Open Discussion – Christmas Special

Hello and welcome to open discussion with the three Js. That's me, Julia, Judith and Joy. And this is our special Christmas edition. Happy Christmas, everyone. Yes, Happy Christmas everybody. Merry, merry Christmas. And whatever you're doing, please stop and listen to us because you're going to get lots and lots of advice and tidbits and experiences. Oh, it's gonna be wonderful. What are we talking about? We just need to put in a little word first for parents who have any young children listening in case we actually start talking about a well known Christmas figure that dresses in red. And we wouldn't like them to hear anything they shouldn't. No. So please switch off if we say anything controversial. But we won't be talking about that just yet. We're talking about Christmas trees first, I think because I've noticed that I don't have a big tree at all. I have a little one foot tree which I managed to cram everything onto. But there's part of me that does actually quite envy the people that have the space to have a nice big tree, a real tree that smells like nicely pine and it smells of forests and you know, I don't know, it just smells of Christmas really. I went out last year and bought a beautiful tree at a garden center that was in a pot with roots and it was really magnificent. It was probably about 4ft high and really bushy and perfect shape and everything. And the idea was that because my last tree that I bought like that I'd had for around about 10 years and kept putting it out in the summer and bring it back in, but unfortunately he got sick and died that this new one was going to last. And it was magnificent last year, but it died in the garden this summer. So I don't know what I'm going to do this year. I'm going to buy another one. Did you not water it, Judy? Yeah, I watered it, fed it and looked after it. But I don't think it's because of the very hot summer we've had. But it's now got no needles whatsoever. Well, Joy, do you remember you saw my old Christmas tree that was in my patio that my sister had given me, hoping I'd revive it. You took secateurs to it, chopped it all back and put lights on it. Do you remember? Yes. So it's got this stump, but actually it looks quite sweet. It's got these twigs and a stump. It was beyond repair really when my children were younger. I always, always, every year, a real Christmas tree. I just, I always thought it was A real cop out to buy one of those plastic ones, no matter how much you paid for it and how good it looked. I always wanted a real one. But since they haven't been there, my trees have got kind of a bit smaller and a bit smaller. And I actually bought at a garden center a Scots pine, which I think they grow to something, I don't know, you know, sort of 10 story block of flats, they'd get that tall. But this one, when I bought it, was about 2 foot, which would. What's that in centimeters? About 60 centimeters high. And my children just continually took the mickey out of me because I put the. I put all the Christmas lights on it. There was more Christmas lights than Christmas tree. But I said, no, it's going to grow every year it'll be a bit bigger. So over about two or three years it did actually grow. I put it into bigger pots and everything. And the last year that I had it, it looked absolutely beautiful. And I had these that, you know, the lights didn't overpower the size of the tree. But then I put it outside and it wasn't this last year, it was the one before and it died. I just went out one morning and all the pine needles had just gone brown. Yeah. I don't understand you. In the previous years. Yes. Yeah. It came in for Christmas and it was, you know, another six inches taller every time I brought it in. And then it started. Maybe they just have a natural lifespan. Well, my Last one lasted 10 years at least. And they do have this new one. Have you heard of these new trees where you can rent them? Oh, God. So you rent them with the roots so they're not cut off and at the end of Christmas period you give them back to the company and they're replanted. Oh, wow. Oh, how much do they charge for that? Well, maybe a bit more expensive, but actually I think it's quite a nice thing to do if you can afford it. I'm thinking of this year getting a small one because I know in Lidl, in the supermarket they have like small ones in pots that are extremely reasonable price, so actually won't bother me if it dies. But this other one was. Yeah, it was disappointing. I did pay about pound 25 for it, which to me was a lot of money. Well, the new fashion is for not to have trees, but those, you know, twigs. Yes. Painting or like Melania had in the White House last year. Oh, did she? Yeah. Oh, I didn't see that. It looks a bit naff, I thought. I mean, I Don't mind. It's a good idea. But wasn't the latest fashion last year for upside down Christmas trees? Do you remember that? No. And they'd hang from the ceiling on a piece of string. And that was what all the kind of really posh hotels and everything were having, these upside down ones. Yeah. Good Lord. That reminds me of a statue that I saw in Prague and it was in this shopping center and in the kind of open space that you generally have in shopping centers, there was this sculpture hanging from the ceiling and it was an upside down horse with a noble knight sitting. Oh, I missed that. I was in Prague this year and I missed that. Maybe it wasn't permanent. Perhaps it was only there for a short length of. No, I didn't go in any shopping centres whilst I was in Portugal. Well, it was near the Carlsruhe Bridge and it was this kind of big sort of open space. But I mean, there was a lovely tree in St Pancras last Christmas. Oh, I never go there. Made entirely of roses. Oh, wow. So it's like. I think they were fresh roses or. Well, they were treated in some way. So they looked. And it was just. It's not really what I call a Christmas flower, but it worked really well. Well, there are some Christmas roses, aren't there? We've got roses where I live that had just started blooming again. They were blooming all summer, had loads of rose hips. And now I just saw this morning as I came out, there's all red roses on it again. Yeah, my roses