With predictions of stealth tax rises an lots of games of 'kite flying', where policies are floated in the newspapers to ascertain public reaction, the budget is now less than a week away. The level of speculation has been off the scale, and whilst few people say they would love to pay more tax, something has to change to make up the shortfall
I'm not going to make this week's column a purely political piece, but just an observation. In the last week or so, there has been feverish briefing against the Health Secretary Wes Streeting to several of the national newspapers, which suggests that someone close to the Prime Minister is feeling concerned about a possible leadership challenge. The phrase you might have heard is the 'Westminster bubble', and it's a very clear example of that phenomenon. Whilst most are worrying about putting food on the table, keeping their businesses going, etc, politicians often seem to be fighting like rats in a sack. The weekly spectacle of Prime Minister's Questions does little to convince me that many of our elected MPs are in touch with real folks' concerns, as the session largely consists of point scoring, buck passing, and assidiously avoiding questions.
Elsewhere this week, we've been debating when to start playing Christmas songs on Tameside Radio. Although some have replied with 'Boxing Day or never', I think most agree that hearing too much Shaky and Mariah in November spoils the magic a bit, so you won't be hearing any festive tunes until at least the last few days of this month. When I was a lot younger, the battle for the coveted Christmas number one was a really big deal, but I've not seen much about a race for pole position this year. I guess the whole idea of the chart has somewhat lost its gravitas in the streaming age, and the X Factor somewhat spoiled things with a succession of mind-numbingly anodyne efforts in the 2010s. One contender is a new song from Kylie, as she repackages her 2015 festive album and gives it even more festive sparkle, but sadly I don't think Cliff is in the running.
Leaving aside music, festive food is already taking over the supermarket shelves, with Metro recently reporting that M&S shoppers have been left flabbergasted over a 'ridiculous' £195 Christmas dish by Tom Kerridge. It's been hailed as the 'ultimate showstopper' for the yuletide dinner table, and is a 'whopper of a Wellington' that we are told serves six. Mind you, Haribo class a 'portion' of Tangfastics as a small handful of no more than ten sweets, so I'm sceptical.
The dish features portobello mushrooms, chicken mousse duxelles (it's a French term, apparently), and a hint of black truffle, all parcelled up inside an all-butter hot water crust pastry, served with a beef and red wine gravy. I'm sure it's tasty, but £195? Really?
Another strange trend this year is the sweet sandwich, which began with M&S again and their infamous strawberries and cream sarnie released around the time Wimbledon was taking place. It felt a bit like revenge against their hackers earlier in the year, and tasted a bit like a disappointing slice of cake. Sainsbury's, not to be outdone, have just unveiled their Mince PIe Brioche Style Wrap, which I have to confess I did try and really enjoyed, in spite of myself.
I know some friends who are such grinches they won't even eat a festive sandwich until December, but I love trying unusual food, so it's never too early for me on that front. A ludicrous survey by pie-makers Fray Bentos out this week found that Yorkshire puddings are the number one 'controversial Christmas dinner delight'. If you're not serving up my native Yorkshire puds with your turkey roast, frankly you're not doing it right.
Finally, how down with the kids are you? "Parasocial" has been named word of the year by Cambridge Dictionary and involves someone feeling they have a connection between themselves and a famous person...or even an AI chatbot. There are reports of people asking their smart speaker for life advice or even chatting them up. It's a strange world at times. Other words that made the cut this year include "skibidi" (no idea), "trad-wife" (short for traditional wife") and "delulu". Ditch all those, and let's bring back some good old-fashioned words and phrases at risk of dying out, like "groovy", "a few sandwiches short of a picnic", and "a load of codswallop". Like this column!
Alex Cann's weekly blog - 9th January
