Anthea Turner
How I See It...
Hello,
Well – the good news is Christmas is definitely happening. It says so on my calendar, church noticeboard, in My Weekly, and when I popped into Pets At Home they had a mountain of squeaky plastic Brussels sprouts, Christmas puddings, turkeys and pigs in scar ves, all waiting to be destroyed by eager pooches on the big day. However, the press have recently been doing what they do best: scaring the stuffing out of us with headlines indicating our festive season is going to be a sad, frugal affair due to deliveries being hindered by Brexit or Covid.
LOOK FOR THE PATTERNS
If any of these prodding pins are bothering you, let’s take a moment to regain a little perspective. The best way to do this is look at the past because generally there lie most of the answers. A friend of mine who is a successful trader taught me about patterns. Ever ything has a pattern: trees have patterns, this magazine has a pattern, entire countries have patterns, viruses have patterns and it’s by looking at patterns that analysts predict the future (and therapists tell us what we’re going to do before we’ve done it, because they’ve worked out our patterns).
So, was there enough petrol, toilet rolls, pasta, tinned tomatoes and flour? Yes, there was and the only reason they were in shor t supply was because media hysteria had us preparing for Armageddon which never actually happened. Admittedly there are a few supply problems, but if we keep calm there is enough to go round and trust me, we’re not going to star ve. On the subject of toys and the No Turkeys For Christmas headline, Lord, give me strength. If it was the nation’s favourite food we’d have a KFT on ever y high street – and Blue Peter proved the intricate Tracy Island musthave toy could be constructed out of papier mâché, a yogur t pot and a few pipe cleaners.
TALKING TURKEY…
I honestly welcome a quieter retail Christmas. It’s been a long time coming, and maybe in its place we will turn our attention to the real meaning of the festive season which is seeing and remembering people we love. So don’t get your knickers in a twist, keep expectations manageable and go with the flow. As a Girl Guide back-up plan, grab yourself a plastic turkey from the dog toy shop. It’ll raise a laugh as you tuck into a far more palatable alternative. Although thinking about it, I should knock up a papier mâché one out of all those scar y headlines, and for glue, use the excess flour I have in my cupboard!
Love, Anthea X