions brought in by Keir Starmer’s Government."
on Thursday, December 18, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #20


"Hello and welcome to our round-up of the funniest things we’ve seen on Bluesky over the past year."


Editor's Note:  I'm experimenting with Sill (not not that one) which filters your BlueSky timeline down to just the links and it's turned this up, the modern equivalent of the old BBC tapes.

"Following such a lovely positive response to last year’s 1974 edition, I’ve created another special time travel listings magazine. Once again, you can travel back 50 years into Christmas TV’s past. The Christmas Radio TV Times gathers together numerous TV programmes from Christmas week 1975, across both the BBC channels and ITV."

"Celebrate winter - and NOTHING ELSE - with our list of recommendations."

"The 72-year-old dubbed Britain's most festive man has put up 25 Christmas trees – but admitted he had to "downsize" this year."

"After watching The Avengers’ Too Many Christmas Trees for Telefantasy Time Jump‘s Christmas Special (out…sometime this month!! I should really check these things), I felt compelled to return to a few Christmas telly favs to try and life my mood during this week of Eternal Rain and Wind and Grey Omg When Will It End."

"Gather round the fire, everyone, and let me tell you a story. It has everything you could want in a Christmas blockbuster: superheroes and villains, a car crash, children singing, a mystery to solve and even a cameo appearance by Bart Simpson."

"From a John Cusack 80s teen comedy to the other Frank Capra Christmas crowd-pleaser, here are some seasonal picks you might not have seen."

"The risk of having a heart attack or stroke rises during the holiday season, with a spike in cardiac deaths between Christmas and New Year's. "We definitely see it in the ER over the holidays," says Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist who leads the Framingham Heart Study at Boston University School of Medicine."
on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #19


"We are about to get a "post-American internet," because we are entering a post-American era and a post-American world. Some of that is Trump's doing, and some of that is down to his predecessors."

"The rise and fall of my favourite subject."

on what we get from individual word choice, what good writing is, plus: what I put in my ChatGPT settings to make it helpful

"A man said his children were left "devastated" after discovering their Christmas decoration had been destroyed."

"It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we all look forward to the same thing, and that is watching the same Christmas films we've seen countless times. But is that a bad thing?"

"These films attest to the range of human expression that’s vital to understanding the context of the age we live in."

"This is the way I make my mince pies, and there is no changing me or them: they are small, to be popped straight into the mouth in one go; the pastry is plain, the better to contrast with the rich, fruited filling; and they have not full casings but little stars as lids, which makes them look beautiful and taste flutteringly light."

"Season’s greetings can become a sound investment."

"There are 20 off screen images from the missing Doctor Who episode The Feast of Steven. Using the camera script, I've endeavoured to work out exactly where in the episode each image comes from!"

"A game of solitaire accompanied by a nasty note, dog food for someone who just lost a puppy … Secret Santa is supposed to be fun, but when it’s not, it can lead to all kinds of trouble."
on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #18


"In this seasonal special, judges Anna Campbell-Jones, Banjo Beale and Danny Campbell travel across Scotland in search of a festive delight of a home. Scoring our Christmas contenders on distinctive festive design, seasonal style and yuletide spirit, which one will dazzle our three wise judges?"

"Christmas is here, and that means gifts, excessive eating, and some of the cheesiest music imaginable."

"Your tips and tricks for cutting festive waste; how to host the perfect Christmas dinner; and the best pyjamas for cosy nights and lazy mornings."

"From the train journey to a cheeky pub visit, here is what I learnt from my first experience visiting Bath's Christmas Markets."

"From crackers, to cards, and even Christmas lights, London is the origin of many Christmas traditions."

"Seasonal workers encouraged to check their pay to ensure they're not out of pocket."

"Authorities in Gdańsk have warned the public not to mount the city’s festive decorations after two women fell through the base of a huge Christmas tree."

"A couple who have illuminated their house every Christmas for more than 50 years have decided to pull the plug on their festive displays."

"“Christmas at Pemberley Manor” and “Romance at Reindeer Lodge” may never make it to Oscar night, but legions of fans still love these sweet-yet-predictable holiday movies — and this season, many are making pilgrimages to where their favorite scenes were filmed."

"International medical students from sunnier climes will find the cold, damp and lingering darkness of a British winter quite a shock. Here are a few tips on how to survive it."
on Monday, December 15, 2025 0 comments Labels:

Christmas Links #17


"Festive feasts and flavours to inspire and delight this Christmas. Explore Christmas cooking with Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, Mary Berry, The Hairy Bikers and more... "

"From choosing frozen turkey to shopping supermarket specials, the traditional meal need not break the household budget."

"Christmas has arrived in a Warwickshire village as its annual festive statue makeover is unveiled."

"'If you’re not out there in the area, nobody knows your name and people soon forget you'"

"Major-General James Wolfe died a national hero in Quebec in 1759, having led British forces to a key victory over the French."

"A few days ago, McDonalds Netherlands posted an absolutely horrid Christmas ad generated by AI."

"To mark a decade of festive puzzles, our in-house puzzlers have masterminded seven fiendish brainteasers and teamed up with schoolchildren on three festive designs."

"19 boats braved cold and breezy conditions at the annual Dovestone Sailing Club Christmas Plate open meeting. The day consists of three races with one discard. Boats of many classes competed using PY time adjusting handicaps."
on Sunday, December 14, 2025 0 comments Labels:
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