You Sleigh Me

Emma's Christmas Hamper

Bad Santa

Hello, lovelies! Well, here we are. At the end of it…’It’ being the interminable stress of the festive season.

Worry not, I won’t bah-humbugger, I thought instead I’d share with you some of the best bits of this year. (Safety warning: best read with something fortifying 🍷🍺)

• You 🫵🏻

Without you, my adoring readers, and now listeners (you can hear my dulcet 📢 tones reading these missives) I wouldn’t be writing about Parkinson’s at all. The comments, shares, subscriptions, tips and general love have encouraged me so much. So essentially it’s all your fault.

• Twitter 🕊️

Yep, I am actually saying that Twitter has been a highlight of the year - not the egoist-milk-sop that purports to run it, but the folk that make it wonderful.

Here are some of my favourite tweets, threads and folk:

Benedict Allen draws these little wrappers for his son’s lunch every day…they are uplifting and joyful.

Benedict ALLEN @benedictallen

"Because in the end, home is where the heart is..." (Uplifting cartoon of the day - and last day of the term - for my son's school sandwich wrapper.) Here's to you and yours, and your future explorations too, this Christmas!🥂🎄

The hashtag #ThisIsParkinsons shows the strength and brilliance of the community, have a look through it.

Emma Kyriacou @of_the_thought

Hello world. It's #WorldParkinsonsDay I have Parkinson's. My kids have me. This is us. #ThisIsParkinsons

Emma Kyriacou @of_the_thought

Yes I have Parkinson's. I'm 43. I was 29 when I first noticed it. I had three children by the time it was diagnosed. https://t.co/MvVCAJf2on

Anne Louise Avery @AnneLouiseAvery

17th Window.Dark already & they were having sherry in the parlour.Listen, said Old Fox suddenly, carollers! He opened the door & there in the snow were so many friends.The Doctor & the Mice from the farm, Grey Brock with his concertina; Good King Wenceslas blessing the night air.

Letters of Note @LettersOfNote

Today's newsletter is literally just Philip Larkin moaning about how much he hates Christmas through the years: bit.ly/3BmJL8E

• Books 📚

Far too many to list but a few discoveries.

Caimh McDonnell - Bunny Magarry series. Very Irish humour dectective-ish books. Should come with a warning not to read when in bed and your bedfellow is trying to sleep as you burst out laughing every few lines.

The Po: An Elegy for Italy's Longest River Tobias Jones.

What Remains?: Life, Death and the Human Art of Undertaking Rupert Callendar.

• TV 📺

Bad Sisters is utterly brilliant.

Acapulco is gentle, funny and surprisingly touching. Also, all the bright colours cheering in the dark winter!

• Film 📽️

COUP53 While making a documentary about the CIA/MI6 coup in Iran in 1953, Iranian director Taghi Amirani and editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) discover never seen before archive material hidden for decades. The 16mm footage and documents not only allow the filmmakers to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian government in unprecedented detail but also leads to explosive revelations about dark secrets buried for 67 years. Working with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List, The English Patient) to help bring the lost material to life, what begins as a historical documentary about four days in August 1953 turns into a live investigation, taking the filmmakers into uncharted cinematic waters. The roots of Iran's volatile relationship with America and Britain has never been so forensically and dramatically exposed.

• Newsletters 💌

News with a Foreign Accent by Barbara Serra

The Week in Italy Jamie MacKay

Decommissioned by Flic Everett

The Regency Cook

• Random Stuff 🤪

Hot Sloe/Damson Punch

To serve two (multiply as needed), you’ll need:

1 cup cloudy apple juice

1 cup cider

Half tsp cinnamon

Half tsp of cloves

2 shots sloe gin (or Damson gin)

Optional slice of citrus to serve

In a saucepan gently heat your apple juice, cider, cinnamon and cloves together until almost boiling. As soon as it looks as though it’s about to bubble, turn the heat off and add your sloe gin. Stir and serve!

And finally…Die Hard is a Christmas movie…here’s the proof 🤣🤣🤣

Merry festivities & all the love for the coming year!

Emma xxx

P.S. If you want to pop a little something in my stocking I’d love you forever!