Christmas Cheer? No way, not here ......

Feast your eyes upon this lovely specimen, which is the only 'Festive' decoration which will appear in my house until much nearer the actual date. Sadly, no Poinsettia has ever survived the festivities in my care, so this is probably the only time you will see this guy looking so healthy!

I'm very much a Twelve Days of Christmas woman: I like my tree to go up on Christmas Eve, and to stay up for 12 days only. The creeping trend of decorations appearing in houses from mid-November onwards leaves me not only cold, but cringing in embarrassment at the crassness of folk following the retail trail.

When I get made Queen of The World, I'll make it illegal to put trees up before mid-December, and completely illegal to sell Christmas stuff in shops before the end of November. Also, any TV station advertising toys before December 1st should lose their licence to broadcast!