are still blooming as well at the time of year, which is really unusual because I wanted to prune them and cut them back because they're actually covering up the access to cupboard that has the electric meter in. So we can't get him to read the electric meter until I cut them back. But when it's. They're still flowering, it seems so sad to chop them back. So we'll see. I must be doing something wrong with my roses, then. Not necessarily. Different varieties do different things and flower at different. But if you wanted to keep. Repeat flowering with roses, you need to take the dead heads off. Well, I do that. Yeah. And feed them a couple of times. Mine aren't in natural earth, mine are in. That doesn't matter. But if you give them some food twice, rose food or manure, like they like horse manure. But you can buy stuff in bags that'll do it and do that a couple times a year, that keeps them going. The Christmas tree that I love is the One that comes from Norway every year. I think it's lovely that that custom still carries on. Yeah. The one in Trafalgar Square. Yeah, I think that's lovely. It's a lovely custom to show we're still friends with Europe or somebody in Europe. Well, maybe they'll stop our Christmas tree due to Brexit. But Norway isn't in. Well, they've got a special. Oh, they're not in the eu, are they? Norway? No, that's right. I forgot about that. Special arrangement. Haven't they? Yeah. Which hopefully we're going sort of partially in. Yeah. Well, Brexit is definitely banned from this conversation. Yes. But, yeah, I mean, I do like a nicely decorated tree of a traditional kind. But my cousin, she seems to have a certain colour scheme every year. She seems to go with green and turquoise baubles. Oh, she doesn't have other colors. Well, perhaps that's what she's gotten. And it does look very silver and brings them back out again. I do. Yeah. I can't understand that approach because some people have that. A color coordinated Christmas tree. That's all kind of tasteful. I think Christmas trees should be just like a riot of color and all sorts of different things put on them. That's my idea of a good Christmas tree. Oh, do you remember when there used to be a fashion for putting tartan bows on Christmas trees? And everybody had those. My little Christmas tree. I have numerous red ribbons cut into small bits and I tie them all on my Christmas tree with some very cheap Christmas Christmas angels. Paper angels. It's just very, very cheap. But it looks very nice. I just always use silver tinsel and lights. That's it. I've got a huge collection of Christmas decorations that I've kind of accumulated over the years. And some of them are kind of expensive ones and some of them are cheap ones, but there's a really kind of. I do have a wonderful variety. I really like getting them out every year. Well, because I don't really spend Christmas in my own place very often. Every year I buy my sisters a Christmas decoration for their tree. So I bought some ideas. I bought some champagne glasses for them this year. So. Hang on. I mean, not real champagne glasses. No, no. But they look nice. So does she keep them? Do they sort of appear? Yeah. Yes, because they are quite. Yeah. I will spend a bit of money on them. So is the tree getting overloaded then, after all the years of you taking these decorations? No, because I think natural was. So some of the. I'll get a drop Off. Yeah. There's a few casualties every year, isn't there, with Christmas? That's amazing because the baubles always used to be glass, didn't they, when they broke? God, there were little shards of glass everywhere. I do like them though, they are beautiful, those glass ones and they're very light. I've got some really nice delicate ones that I have managed, I pack away every year and I do think, I mean I've. I did go into John Lewis, the their Christmas department and I saw some lovely, you know, glass baubles and I was tempted just to buy one to hang somewhere in my flat, not necessarily on a tree. How much was lovely? Oh, about five or six pounds per bauble. It is quite expensive but they do look beautiful. I noticed some of the museum and gallery shops have beautiful Christmas decorations as well. Like I did get one last year from the National Gallery which luckily they'd reduced in price because I wouldn't paid the price. But that's the secret, to buy them actually after Christmas, the following Christmas. Yes, buy them in January. The same with cards. I got all my cards this year last year. Well, I don't buy Christmas cards, I always make my own. Yeah, I always make my own as well, which I enjoy doing. Well, I'm going to make a card for you both now in the break, is that all right? Oh, yes, let's all make each other Christmas cards here. Bye. From all the presenters and the team behind Women's Radio Station, thank you for listening. You've been the most amazing audience with your sparkling enthusiasm and support. So from our hearts we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year full of joy and surprises. Hi, I'm Laura Heems, founder and designer of Lara Haims Jewellery. I make luxurious jewellery at affordable prices using silver, semi precious stones and high quality AAA cubic zirconia. It's elegant, stunning, stylish and long lasting. Who needs diamonds? 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Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk Let me tell you about Jermyn Street Theatre. This is a secret theatre in the heart of the West End. Once found, never forgotten. This is where careers ignite, where playwrights take risks, where great actors perform just feet away from the audience. This is where magic happens. We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.germanstreettheatre.co.uk. Women's Radio Station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Hello and welcome back to the special Christmas edition on Women's Radio station with the three Js. I've now made Judy and Joy a special Christmas card. What do you think of it? I'm so impressed. I think it's wonderful that you did that in 30 seconds, Julia. Yeah. No, well done. Yeah. Oh, you're just saying that. Yeah. You have to wait for mine. Mine's going to take more time than that. But I think whilst