must have Monday: Christmas jumpers

It's no secret that Christmas is my (2nd) favourite time of the year - only just beaten by Eurovision - but in all my Christmassy obsession, I have never once owned a Christmas jumper! I have never bought myself one, nor have I ever had one bought or knitted for me. I know, right - unbelievable! I'm not even sure if I would like one ironically or actually genuinely because Christmas is the most fun time ever.

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be ironic.

I know most people think Christmas jumpers are uber naff, but I think they are simply charming! And if these awesome chaps can get away with it *cough* then so should we all be able to!

Poor Kanye wishes he could pull off an ironic Christmas jumper as well as Cee Lo and Snoop Dogg...

If you care to compete for the title of most ridiculous Christmas jumper ever, how about one of these a.m.a.z.i.n.g.l.y hideous jumpers? I especially like the beautiful Elvis one...

nutcracker >> 12 days of Christmas >> *light up* pink houses!

joy >> Elvis >> bears in stockings

baubles >> reindeer and snowmen >> more snowmen

If you don't like any of those (inconceivable!) then how about you make your own like Lindsay did?!

Finally, I should have guessed that these guys would have beaten me to it - don't they all suit their swanky Christmas attire? Love it!

{Mr Elk} {cat} {bear}

{polar bear} {armadillo} {sausage dog}

{fox} {cozy fox} {cat}

So, how do you feel about Christmas jumpers?

I hope it's a bit like this...

the lost treasures of Vixie's studio

One of the best things about tidying my studio and forcing myself to sort out boxes from my childhood/teenage years, is the magnificent lost treasures that I've found - the most recent being this little gem:

This game was released in 1989, the year of Jason's first solo number one - 'Too Many Broken Hearts' - in March (after having had a number one hit with Kylie in January 1989 with 'Especially For You') and I'm pretty sure that in 1989 I would have been waaaay too young to have had this bought for me, so I must have bought it, with a sense of retro irony, as a teenager later in life. Possibly even when I was at uni.

I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I still listen to Jason Donovan (in fact, I'm listening to, and thoroughly enjoying, his Greatest Hits as I write this) - his delicious pop treats are timeless classics!

Go on, indulge yourself:

Now, back to the game - the objective is to collect puzzle pieces and "win the heart of Jason" by answering questions about him and the occasional truth or dare style question about your own love life. It sounds bloody brilliant - anyone want to come eat ice cream and play it with me? In fact, it sounds as though it'd be a good pub game...! Come on, let's do it!

Amazingly, it's never been rated on BoardGameGeek... but don't worry, we can change that!

non-ironic (almost) patriotism

If you had asked me a year ago, or even just 6 months ago, if I would take any interest in the Royal Wedding, I would look at you as though you were mad. Don't get me wrong, I bloody love weddings (lucky really, what with having to plan one) but this is a wedding between two people I don't know and will never meet, so it seemed a little futile to take any interest. Plus, they are members of the Royal Family, which in itself is a concept I have always been a little wary of...

Oh, how much can change in 6 months! My obsession in the Royal Wedding began with an intense, mocking sense of irony, as such things often do, but I found myself watching the wedding with a sincere smile and such genuine enjoyment that I can no longer possibly believe it is just an ironic fancy. Oops.

My cultural identity shouldn't really be something I question, it should be pretty straightforward: I was born in and grew up in England, and my family are Scottish. However, I have never thought of myself as British - I think of myself as 'European'. I feel as though I am unlike the majority of Brits in many ways: I am fiercely pro-Europe, I travel the continent as much as I possibly can, absorb myself in the cultures of the countries I visit and always learn some of the language, out of respect as well as genuine cultural interest. On my many travels in Europe, I most often get mistaken for a German or Scandinavian tourist - it never occurs to people that I am British, so it never really stuck with me either.

The day of the Royal Wedding was the first time I have ever had any sense of pride in the nation, or any inkling of feeling British. The merriment that was shown by (almost) the entire nation couldn't not have had any effect on me - I immensely enjoyed seeing all the bunting and flags, seeing excited faces in the crowd outside Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, and found I was excited myself while waiting for the royals to appear on my screen.

As for my original thoughts, "why should I care, I'm never going to meet them..." etc, I have realised that isn't really the point: this wedding was the coming together of two young people in love, one of whom happens to be royal, and who will one day be King of this country. They are well-loved by the public of the UK and beyond, and give a very (unusually) positive impression of the British Royal Family. So good, in fact, that even my opinion changed.

a royal prophesy

I sincerely hope the Royal Wedding tomorrow will be something like this:

yet more Royal Wedding fun

With all the excitement of cardigans and Ikea, I have completely forgotten to update you on the progress of my Royal Wedding souvenir sticker album! You'll be pleased to hear that it is almost full up! I was very kindly sent some "swapsies" by my friend Jason who has now completed his album, and that certainly helped.

In keeping with the Royal Wedding theme, I had a little look on the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) online shop this morning and was thrilled to see a whole range of Royal Wedding themed bits and pieces, including:

Wills and Kate teabags

a replica engagement ring

and this fantastic notebook

I'm sure one day I'll have the opportunity to write all about my Royal Escapades in a book like this! One should always have a dream, I suppose.

All pictures from the V&A shop website - the entire Royal Wedding collection can be found here.

forgive me my irono-patriotism

Some common stereotypes of the British are: they all drink vast quantities of tea (guilty), obsess over the weather (guilty - I even have a wall chart of all the cloud types in my bathroom), have no sense of humour (nonsense!), all talk in Cockney Rhyming Slang (only ironically) and love the Royal Family. Now, I'm sure the Queen is nice enough, but I don't generally go in for the whole Royal Family "thing" that a lot of British people (and even more tourists) do. I don't own a single commemorative Royal Family plate, thimble, ceramic bell, coin, teapot or eggcup. I'm sorry to disappoint.

However... after saying all that (and apologising even!) I have to slightly take it back... a bit. The forthcoming wedding between Wills and Kate has changed me. For the worst. Gone are the sneers of derision and complete indifference of all things Royal-y. I bloody love Wills and Kate! So much so that I am calling him "Wills" instead of "William". I don't know what has happened to me. I think it was the discovery of this:

I know the picture is small, but the concept more than makes up for it! It's a Royal Wedding Souvenir Sticker Album. Oh yes. And I have just ordered myself one. I know, I know, but it's irono-patriotism, so surely it's OK?

Buy your own here! Go on! Do it! Then we can play swapsies!