Xmas is everywhere
(Amazon Music Original – Eve),
Neither Christmas nor Eve are words that have much use to our marketing departments. Xmas is a good way to get the holiday and its spend to a wider incidence by taking Christ out of things.
Eve is a great girl but not a descriptor of a day’s significance other than as a day to give people something (source AI- Oxford)
Presumably courtesy of some keen marketer!
Kylie started out ten years ago with Christmas but that really wasn’t meant to last so let’s look back at the original album with wistfulness.
Working day for grinches 
I will sit down with my team this morning with half of us working tomorrow on Christmas (it’s not an Hindi thing). We will have to find a quiet room in the family house in Shaftesbury to discuss CDC, SIMPI and NDAs, all of which need work on them if AgeWage is to progress to a pension mutual. I have been told that “mutual” is another dying word but it stays for this Christmas!
We will do a full day’s work , though we won’t spoil it for those who see Xmas Eve as an opportunity to take money from us. The roads of Shaftesbury in Dorset were heaving with vans delivering last minute Christmas presents to families using Amazon, Tesco and many other fine marketers of Xmas wonder!
But for me and my team, today is a work day and tomorrow a sacred day to Christ. So Mr and Mrs and Ms and other gender contrivances, I will not wish you a happy Xmas Eve gift as I am no doubt going to have to in future years. I will side with the grinch.
It is Amazon not Christmas that is everywhere
‘Twas Amazon killed the High Street.
“The decline of the UK high street since the 2008 banking crash is alarming. Blame it on austerity, Brexit or political incompetence. Each could win a prize in that competition.
“However, the reality can be boiled down to a simple equation. The average working person has less disposable income to spend which, in turn, causes two things to happen:
1. We have less money to spend
2. We become more ‘choosey’ about where we spend our money.
“So, you’d think with that in mind, shops, restaurants, and even town centres would up their game, reduce prices, and try to attract consumers to their premises.
“But no. They did the opposite. They chose the route of mediocre goods and services at high prices. From ‘shrink’ and ‘greedflation’ to poor service and uninspiring layouts, retailers and councils have truly taken the mick out of consumers for the last 16 years.
“Leaving people to do the only thing they could: vote with their feet.
“Shops and restaurant chains have gone bankrupt, and yet we keep seeing them blame the same thing: ecommerce.
“From delivery apps to online shopping, almost all those responsible blame the internet for their demise while neglecting the part they played in it.”
Andrew Holland writing a year ago.