talking about cards, because I'm a cartoonist amongst one of my many talents and I always do a cartoon Christmas card, I do a kind of funny Christmas card and it always seems to be appreciated by people. And actually to have it printed, I only have it done in black and white and buy some envelopes, it actually works out at a reasonable price as compared to buying cards. And I don't worry about them not being charity cards because then I give a donation to charity, but I really like doing that and doing something personal. And now, of course, with the E card with the people I don't send a paper card to, I can send the image by email as well and then it gets out to more people and I enjoy doing that. Yes, I always make my own Christmas cards and I actually spend quite a lot of time on them and I do different cards, different years, so I never quite know what I'm going to be sending out to people. They're quite abstract. The ones I'm doing this year. So are you doing. How many do you make though? I usually send cards to about 20 people, I suppose. 20, 25 people. Some of them I will give to people because I don't, you know, I'll see them around near Christmas time because it's so expensive, the stamps now. But I don't want to get into the E cards because I feel as though that's not a card. You know, if somebody sends me an E card it never gets printed out. I just see it in an email once and, and kind of that's it really. The Jackie Lawson cards I think are quite nice though. What's Jackie Lawson? Well, they're, they're E cards. The animated ones. Yeah, they're lovely. Oh, they're beautiful those. I had a couple. You've, you know, there's nothing there material and I just think it's nice to have something you can touch at Christmas. No, I agree with you. I think it's nice to have all the Christmas cards hung up around and reminder of all friends and family. But those particular animated ones are lovely and my cousin from Australia sent me one of those and I can understand why. But yeah, they can be funny, charming, beautiful and yeah, I do, I agree with you. This new smartphone that I've got when I'm sending text messages, it's actually got GIFs in there now as well. So you can have these little kind of three second animations that you send with a text message. Oh yeah. That could really irritate people. I mean, it depends on what the sort of text. Oh absolutely, yeah, it could. But I just am amazed at the stuff that these phones do nowadays. Personalized cards, you know, with your own photo put on, then they're sent as a post, as a postal card, not an E card. Oh yeah, I haven't come across those. So you order them online? We order them online. But you can upload your own photo. Oh, I thought you meant your own personal photo of your face, you know. Yes. And they put it onto the card and then it's posted. But why would I want to send people my face for Christmas? It's like the Royal Family, you know, doing. Yeah, I know, but we're not the Royal Family. But you could, but you could put any image on them, I take it. So you can put an image of your own artwork on, but they post them out for you. So is it a cheaper postal rate that they. I don't know, you'd have to go in. I don't know what company is going. Because sometimes when you do mass mail outs you can get discounted postal rates. So that sounds quite interesting. Or maybe have a look at it. Yeah, because it is. The cost of sending Christmas cards is nearly prohibitive and I think that's really sad that they put up the price of stamps in that way. And I think it would be nice even if they just had a reduction around Christmas. So that is a big thing now, isn't it? It's not a national company anymore. But have you ever been tempted not to actually send any cards at all? Well, it was funny last year I was expecting a reduction in them and that's partly because some older people I know have passed away and they always sent cards and I thought other people because of the cost would stop sending them, but I was surprised that I did get as many. And certainly my husband had talked about, you know, spending 50 pounds on stamps for the Christmas cards at the post office and I was quite shocked about this. And we were thinking of cutting back but just because we got the cards from everybody, I said no, I'm sending them again as long as other people are because it's too sad. And my E cards are definitely sent to people who I wouldn't actually exchange a paper card with. I wouldn't post it to them. Well, you'd have to be posting it almost now, wouldn't you? You'd have to be quite organized if you're going to post say to Australia or I don't know about America. Yeah, I don't send any more abroad anymore because the people that I know who live in Australia and America, they actually stopped it and do E cards. So I do that now and it is a bit of a relief not to have to start thinking about it already. Well, there's about four people that I send to around the world and you know, maybe they get it for New Year but they always get a card from me. But yeah, it can be hard to start thinking about those last post because they're actually quite early. But actually when I've missed the date even by about two weeks, people still got them. They do. Well, it's like here they tell you you've got the last posting date for in within the uk they usually say a week but you can put stuff in the night before and it still gets there. But I think I'm going to have a trimmed down list this year. I think if people stop sending me one now, I'll knock them off the list and just put them onto the E card list because maybe other people are kind of Feeling the pinch financially and aren't doing it well, the thing is, okay, it's quite expensive, but when you think of how much a cup of coffee costs and people are always going in and getting a coffee, aren't they? And you can send four cards for the price of a coffee. You can. Although I think I would say this was used to me over something else, of the services of a charity I was involved with recently saying it's only the price of a cup of coffee. And someone said, well, you know, I would very rarely buy a cup of coffee out. So everything is kind of relative, I think. But yeah, it is something that for a