Macclesfield Christmas cheer...

... or not as the case might be.

I went down town for some last minute food and for what I can only describe as one of the worst shopping experiences of my life.

I heard someone on Radio 4 last week describing what it's like to be in a supermarket full of people who do not ordinarily shop. They have no trolley etiquette, which means you feel like you are going round the Nürburgring with a team of dodgems (and that team isn't on your side). Add to this shoppers cashing in a year's worth of vouchers in one go, and it adds up to hell!

Having spent an hour accomplishing which woud otherwise have taken me 15 minutes, I went to find some Christmas cheer. You know what I mean: pretty woman wearing a pair of antlers, cheery carol singers, that sort of thing. Nothing.

Finally I spotted this market trader with a Santa hat. It's black, but at least it's a bit festive. Then I notice 'Bah humbug' in big black letters on the brim. Ebenezer Scrooge lives on in the north west.