What should we prioritise covering when we’re cold? Obviously the torso is usually a good plan. After all, it is where most of you is. Also, head is important: after all, the sole purpose we have hair is to stop our heads from losing heat as the brain uses the most energy of all the body. Then, of course, priority should go to the parts of the body exposed, such as the fingers, ears etc. What is often neglected though, much to my large annoyance, is the humble nose.

Yes, while other parts of the body get priority (Ears – hat, Neck – scarf, Fingers – gloves), the nose is often ignored as far as a means to stay warm goes. This is in spite of the fact, it bawls mucus and gunk when it is left unattended. Why? Emskilicious mentioned to me the other day that it is often the nose being cold that is the source of flu and colds. Yet, no-one seems to care, we’re all to happy to keep snorting away like a pig or smearing their nostirls with their dirty hands ’til we die a cold death!

It’s particularly odd considering that most of the other measures for keeping warm don’t actually do all that much. Okay, so not covering your ears give headaches, that’s a pretty good reason for wearing hats I suppose, but why on earth do we require gloves, more than nose-warmers, when most items of clothing have pockets? It may make you look “Un-Victorian”, but it’s nothing compared to sniffing like you’re trying to snort a lamp-post. And scarves? They keep your neck warm. But what does that even do? I don’t think, in my entire life, even in the coldest tundra Surrey has to offer, have I been relieved that the scarf has existed. I know I’m being ignorant, but I most of the time, whenever I wear a scarf, I find myself wiping my weeping nose on it and wishing it covered something else.

I remember at primary school, one person chose to wear a balaclava and it’s occured to me since that this seems a good plan of action. Indeed this is it’s original intention of the balaclava, to keep your face warm. Apparently, they were given to British troops in the Crimean War (ALL HAIL WIKIPEDIA! FOUNT OF ALL KNOWLEDGE!). However, it’s a bit ugly and it’s fairly understandable how it came to be used for much more sinister motives. It is essentially a great mask. However, on this line of argument to what extent do scarves, gloves and hats disguise or even destroy our identity as individuals though? Essentially, they all alter our appearance. How much is too much?

I would draw the line at a balaclava, but I still think this nose problem can be solved. Thus, I propose the nose-mitten. Why not? A woollen strap which fits snugly round the head and holds your nose in place. We could even wear red rudolph style bulbs over it and say that we’re fundraising for next year’s Comic Relief. After all, Global Poverty doesn’t just exist once every two years. I’m off to Dragon’s Den. At the very least there should be plenty of fire there (please comment below if you think Dragon’s Den should contain a real life dragon).

The holiday’s over, term resumes.

I’ve just got over the Sunday blues.

I’m very glad the first and worst day is almost over, as I’ve had to hand in a whole heap of essays (yes, two does constitute a heap!). Now I can relax and enjoy the fact I’ve got only 4 hours a week of lectures. It’s a lot worse than it sounds. When you do an English degree you live an English degree. It feels a bit strange, as it’s been such a lovely holiday, to go back now, it’s very sad. In reality, I just want to go back home and play some Mario Party 8! No video games for me until I finish in May.

Hold on, doesn’t this sound like exactly the same whiney tone that I put on when the Christmas holidays were just about to start? Maybe I just don’t like change. I’ve always been a creature of habit. After all, if it wasn’t for my parents, I’d still suck a pacifier and have the Mr Men on my bedroom wall. I used to (still) love the Mr Men, I had the whole collection!

…until they brought out more. I got a Mr Men book for Christmas: “Mr Good”. Apparently the latest in the Mr Men Canon. Obviously the person my dear mother (who is brilliant and lovely by the by) identifies me with (or maybe she’s just trying to give me ideas). I know it’s defeating the point of Mr Men as they are supposed to be symbolise particular characteristics that make up a the human race, but if I were one I would be Mr Bump. He was my favourite one and I’m always getting my clothes caught on door handles, dropping things and generally clumsy. I think my fiancee would say Mr Greedy based on the way I eat though. Mmmm…I’d love to sample the Giant food in that book!

Anyway, that’s a digression. I’m sorry for all those I offended for not having any exams this year, rest assured I’ve got 30,000 words to write over Easter. I love the holidays…

So, I should start by saying Happy Christmas to everyone. Which I will do now…

Happy Christmas!