small amount of money you can make a gesture to keep in contact with a lot of people. So I think it is valuable. It's interesting actually that they used to sell, you know, it's only the same price as a can of Coke. And they don't say that anymore, do they? It's always coffee now. Yeah. Because coffee's actually quite expensive. Well, and it's. It's more ubiquitous, isn't it? More people sort of think about buying a coffee and walking along the road with it, much to the chagrin of the. But I've noticed a lot of. I've been in quite a few coffee shops and people bringing their own cups. Yeah, people are doing that. Yeah. You can actually get a cup of coffee quite cheap. I think at pret you can get one for 50p if you take your own cup and have a filter. That is a reduction. Yeah. Although I've actually now started going to McDonald's for my coffee because it's £1,69 for a latte. Isn't it coffee? Yeah, Gregg's is good and cheap too. You don't need. Perhaps if you have milky coffee, it's okay. But I drink black coffee so I really notice what the coffee's like. Yes. No, But I think McDonald's, they're well known for their coffee being of a high standard. Yeah, give it a go, you might like it. So on Christmas morning, do you tend to have a nice, you know, fizzy drink for breakfast, like a preserved. Oh, I had champagne for breakfast in the sea when I went to Australia. That was amazing. That was an amazing Christmas morning. Yeah, we went down to the beach first thing in the morning. They had a dog as well. So there was the dog bounding down to the beach with us and we. I've got this photograph of us all in the water with our glasses of champagne. Does it make a difference? Having a sunny Christmas? You know, yes, it was quite strange, but you get used to it quite quickly because it was so nice. I mean, the main reason that I decided was because the previous Christmas and New Year had been so hideously cold and wet and miserable. And I said, I'm not gonna do a British winter next year. And I went to see my friend that lives in Australia and it was wonderful. Yeah, I'd love to do that one year. That's really good experience to go when it's cold. Unfortunately, I don't have any friends in those sort of places. I do have cousins in Australia and I've just never been. And I think it was because I always wanted three weeks and it's hard to get three weeks holiday from work. And then when I've been unemployed recently, I haven't got the money to go. Well, it is expensive to go for Christmas as well. Yeah, I'm sure. Bump all the prices up. I think I would probably. I think I would probably wait till after Christmas, you know, the peak period to go. But it'd still be nice to go in the winter, do you know, I mean, it was one. And have that really, you know, sort of warm Christmas time and New Year. But I was there for three weeks and they had very, very hot weather after the Christmas. And I was actually quite pleased to come back to England and feel the cold when I got back because, you know, if you're hot, hot, there's only so much you can take off to get cooler. I know, I agree with you. Actually, it's really strange with the summer that we've had this year, particularly in London where it's been very hot and dry. I actually found it a bit much and I've enjoyed the autumn weather much better. I think we've had a beautiful autumn and it hasn't been. It's still been warm and sunny a lot of the time, but without that oppressive. I don't mind hot weather as long as I'm near the sea. Yeah, I can get with any. You know, it's in the city, it's not nice. It's not nice in London. But I do think often you can get nice weather here at Christmas because you can get sunny days on Christmas day and it's kind of crisp. Yeah, crisp and cold. But I agree with you, when it gets kind of just cloudy and rainy, that's horrible. We get sort of sleety. So when was the last time we had a snowy Christmas? It was a while ago, wasn't it? Because last year we did have snow, but it was Just after school, wasn't it? It never seems to last five minutes even when it does come, does it? I think it's. Yeah. We've never traditionally had much snow at Christmas. We usually get that sort of weather in January or February, don't we, in this country? So white Christmas is quite hot. Well, you're hoping for a white Christmas this year? I don't know actually, as long as. Yeah, I suppose if you don't have to go to work, you don't have to travel anywhere, but if you have to. Yeah, because I do like walking around my area in the snow. It can be quite beautiful and it changes everything. I can remember driving down the M1 one year, coming home after Christmas, and I really didn't want to drive on this day, but I had to. And it was amazing because it was hoar frost on all the trees and the whole of the M1 there was hardly anybody there because the weather was so sort of treacherous and it was just glinting. It was like diamonds all the way. Absolutely stunning. It is beautiful. Yeah. I do like going. Walking around in the snow. Anyway, we're going to have a quick break and we'll be with you soon. Women's radio station is looking forward to a great 2019 with more shows coming your way. All the presenters and the team behind each program would like to say a big thank you for listening. We are the voice of women worldwide and we cannot be without you. The journey has just begun with more exciting programmes soon to be revealed. Women's radio station the voice of women worldwide. I'm Isabelle Manavy, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. 