By Barry Speker OBE.
The compendious Christmas Card list may well be a relic of bygone days, particularly with the introduction of the lazy practice of transmitting emails and e-cards – not even the need to affix a signature.
Remaining on a list would be at least a tenuous retention of friendships, relationships or acquaintance. A death would justify removal or commission of some heinous crime or transgression.
Now it is down to strained family Budget leading to the list being culled – especially as the cost of a first-class stamp has risen to an eye-watering £1.65.
Not receiving what was a regular card from you may be taken badly. It has been suggested that if sending 70 or more cards, an economy flight to post them from a charming European capital would be cheaper.
As Elon Musk worldwide influence increases, most recently from his appointment by President-Elect Trump to head up the Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX and Tesla continue to flourish. Bur what of Twitter now known as X?
Only 10% of the UK are now on it compared with 46% of the population who are on Instagram or 68% who are on Facebook.
It seems young people are not on X. They are on Tik Tok. X is dominated by media, cultural and political figures.
However it was important enough for the world’s richest and most controversial man to pay $44 billion for it. He uses it to attack Keir Starmer and is facing an EU wide ban if he does not comply with regulations against fake news. It became full of the highest proportion of disinformation posts.
There was nothing to replace it – until BluSky appeared. On 14 November a million people decamped from X to BluSky and the next day another million. Its users rocketed from 9million in early September to 20million. Its CEO Jay Graber said that 10,000 were joining every 10 minutes, as well as big news organisations including The Times, The Sunday Times, Channel 4 News, the BBC – as well as Carol Vorderman, Stephen Fry, Rory Stewart and Stephen King. Even Clifton Suspension Bridge, Stonehenge and St Paul’s.
As this epic migration of media, politics, celebrities and landmarks to BluSky will it be fated to become as awful as all other social media which went before?
How long before Elon Musk becomes irritated by its BluSky thinking and shells out a few billion dollars to buy it?
You may well plan to see the new film version of Wicked as a Christmas treat. I may give it a miss having endured the live show in London some time ago and despite my granddaughters assuring me it was a great show, I dozed off.
The new film -worryingly described as Part One, stars Ariana Grande. Cinemas are warning audiences the ‘silence is golden’ and they should not singalong as this would affect the enjoyment of others.
Certainly it would not disturb performers on screen – but it could awake those who might be enjoying sleeping through the film.
The Farmer v Starmer rally of more than 10,000 protestors in London wanted to impress upon the Labour Government the continuing contribution of Britain’s farmers to the country’s fortunes. They complain about the heavy blow dealt to the sector by the changes in inheritance tax announced in the Budget.
Agriculture provides half of the food consumed by British households and employs half a million people. They are suffering from various factors – climate change, reduction in subsidies and competitive pressures arising from Brexit and pressure on margins.
The government mistakenly views agricultural assets as an easy source of revenue. Although land values have increased, the inheritance tax change will be far from painless. The threshold of £1m is far too low. The Budget proposals will catch a substantial number of ordinary family concerns in farming. They will be discouraged from engaging in long-term investment. If family farms are not supported they will wither and die. We will reap the ill benefit by increasing what we need to import.
Labour won 100 rural seats at the election. Keir Starmer had said he wanted a relationship with the countryside based on “respect and genuine partnership”. He added “Once a family farm has gone it can’t be brought back”. Nor can their trust!
I was persuaded that I would enjoy ‘An Evening with Lucy Worsley’ at the splendid Tyne Theatre. The eminent historian, curator, author and television presenter was promoting her new book on the life of Jane Austen. The theatre was packed with an enthusiastic audience in rapt attention at the detailed account. A surprisingly entertaining evening.
I wish you all a very happy Christmas and an Insightful 2025!
barryspeker@hotmail.com