Winter Solstice

Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat.
So fat that their bones are brittle,
their little legs can't support their huge bodies
and their feet become deformed.
Actually the gruesome programme I saw was about the mass production of that other Christmas bird, the turkey, but I don't know any rhymes about the fattening of turkeys. Many turkeys are reared in a state of almost total darkness, and packed dangerously close together.
Turkeys are woodland birds, who are happiest when feeding under the shade of trees, in which they can sleep at night. There are a lot of turkeys needed for the Christmas market, but it would be nice to think that the bird you're going to eat has had a less than miserable life before ending up on your plate.
I love eating them though. Christmas dinner is without doubt my favourite meal of the year, by a long way.
I like Christmas in general, though I can't seem to muster as much enthusiasm this time as I have other years. I'm suffering a little from those damn Winter blues.

Still, now that the shortest day of the year has come and gone, from here on out things can only improve. Ever since I've been a child I've always wanted to visit Newgrange on the Winter solstice, and watch the light flood down through the tomb. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to see it in person, but it must be pretty spectacular. It shows just how important this day must have been for our ancestors, and I think it's a pity that it seems to pass us by these days without any one really noticing.
After all, it is the very heart of Winter.
From now on, the long dark nights will begin to recede and the days will lengthen.
Yesterday marked the return of the sun.