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To find out more, head to womensradiostation.com or theaproject.co.uk Let me tell you about Jermyn Street Theatre. This is a secret theatre in the heart of the West End. Once found, never forgotten. This is where careers ignite, where playwrights take risks, where great actors perform just feet away from the audience. This is where magic happens. We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk Women's radio station is a not for profit community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Hello and welcome back again to our special Christmas edition at women's radio station with three Js. We're going to move on to. Yeah, we haven't even touched food yet. Well, we are going to move on to food and presents I think now. Oh yes, the best things about Christmas and stockings. Oh yes, yes, stockings. Because actually that was one of my earliest memories of Christmas is to hear the crackle of the stocking at the end of your bed with all the, the paper. And we didn't have, when I was young we didn't have special Christmas stockings. We had my father's old long woolly socks stuffed with orange nuts and various presents and we didn't have stockings at all. Our presents were just put into a pillowcase that hung at the end of our beds. That's what I used to have, a pillowcase. And then eventually I think they started manufacturing paper sacks that had like a Santa Claus and Happy Christmas on it. So we moved on to those from the pillowcases. But yeah, I mean even when I was younger, for a child just to have had presents that would fit into a stocking would have been mean. Cause you got big toys and. No, no, no. But this was just the initial, this was just stocking the overnight. Well, I never had that. And then we'd have the big presents later. No, I was first introduced to the idea of stockings with, you know, the satsuma in it and the few nuts and the chocolate money and things like that. When I got married, cause my husband in his home, they'd always had these stockings first thing in the morning and they used to take them into his parents bedroom and they'd sort of Open all these stockings. But we just used to have these pillowcases. Mum and dad had obviously been up till God knows what time in the morning wrapping them all, so they didn't want to know at all. And we used to just go into the front room and unwrap all our presents. And that was it. That was Christmas Day. No, about half past six, probably. No, I think we. We used. I didn't used to get the little stocking with nuts and fruits. I would get the sack of presents left by Santa Claus at the bottom of the. I thought that the Christmas stocking thing was so wonderful that I always did that with my kids. Yeah. No, I think that first thing in the morning it was really nice. I know my husband said him and his sister got up one Christmas morning very early whilst the parents were in bed, and they went into the living room and opened every single present under the tree. Including everybody else's. Yeah. And all the paper. The presents were everywhere. And he said he blamed his sister because she was younger. Love. Oh, they survived, obviously. Yeah. So do you make up your. I mean, because I was almost tempted to make up my own stocking this year. You know what I mean? What, for yourself? Yeah, for myself. Oh, that's sad. No, I think that's a nice idea. Well, nobody else is going to do it. Oh, I'll do one for you, Julia, if you want a stocking. Because they wouldn't even think of it, you know what I mean? They've got other things that they're doing with their children. Don't you buy each other Christmas presents? Oh, yes, we do. But that's not. She wants a stocking for Christmas morning and my parents stopped doing stockings for us. When you hit about 15 or 16. Yeah. You're supposed to not be bothered about that kind of thing then, are you? But then you do start to. Once you get older, then you become sentimental about these things, don't you? Yeah, not at 15, I don't think. What do you think about Advent calendars? Well, I quite like them. And last year I bought my younger sister Margaret a fantastic Advent calendar in this art shop. Beautifully like old traditional, like woodcut drawings. So the main picture was like an old fashioned Christmas scene. And then each little window opened to these different little individual, beautifully drawn illustrations of different animals and Christmas sort of Christmas scenes. So it was. It was lovely. I think the kids now, if there isn't something behind the window that they can eat, they're quite disappointed. I know. I think such as a shed, because I used to like them looking for the little pictures and now the chocolate. But you know what? I saw this week advertise a gin advent calendar for adults. So you get a little miniature of gin every day. Now that. That was expensive. Start the day off. That mean that some alcohol. Ludicrous to me. What I should have brought in was today because I had loads of it Given to me at the end of the play was some vodka. Very, very strong Slavonic. Who gave you? Well, the. Somebody kindly sort of donated it to the cast, but she gave it to me at the end. She said, I'll take the rest back with you. So it's a beautiful bottle. I should have brought it in. We could have a celebration. Yeah, I think actually that's what I was saying earlier on. I meant to buy some Christmas crackers for us to pull whilst we're doing the show. And we could have worn hats, but then we could have had drinks and food and everything. I can tell we're new to this game. We just don't think ahead of things like this next year. Yeah. But we just didn't want all the listeners to be envious of us drinking and eating. What's your favourite food over the Christmas period? I think I really like it when the. The mince pies come in. Oh, I love mince pies. But I like Christmas pudding as well. Yeah. Yes. Yes. I do like all those and that's something that I absolutely won't eat, but anytime. But on Christmas Day. You know how you'll have mince pies before Christmas? I wouldn't dream of having any Christmas pudding. Well, I. My grandmother used to make her own Christmas pudding puddings with, you know, with the money inside and then break your teeth. We all got food poisoning because I think they. They keep. You know, she. She had made this put. You can keep them for a long time. Oh. Usually they're so full and stuffed full of sherry and goodness knows what. They're cute. Yeah. One of them obviously went bad. Wow. We didn't realize you couldn't taste the difference. And we all got. Went down with food poisoning. But that's. And then ever since. Sure it was the pudding. