Now’s the time to plan your festive viewing, says Terry Starr from our Housing Support team. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of…
Never be frightened of saying that you watch the television over the festive break. The Christmas card image of people travelling home for the holidays with a big family group is a fantasy and is unrealistic.
Many people have a quiet Christmas: I myself will be with my younger brother watching some sci-fi DVDs and having some luxury coffee. I think that this year we are watching Jurassic World 2.
I also have a selection of DVDs that I have bought through the year from Bristol’s many charity shops. I will spend special time relaxing on the sofa catching up on them. This year I’ve got some great documentary DVDs that were first broadcast on the Discovery Channel, things on the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks.
When I am bored with all of that, I shall listen to some radio. As an old time radio fan, there is always a wealth of stuff on over the holiday period. BBC networks such as Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra will have a wealth of plays, drama and documentaries to choose from. The fact that the radio regulatory authorities are on their holidays as well, means that many pirate stations know they can operate without being raided. I expect to hear a few stations on FM, plus on medium and shortwave, a great many unlicensed stations from the continent where broadcasting is much more of a hobby than here.
You see, we don’t do big Christmases in my house. And on New Year’s Eve, I shall put on BBC Radio Four (93.7 FM or 198 kHz longwave) for the midnight chimes. And have a quiet cup of tea.