Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

CHRISTMAS 2005

I always enjoy the run up to Christmas. It normally means a festive feast of mince pies and carol services – nice work if you can get it! By the time you read this, I will have enjoyed my fifth carol service of the season.

I particularly take pleasure in watching the antics and body language of the school choirs wheeled out to perform in front of an intimidating sea of suits and faces. Last Friday at the Lord Mayor’s carol service in St Andrews Church, Ridgeway Choir did a very professional job under the energetic leadership of their dynamic music teacher.

Woodford Infants were also a delight. I will never know how men got to run the world. At primary level the girls are so much more grown up and in command. We watched as a pig-tailed young lady in the front row marshalled the forces of the pupils around her, most of the boys gazing into space or fidgeting while the girls remained focussed and sang like angels. Dotted in between lessons read by the great and the good, the refreshing innocence of the youngsters captured our hearts.

The Dockyard carol service is of a different ilk, with the impressive percussion of the Salvation Army and all of us belting out the familiar lines with gusto. I never was much of a singer. On more than one occasion a uniformed dignitary in front of me would glance back over his shoulder after some particularly discordant rendition, eyebrows raised. It would cause me to sing more quietly for a while, until enthusiasm for the words and tunes took over again and I roared on in squeaky zeal.

Everywhere you go excited young children are queuing to see Santa in his grotto. How bizarre that someone has decided that it is no longer appropriate that youngsters can sit on his lap, but have to sit on a chair beside him. Is that really necessary?
Some people ask: don’t you get fed up with hearing the same message and the same carols so many times at Christmas. My answer is always the same: no, because you can never have enough of the truth.

Besides it gives me a chance to hear again and again my all time favourite bible verse, written 2,760 years ago: “the people living in darkness have seen a great light”.
It came to pass at the first Christmas. It remains true today.
Have a great Christmas

posted by Nigel on Thursday, January 12, 2006