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's more likely the turkey that you get from poisoning from. Because that's very tasty. It's a long time ago now, so I don't know what the culprit was, but I think the Christmas puddings that you get in Aldi Lidl are far. Apparently they get better results. All the witch program, you know, the. The magazine which Is it them that do the sort of appraisal? And I think it was Asda last year, wasn't it, that came out on top? It beats Fortnum, didn't it? Yeah, no, they do these dis discount supermarkets, they do continuously get good reviews and Lidl Supermarket has just won a big gin award and beaten all these designer craft gins. But also Iceland is doing very well because Iceland is going plastic free. Oh, yes. Yeah. It's becoming more like an ethical in its way, sources its products. So I'm going to make some trips to Iceland. I think I can't understand, you know, that people pay 5p for a plastic bag. Why instead don't they sell people a paper bag for 5p? Which would be much better than all the plastic. Yeah, I think that. I think shops should stop using paper bags. I mean, in America you can. Everything is paper, isn't it? Paper bags. They use paper sacks at the supermarket and they pack your stuff into it. They've never got into the plastic. But then their ones are more carried out to a car. They're not carried along the street like that. Cars are. Yes. I mean, I. I think the supermarkets are very stuck in, you know, in old ways of doing things. I think they could have made a lot more Primark. They use play. They use paper. Yeah. Bags. They've always used paper. And there are other. And I think there's other places as well. There are, yeah. And if so, then it isn't an issue. If they use a paper bag, you don't have to pay for it. It's really. Well, I think you should pay for it because it's, you know, it's going to cost money, isn't it? And the money that they get for the paper bags is all used for charities. So if people have been prepared to pay 5p for, you know, a scrappy old bit of. Because those 5P bags are very thin, aren't they? I can't imagine they're any stronger than a paper bag. The corner shops still sell those horrible blue ones. Yeah. They're allowed. Because they have less customers or something. Yeah. No, they started charging for them now, the small shops. And I don't mind, I think, you know, you should pay for them and, you know, be made to think twice about whether you have it or not. I think the thing is, I do carry a cotton tote bag round in my handbag, so I did. The only kind of thing when it's annoyed me is I did buy a new winter coat this week and then I had no Choice but to buy a bag because I couldn't carry it. I seem to have accumulated lots of these supermarket bags, like you know, long ones, not the cotton ones, just the plastic ones because I bring a bag with me, you know, but then I've run out of bags and so I end up having to buy an extra one. Sometimes you can't avoid it. I mean I try to. I do have a huge collection of those big ones and those bags for life that they do. But anyway, where are we going to do our Christmas shopping and when, when do we hit the supermarket? Very late. I always do it very late because I'm not very good at forward planning food. I buy a few things like tins of biscuits and drinks and things that can. So what are you doing to worry about Joy? Are you staying at home? Well, it's going to be quite a big family Christmas this year because my son's wife's sister and her husband and their new baby are all coming over from America. Plus her mum is coming over so there'll be quite a lot of us all getting together. My sister's coming down from Buckinghamshire, the only one that won't be there. Is it all at your place or your son's place? Well, it'll be over there because there's the Polish tradition, they celebrate Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. That's when they have their, that's their sort of Christmas and then so we'll be over there sort of Christmas Eve and probably Christmas Day and then they'll probably all come over to me on box day. Oh, that sounds good. They don't have to stay with you. No, they've got space because my sister will be staying with me. Yeah. So. But poor old Joe is going to be on his own in la. Oh, you can Skype, can't you? Yes, yes. Oh yes, we'll have to do that. That'd be good. Yeah. But what about you, Judy? Well, I think my husband are going to have a couple quiet Christmas at home and I do like cooking a nice Christmas meal and taking all day to make it and going for a nice walk hopefully along the river in my area. And then on Boxing Day we're going to, we'll go and spend that with my in laws in Kent so I'm hoping it's going to be nice. But last year I had a friend from America come to stay and that was lovely and I kind of wish she was coming again. That would be nice. Yes. Oh well I shall be, I shall be down in Ramsgate or Broadstairs with my family. Oh, that sounds nice being by the sea. Stay with whichever sister's available to put a bed for you. Right, we're going to have Christmas. We're going to have a mince pie now over the break. Yeah, they look delicious. And some sherry maybe. Well be with you soon. From all the presenters and the team behind Women's Radio Station, thank you for listening. You've been the most amazing audience with your sparkling enthusiasm and support. So from our hearts, we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year full of joy and surprises. Hi, I'm Lara Hames, founder and designer of Laura Haymes Jewelry and make luxurious jewelry at affordable prices using silver, semi precious stones and high quality triple a cubic zirconia. It's elegant, stunning, stylish and long lasting. Who needs diamonds? Find us at House of Fraser stores or Ella Boutique, Knightsbridge. If not, Visit us@ww.larahemes.com make a statement and sparkle this season. Hi, my name is Michelle Bartlett, the founder of Live Laugh Love Ladies Club. We're looking for ladies to link arms across the globe. This is a new vibrant brand connecting women socially. Our club members enjoy great food, fun and inspiring speakers while making friends of all generations. If you're a social butterfly in your community, this fast growing franchise may be for you. Or we invite national companies to advertise within our close network of members. 