Everywhere you look Christmas trees and decorations are springing up - it started even in November!!! I think its a sign of the times, people are looking for some joy and colour in a world which feels very hard and austere at the moment... and its true - life for a lot of people is hard, and I worked for many years in a social welfare setting that often sent me home appreciative of what I had - especially at Christmas time. The television is still full of adverts for luxurious presents and supermarkets showing tables groaning with food - totally unrealistic even in a good year - but this year, while every bit of press scaremongers us into thinking the world is ending- we will all die of hypothermia or starvation - we are still encouraged to buy buy buy.. and celebrate this festive season with greed and gluttony - it feels obscene - yes this is a rant - and I am well aware that many - too many- people are in fuel poverty and food prices have escalated beyond commonly acceptab...