Maidstone's ah hem! Christmas Market

The ubiquitious Christmas market has arrived in Maidstone. Bless the town for trying but it is hardly exciting and is in keeping with the underwhelming Christmas lights. What an old cynic and misery I am. Three wooden huts, a chocolate stall, merry-go-round and a place selling variations on a sausage in a bun (see CMOT Dibbler in Terry Pratchett's Disc World). Am I the only one to think that some company has cornered the market in Christmas market food, distributing it to every market in the country? And doesn't most of the stuff sold in such markets all come in containers from China? My wife has just come in and read this and said "Bah Humbug" and I couldn't agree more.

The rest of the day was more productive, refereeing a rugby match down in Dover. A local derby with Folkestone. I had an adviser again who thought it was a very competent performance. So that made my day.