It may be a cliche, but it's true - the build-up to Christmas is so much more pleasurable than the actual day itself.

Amsterdam has more than 150 canals and 1,250 bridges, but it never seems crowded, nor bent and bitter from fleecing the tourist.

Being a monarchist - saying that one small group is born more worthy of respect than another - is just as warped and strange as being a racist.

One Christmas build-up tradition, however, has totally bypassed me - that of going up to town and 'doing a show.'

Is the raggle-taggle Brangelina tribe any more bogus than that of the landlocked yummy mummy who believes that she can drop half a dozen brats and still keep a modest carbon footprint? I don't think so.

People often yearn back to more innocent times, but more and more, as I get older, I find myself hankering after more jaded days.