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We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will Help. Hello. Welcome back. We're talking mince pies, food, Christmas delights. I don't really do much cooking for Christmas because I actually visit people so I get out of it. That sounds like a good move. But I made a cake last year which was very successful and it was very, it was very nerve wracking actually because the last time I made a Christmas cake it went bad when it was in the tin, you know, sort of with all the alcohol in it and when I. With all the alcohol. So when I opened it up it was like completely moldy. But this time it was successful cake and everyone enjoyed it. The only thing was the marzipan wasn't very good, it was crumbly. So I'm not gonna wait for it next year. Yeah, I'm not going to do any Christmas. You can make your own marzipan actually that's the problem. I made my own. I should have bought it and then just rolled it, rolled it out. But yeah, yeah. And I used to do all the Christmas baking. I used to make puddings and mince pies and Christmas cakes. Cakes or even my own mincemeat to go in the mince pies. But I don't have time these days. All my time's gone. I do actually quite like that. It's quite meditative spending half a day doing Christmas baking. But I did buy in a charity shop Paul Hollywood's baking book. So I'm going to act, I am going to bake something but it may not be anything sweet. It might be a savory tidbit, you know, that I'll bring down. Haven't decided yet. Cheese straws are good for Christmas. I remember my mother made them as a child. Oh yes, that's a good idea. Yes, cheese straws. But I actually like all the Christmas cooking because I think it's. I do like spending time making a meal properly without all the kind of everyday busyness of life. So I can actually quite enjoy cooking a Christmas meal. And it has a nice, it sort of gives off a nice aroma, doesn't it? Oh, beautiful, yes. And getting all the nicest ingredients and things and I would actually cook for more people but it's quite hard. I haven't got a big enough dining table or house to have a whole lot of people to have say all my in laws so I can't have them. But when I do manage to find someone to invite or have a friend, like last year I had a friend visit from the States, it's really so nice to do it And I really don't like going to a restaurant on Christmas Day, which seems to have become very common, because I don't think you necessarily get a better quality of food, do you? I mean, I. We always have lovely food at Christmas. Yeah, I went to. I did that one year down at Aylesford, which is where I used to go quite often with a group of friends, and that was absolutely delicious. But, I mean, I've heard stories that the food's not that brilliant, just charge twice the price for what you'd normally get as pub grub. Yeah, that was my experience. I went to a restaurant with family and this was a few years ago, and it was £60 without any drinks. And the meal was served by school kids, obviously, because there was none of the regular waiting staff there. They mustn't have wanted to work. It was crushed into the restaurant. There was two sittings. They were hurried in and hurried out. And I just thought it was a. And the food was, like you said, like pub grub type. Not much better than that. Although it's very large quantities and large portions. But that's not the way I like to eat. I like to have a kind of smaller portion, but better quality. Yeah. Maybe the. The one that I did do, Dan, because it. Maybe because it was outside of town. I don't know. Maybe in the country you got better fare. Probably. Yes. At a place like that in the country, they probably got produce from farms and things like that. But it was good for me that year because I was actually on my own, so it was nice to sort of just go and join another group of people. But it is nice just to sort of have Christmas with your family if you've got the space to all get together. Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think it is. The real downside about Christmas is this thing that if you haven't got. Got some family nearby or something to spend Christmas with, you can end up feeling kind of lonely and isolated because everything's closed and everybody else is a bit of their family. But there are people who do prefer to spend Christmas away from their family or doing things. My neighbor always goes on a retreat every year to a place in the countryside and she finds it just wonderfully refreshing and. Or you can volunteer, you know. Well, that's just what I was thinking. A lot of people go and do crisis for Christmas, don't they, and say they have a fantastic time because it's such a good atmosphere. Yeah, oh, absolutely. Or the Salvation army or your local church hall, you know, do things. Don't they? It doesn't have to be one of the main charities. You can usually find some like age concern. Probably do things, don't they? They do something about local secondary school. They do a dinner for old people that I have tried to volunteer for, but they were full. They're very popular these things and can be competitive. And also the thing is that all this kind of happy family Christmas, there's a lot of rows. Go on. Oh, yeah, you're an EastEnders type family. Yeah. But there's a lot more of those around than people care to admit. And often people are spending. Spent so much on Christmas, they've got themselves into debt and they're supposed to have a perfect time and nothing ever is perfect and they're disillusioned and then they're just, you know, waiting to go out on Boxing Day to the sales to go and spend more money and get into more day. That's the thing I find difficult now that I think it's only Christmas Day that the shops are actually closed, isn't it? Yeah. I feel really sorry for shop workers. Yeah, me too. I think just to have those two days was nice. But I suppose if you don't have a family, you can work, can't you? Some people work and I hope that they do give you double time, at least on Boxing Day, because now that trading goes seven days a week, all the double time and triple times have finished now for shop workers. But I would hope that kind of. If they work on Boxing Day, they would still get. I just thought if it was. It's a bank holiday, so I just