I’ve had a bit of a nomadic Christmas holiday so far this year. Beginning with a 5 hour train journey to Pembrokeshire, ending with spending Christmas day itself with my Mum’s side of the family in the opposite side of the country. I’m proud to say that I finished my Christmas shopping on the 21st this year, pretty good for the male sex, so no Jingle all the Way this year. I feel I should write something exciting for my Christmas post, but in a way, like many Christmas orientated things, it will probably fail to live up to expectations.

Just out of interest, how many people feel Christmassy this year? Because by my experience I’ve not encountered one person who does, including myself. I reason that it’s probably work-related, but I felt a lot more like Christmas was coming two years ago for instance and I still had work then. It leads me to question, is this totally psychological or is it something real, but intangible?

The world we live in is one in which logic is the predominant mode of thinking, but more recently I’ve found this means of reason limiting. The basis of logic seems to be to explain phenomena using alternative phenomena in the same universe. For example, we explain the existence of rainbows, a strange visual phenomenon, by a means we can understand; the refraction of light into a spectrum of colour by means of photons through the water droplets of rain. We can understand the other objects in this explanation (Rain, light etc.), but we’ve added a name (refraction) to this process. The process is the key reason behind the cause of the phenomenon, but it doesn’t explain the reason why it shouldn’t do it.

What I am getting at is the essential question: Why wasn’t the world configured in a different way? Why is the world like it is? Why do I, as a consciousness, inhabit my own body and not someone elses? Despite my ability to empathy, I can’t experience growing up in Africa, because I wasn’t born there, fact. But why wasn’t I someone else, born somewhere else, with a different name? More than this, what was I before I was born? What will I be when I die? Why is time what it is? And so on.

To be logical is to ignore these questions and to exist within this earthly sphere, adhering to rules laid down upon us from our very birth. The moment we are brought up, we are learning things all the time and these things are means of surviving in the world (logic doesn’t separate us from animals for nothing). To be logical is to accept things as they are and to eradicate everything that doesn’t fit. I know scientists will contest that last sentence, as they use logic as their means to search for meaning, but unless peer pressure comes into question to change a law, there is evidence of this in everyday life. For instance, how many people would believe someone who said they’d seen a UFO, claimed they’d been miraculously healed, or that they’d seen a ghost? It happens constantly, but time and time again, regardless of how sane an individual they are, they are never believed. Personally, I don’t think this is wrong, but my point is that the maintenance of the collective order comes above the individual experience and everyone knows it. People claim that they would believe a miracle, but the fact is, they could be happening all the time and no-one would be taking any notice. Essentially I don’t belive that adults don’t learn; they merely build on what they already know. It’s easier that way. It is only when a new environment is produced, an open-mind can be created in which learning can resume.

Sorry to end abruptly, but it is an impossibility to express an alternative to logic as a means of thinking without becoming implausible and airing too many of my personal views for any readers’ liking. I’m reluctant to write what I think, because I don’t think anyone else would be completely happy with them, as my set of beliefs (which have been drilled into me from birth as have they yours) are essentially different. However if you still really want to know what I think you can e-mail me at lukesaunders@hotmail.co.uk. This aside, I hope that within a quiet moment this Christmas, people will be able to think further about what are the most important questions in life (and I’m not talking about It’s a Wonderful Life style families and White Christmas romances). It’s a question that is impossible to solve collectively, but it’s one to which I believe that everyone can have a personal answer.

What would Christmas be without the stress of Christmas shopping? Possibly more of a time for goodwill to all men, instead of a time to shoulder someone as they go past. Almost everyone has to deal with it at some stage, to the extent that you start wishing that you were on your own and could just relax this year. However, as with everything, life is simpler on your own, but not as fulfilling. Anyway, I’m digressing and I’ve got a way to go yet. In these months of December, Cosmopolitan magazine always do their bit on what to buy for Christmas (I’m reading it for my course, which I may choose to explain in a later blog, check around April!), so I thought I would bring my two cents (Sense and SIMONS) to the affair.

