Hark the Herald Angels sing...

...and, apparently, blow bubbles. Or at least they do in Holy Trinity Church Dunoon. This pic, shot from the altar rail where I was standing as a member of the singing group 8+1 (eight women, one man, originally), shows the full congregation belting out the final hymn in today's carol service, the children and young people at the front with the paper chains and other sparkly things they'd created during the service, the bubble machine just beginning to spew out bubbles from the top of the organ casing. I'd wondered if the bubble machine would be back in place after all the renovation work, and caught sight of it during one of the readings ... The red heaters on the wall, incidentally, may look hideous, but they give the illusion of warmth and supply atmospheric lighting to supplement the candles.

It was a joyous service; the singing was great and the church was as full as I've seen it in decades - close to 100 people, the Boss reckoned. And as for the Christmas tree - well, there's only one thing to say.

It's big.