thought that they would have had to. For a bank holiday. I thought you at least had to have time off in Louvre if you work a bank holiday. I don't know. But it's not just that, it's the people who work, as you say, in restaurants, hotels. Yeah. You know, your day. I'm sure it's probably quite nice if you're in a good place, but if you're not in a very nice place working and they don't really look after the staff very well, then you could end up having quite a, you know, unappealing Christmas. On the other hand, if you've had a terrible time with your family, could be. It can work both ways. But I do feel sorry for people with young children if they're forced to go and work in a shop. Or maybe like, one parent has to be at home with the children whilst the other goes out to work, which often happens at weekends. These days, people really are Working longer hours. But I'm sure there's lots of places you can go if you don't like the traditional Christmas. You know, there may be, you know, you could organize your time with a group of like, ramblers or who want. Who want to avoid Christmas altogether. I'm sure there are groups like that around so that you can just. Yeah, I'm sure every kind of sort of activity. There's something that happens on Christmas, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, if you want to join in with it. You've got to remember that it's the Christmas Day. And Boxing Day is only kind of the Christian people. So there's lots of other religions as well. So they're all doing different things. And the Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas either. Scotland don't do Boxing Day, or I think it's Boxing Day that they don't. And for some people, Christmas Eve is the. Is the most important. For the Scandinavian countries, they usually celebrate. They still have Christmas Day there and Eastern European countries as well. And I've got colleagues, work colleagues who are Muslim, but they, they have Christmas. They do the Christmas thing well. Yeah, they just have an extra holiday, don't they? So a lot of Muslims do celebrate Christmas because I was in the Gambia one year just before Christmas, which is a Muslim and Christian country, and they said they all celebrate it because Jesus Christ is a kind of saint for Muslims anyway, so he's not irrelevant to recognize him as the Savior, as it were. Yeah, no, they, they just. But they do recognize it as important person. So they will celebrate it in some kind. I didn't know that. Yeah. And the other thing is, of course it's a Serbian Orthodox Christmas is a totally different day. Are you the right. You mean the Russian Christmas as well? The Orthodox one? Yeah, But I think it's. It's in the new year sometime. I can't remember exactly. Exactly. Or if it's one of these that doesn't fall on the same date every year. But it's totally different from ours. But I don't think they object. And celebrating ours as well. There may be pagan celebrations. They tend to be around the solstices though, don't they? Well, I don't know. I mean, I would be interested to find out if, you know, if anyone can feedback anything to us. Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is that apparently the historical Jesus Christ, there's no evidence was born on 25 December, and it may have been more like in the summer. And the thing is that this Date was chosen in order to kind of take over with the pagan. Yeah. Because they thought they got more chance of introducing Christianity by fusing what's around. Anyway, it seemed like Easter's at spring, which is another kind of pagan time, so they said. But I used to work for an atheist charity and used to do a kind of godless Christmas show that was like a science and. And comedy show, which was an alternative. Well, they've changed the title of that now. It's not godless. It's. Now I can't remember the name of it, but I heard it on the radio. They were talking about it on Radio 4. Yeah, I know. It still goes on that I. But I haven't had anything to do with it. Is it curious, Curious, Curious Christmas? I don't know. Lessons of Nine. What was it called? Lessons of Nine Carols. No, it's called. It used to be called Nine. Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People. Yeah, when I was involved and it was a good show, actually. I mean, you didn't have to be an atheist to appreciate. Yes, I remember going to a few of those. They were good. Yeah, it's long. Yes. Like the Bible. Yeah, but they've got a different. Yes, they've got a different sort of title now. So they've obviously found that the God list didn't work. I don't know. But I just think it's good that it's in the middle of winter, it's cold and it's miserable and dark and let's just have and eat and drink and be merry and do things for whatever reason. Actually, from my point of view. On that note, we will have to wrap up the Christmas show and it's goodbye from all of us, Julia and Judith Walker. And have a great Christmas, everybody. Yes. And a happy Christmas from me. And if you want to contact us about any of your Christmas ideas or experiences, you can contact us on womensradiostation.com or tweet us on womensradio. Tweet us. Womensradiostn. That's it for now. Have a great time at Christmas. Bye bye. Women's radio station is looking forward to a great 2019 with more shows coming your way. All the presenters and the team behind each program would like to say a big thank you for listening. We are the voice of women worldwide and we cannot be without you. The journey has just begun with more exciting programs soon to be revealed. Women's radio station, the voice of women worldwide. I'm Isabelle Manevy, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive. We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 079-8442, 2171. I'm listening. Mirae B Ltd. 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This is where careers ignite, where playwrights take risks, where great actors perform just feet away from the audience. This is where magic happens. We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.germanstreettheatre.co.uk Women's radio station is a not for profit community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate simply head to our website. Every little will help.