Before you ask, I’ll Reveal (women’s magazine reference number two) that I did much of my Christmas shopping with my fiancee this year in Cardiff, or the ‘Diff as it’s supposedly known by the locals, as well as Caerdydd (roughly pronounced Car-dee-th) in it’s native tongue. While we were shopping it occurred to me how different in ethos the shops that we went to were. I know that it’s obvious, but it struck me to the extent that instead of thinking about the presents, I started comparing and contrasting the shops, and yes, my fiancee does have the patience of a saint! Anyway, in order to stop me bothering my fiancee any further about it, here is my very special: Christmas Shop Review! Where and where not to go this Christmas. Below are the shops I visited in Cardiff, I will mark them in terms of Simons (Stars in my opinion naturally). Five Simons are good and One is better than nothing. Anyway, without further ado…

Cardiff Violins: My fiancee and I went here to fix the bridge of her viola. It wasn’t very festive in honesty though there was, typically for the Welsh, a ”Vote for Rhydian” flyer. The staff were friendly and accessible though and it had a relaxed atmosphere too. They even let us keep our travelling bags there (Cardiff was en route to visiting family) and walked out with a lighter case. A quiet and cosy little shop. This for me gives it FOUR SIMONS.

Millets: We went here looking for a platypus water-bottle and ended up tragically losing it. It’s a clean and spacious shop, but there wasn’t really anything remarkable or Christmassy about the place. Still, good prices. TWO SIMONS.

Primark: Was this a shop? Or was this hell? You could only tell it was Christmas by the big SALE signs. It was big, but very crowded. People bustling about everywhere, none of them happy. It was a stressful experience all around. It was cheap, but in honesty that’s not repaying the customers for their inconveniences! What I really didn’t like about this shop was that it seemed based on exploitation. Walking around here felt like we were being herded. It was so busy, I had to wait in the queue while the fiancee picked up another item, emerging from a mist of people then vanishing again. The stressful environment just didn’t allow us to talk. The treatment of the staff wasn’t good either. They had to line up in a row heading tills in the midst of a massive queue. There was no management staff in sight and there were no chairs. The staff couldn’t possibly move, but just to make their work a bit more unpleasant, the management still felt the need to remove these comforts. As William Morris says (and I’m not a communist by the way) work shouldn’t be about working unpleasantly, but having fun. He’d be rolling in his grave in the midst of this hive of consumerism by the way. When my fiancee told me of a rumour that they were exploiting of workers in foreign countries, that was the final nail in the coffin for me. To sum it up, as one passer-by said seeing the instore chaos: “I’m not going in there”. ZERO SIMONS.

LUSH!: Going in here, I was well on my way to forming opinions: this is a girl’s shop etc., but in actual fact it was excellent. Of all the shops I visited, this was one of the ones with the most Christmas spirit. Mince Pies were offered to guests coming in, Everybody inside was in festive costume and, though it was extremely crowded, the staff had time for everyone and wore a smile. They looked like they really enjoyed their work and I found a shop, totally foreign to my natural interests, really interesting. It was beautifully decorated too. You might say it was LUSH! FIVE SIMONS (And none for that pathetic pun! Even worse than s’candle’ous)

JJB Sports: Okay! We only came in here because we were looking for TK Max, but we found a member of staff immediately and they were extremely helpful in their direction. The shop wasn’t overly Christmassy, but then I don’t have too much scope for marking. THREE SIMONS.

Game: Yes, we still hadn’t found TK Max, so this was my reward for staying interested. I love Video Games, though I never play them now I’m at Uni. I did get a bit addicted to Championship Manager and International Cricket Captain last year however (I should mention these were the 2002 and 2000 editions)! Anyway, as usual in this type of shop, Games were the main attraction and there was nothing Christmassy bar the marketing. We didn’t talk to the staff much. In honesty, though I love this shop, it only receives: TWO SIMONS.

TK MAX: This was the moment my fiancee had been walking around the chilly ‘Diff for. This is her favourite shop. It was very big and spacious, but we were disappointed about the range of womens clothing there was on the day (luckily I don’t mark SIMONS on this basis). Still, we bought a lovely pair of shoes and purse. There was a little difficulty in getting a price for the purse, but the staff were smartly dressed and the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. My fiancee was just about to turn her attention to me, when I was saved by the fire alarm and everyone was told to evacuate the building. A popular 90s TV show springs to mind. THREE SIMONS.

