Christmas Double Issue [54]
Don't Drink The Water!
Dear Christmas Elves,
How are you all? Well, I hope!
The tradition, at this time of year, is for people to send inspirational messages with deep, thoughtful reviews of the year. These moments of retrospection serve as a reminder of what binds us, the themes and events that defined the people we are today.
Regular readers will be cheered to know that I will be ignoring this tradition and, instead, this newsletter will be the usual incoherent load of twaddle, random, memes and snark.
In this festive issue:
I introduce France to a British tradition
I introduce you to a new experience (for me)
I introduce you to an excellent Christmas market
…and much, much more!
So, settle back, grab that box of chocolates and enjoy!
And may I take this opportunity to wish you all an excellent festive period filled with joy, happiness and food!
James x
Adventure Time
I’m now 51 years old and I worked in politics for a long, long time but there is one thing that I have never been able to do - take part in choosing my head of state.
I was taught early on that voting is important and a privilege that should neither be taken lightly nor taken for granted. So, on 29 December, I will be doing something that I have never done before and will be voting for my head of state.
Now, as everyone knows, voting is a bit of a pain - you have to get up and walk over to the polling station. It might be raining. It could be cold. Well, my polling station is in the Croatian Embassy in Paris and we do not have postal voting. The round trip from home to the polling place will be around 1,200 km - and, as it is between Christmas and New Year, there are no trains or flights that are anywhere near my budget! So, I’m going to be driving - there and back in a day! [Insert terrified emoji here!]
I hope to be doing some photos and other things on the day and you will, of course, be the first to hear about it!
Sunday 29 December
I will hopefully be sending you some things during my trip to vote - and they will be on here. This will mean that there may be an extra email. Keep your eyes peeled!
Yes, I Did
Before…
After…
Happy to introduce France to a classic British pastime.
The Bluffer’s Guide to Croatian Presidential Elections
Croatian Presidential Elections take part in two rounds - unless someone gets 50% +1 of the votes cast on the first day.
The second round takes place 14 days after the first round and the top two candidates from the first round qualify for the second round. The one with the highest number of votes in the second round becomes President.
To get on the ballot paper for the first round, candidates have 12 days to collect 10,000 signatures of citizen voters. Citizens may only nominate one candidate.
Three candidates are polling over 10% in the opinion polls. They are:
Zoran Milanović - Independent (Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske - SDP) - Incumbent President
Dragan Primorac - Independent (Hrvatska demokratska zajednica - HDZ)
Marija Selak Raspudić - Independent (MOST)
Much like all countries, the lead contenders are all serious people but with different views. Between them, they have been a physician, geneticist, forensic scientist, philosopher, bioethicist and a politician, among other things. That is not to say that I agree nor even like them all - but just that it’s possible to have grown-ups in the room.
Current polling has Milanović and Primorac as the favourites to qualify for round two but, if watching recent elections tell us anything, it’s that you don’t take anything for granted, especially when Putin is intent of trying to undermine the EU.
Underground Systems of The World
Please, make it stop…
Finally!
A non-meat based Nutella…
Only kidding! Regular Nutella has milk in it - and this one doesn’t.
Still full of palm oil, though…
…but it’s not hard to make.
Powered by Coffee and Generosity
These emails are powered by coffee! If you feel so inclined, thank you! They are hugely appreciated! My buymeacoffee link is at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesmb and I’ll post a photo of each one you get me as a thank you!
A huge thank you to Suzana and my anonymous coffee chum too! Thank you!
Also, it’s possible that I also had a vin chaud - sorry but it’s Christmas!
A massive THANK YOU to everyone who has donated coffees this year! It is hugely appreciated!
This Week - Also Powering Democracy!
Any contributions this week will go towards the cost of going to Paris to vote in the first round of the Croatian Presidential Election (and, if I can afford it, the second round in two weeks time) - including the inevitable coffees that I will need to sustain me on the journey! Each trip is about 1,200 km door to door plus car charges and coffee - so all help would be gratefully received!
Brexit Benefits
When the UK left the EU, it said that it would give it the power to enter into free trade agreements with ease. This is the map of free trade areas that the UK has joined since Brexit so far…
Rennes at Christmas
Last week, I managed to make a quick visit to Rennes and take a look at their festive arrangements. The weather - especially in the west of Bretagne - has made a lot of Christmas events complicated but being more inland and away from the Atlantic means that the weather in Rennes is slightly calmer.
The main market has been moved from the Parliament square to the far end of the town and, to be honest, it’s an excellent spot.
For some reason, probably relating to the fact that I never drink but had a single cup of mulled wine, I decided that I should go on the big wheel to see the town from above. And it was simultaneously fantastic…
…and terrifying - because I don’t really do heights and, as you can see, it is no exaggeration to say that it is about 8 or 9 thousand metres off the ground.
Back on the ground, the lights are absolutely fantastic around the town (although some of them do come on well after it’s actually dark!).
Unfortunately, the free light show wasn’t on when I was there but I have seen it before and it is quite spectacular. Here it is from a few years ago…
I’m not going to spoil the rest of it for those of you within reach (and I know there are some of you!) but it is well worth a visit. For everyone else, put it on next year’s list!
Weather Update
That’s it for now! There are final preparations to do - a turkey to find, sprouts to buy and many other things too!
Hope you all have a great one!
Take care,
James 🎄
ENDPIECE
Why the hell are people freezing potatoes in the first place?!
It will probably come down to Milanović vs Primorac in the second round… but anyway, Ivana is my favourite😊
I will vote for Ivana Kekin („Mozemo!“)🇭🇷