And Then, May I wish You All….

…seasons greetings and  may I proffer a virtual handshake of friendship to all who drop-in and take a moment to gaze into the Foggy Mirror.  Also to the writers of the Blogs listed on the left who, over yet another year, have informed, entertained and amused me so much. And a special thanks to those who’ve returned my virtual handshake. It’s appreciated and humbling. So many good people and I’ll only ever meet them as bits and bytes.

Very best wishes to you all and, of course, to all who do business on the sea, or in far away places and inhospitable locations who find themselves away from home at this time. Take care and get home safe. 

As usual from me at this time of year, you’ll find Desiderata over here.

Don’t forget to go Elf Yourself.  Is that cleaver or wot? My little nest of vipers is still rolling about, helplessly, on the floor. Wot? No, I’ll untie her for teatime……

Right, as I’ve been in repeat mode lately, I thought I’d repeat the bit below from back in 2010. Back then it was a bit of a joke – sadly, it seems to get less of a joke with every passing year does it not?

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it's difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on advice I wish to say the following;

Please accept, with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that England is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms;

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for him/her or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Quote;  Johnny Carson.

“The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.”