A Christmas Rant

My kitchen cacti are beating me to Christmas yet again. They are not aware as they flaunt their cheery blooms how vulnerable They make me feel about the event in 4 weeks for which I’m so ill prepared. One cake yet to be marzipaned and iced doth not a Christmas make. As for Christmas cards, the stamps cost more than the actual cards. Perhaps I should just send an envelope bearing a stamp to the chosen few.

It’s been another day of dismal weather. I wonder if the tourists are wondering why they came to such a cheerless spot on earth.
I read that Jenners the iconic shop on Princess Street which has been there for generations is being sold and renovated to provide space for yet another hotel and sundry shops. A few yards to the west the old British Home stores shop is being turned into another hotel. I have to wonder what the city fathers’ idea is. Do they intend to turn the whole of central Edinburgh into a giant holiday complex?
The City was once the most beautiful place in which to live but there is nobody who knew it then who recognises it now.
If anyone dares to put their head above the parapet and write to the press criticising the tourists , the unregulated plethora of AirBnbs , the ever increasing number of hotels and constant festivals of which the current Christmas one is the most tacky yet, they are accused of being a snob and out of touch with the man in the street. Nobody seems to be able to put a halt to things.