Pizza Hut: It was getting to two o’clock and I was starting to get cranky with hunger. So we chose this place out of the lingering memory of the fabulous warm soft cookie-dough desert with wholesomely sweet chocolate sauce and a large light scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just thinking about it makes me drool. Anyway, we got in pretty quickly, as it wasn’t overly busy for Pizza Hut and asked if we could order the Meal for Two, to be told to wait because people were in front of us. We hadn’t usually been told this, but I admired that at least it prioritises those who come in first. However, it was another 15 minutes before we could place our order and after this another forty minutes before we got our starter: Medium Pizza with Mushrooms on one half and Olives on the other. Ravenously, we wolfed that down, before we got our main course almost immediately after, potato wedges and garlic bread. Hold on a minute… It may sound a bit snobby me saying this, but to me, appetisers are meant to fill the gap in which we wait for food, and I was really hungry. After this we ordered our prized desert, once we got someone’s attention. However, there was much confusion over this as well. In the end after much staff squabbling between who we gave our order too we got the desert, half an hour later. It wasn’t just timings which were bad, although the staff who seemed to be working was apologetic, it was just the fact that no one seemed to know who was doing what. There was a total break down in communication and at one point we noticed a verbal conflict in the kitchen. The knife-edge atmosphere made it a very unpleasant place to be. I know Pizza Hut have served better in the past however, I went to a chain in Staines a few times and Paris and the staff were really good. However, here, no-one seemed happy, everyone confused and many of the customers, myself not included, were unsurprisingly giving complaints. I love Pizza Hut, but on the day that deserved a stone wall: ZERO SIMONS.

Unfortunately, by this point, we had spent so long in Pizza Hut that we didn’t have time to do anymore shopping, so we had to go to Haverfordwest instead. One more person to do shopping for now, my fiancee herself! Christmas, alongside Valentines Day, Anniversaries and Birthdays, is one of the most hazardous times for relationships, but luckily, from this shopping experience, I have a few tricks up my sleeve this year. It was a really interesting experience looking at all the shops and thinking about how much of an effort each high-street chain puts on for Christmas. What are the best and worst shops other people have experienced this Winter?

It’s a sad time of year. The days are darker and colder, and the end of University life is a term nearer. Plus, you get nice depressing blogs like this one. I begin today the process of leaving what has been my habitat for the first term. Some will be happy in the fact that they can have a much needed chill out (pardon the pun) over Christmas, whilst others, like myself, will feel a pang of longing in leaving such an established life where they’ve forged their own identity, having instead to substitute it for the role that they used to adopt in their safe and cosy home. The worst thing is that I’ll have to move out as well and suffer to see my room bare as a skull. That’s always the most depressing part.

Having said this, Christmas this year will be great for me, as I’ll have my beautiful fiancee with me the whole holiday (she isn’t going to China this year!). Plus, my family has a Wii!Looking back on this term has been a fantastic one. Work has gone swimmingly and I’m well on my way to my target of a 2.1. In addition to this, I’ve been able to spend more time doing what I enjoy, volunteering with the elderly. I also have been free enough to have some lovely times seeing my fiancee and have made new friends. I’ll always have these good memories.

However, I can’t help put feel the strong pungent pang of regret accompanying all of this. My health hasn’t been as consistent as it usually is and as a result of being busy, I’ve been forced to drop a few things that I’ve really enjoyed in the past. Ultimate Frisbee is one of these things. And no, it’s not a dog’s game! I’ll explain the rules if anyone’s interested. Not only is it a great sport (yes, you heard me!) because of the taste of competition, but because of the fun-seeking spirit in which the game is played.

Yesterday, in Crosslands, I saw a few old friends prepare for the end of term training, by putting on festive clothes, which were totally impractical but simultaneously hilarious. It reminded me of doing the same in my first and second years. I was supposedly “Santa’s teenage son” as I couldn’t be bothered to dress up properly. Naturally all teenagers rebel against the traditions of Christmas. One guy also dressed in a snowman outfit, with a huge round head. Those were the days.

Later on yesterday, I went to a party of a friend that I used to know from St Johns church before I began going to Windsor Baptist regularly and, again, I was filled with a sense of regret that I haven’t taken enough time to speak with anyone extensively or been more social this term. The combination of work, no MSN and an aversion to Facebook have made my social life suffer this year.

However, what I always forget is that I think like this much of the time because I’m in a heavy state of nostalgia. After all, I had similar feelings last year! How I missed those Founders Fire Alarms!

The obvious solution to this delusional Nostalgia? Get on with your life and enjoy each aspect of everyday. I’m going on holiday in a couple of days time! And it’ll be Christmas soon! And even better news… I’ll still be posting twice a week, by Tuesday and Friday as per usual! Having said this, sometimes I just can’t help myself!