It’s probably not many people’s first thought when talking about Christmas songs but Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? always gets some airplay during December, which presumably means a bit more money raised. Although there’s a debate to be had about whether giving to charities lets the government off the hook, the fact is that there always seems to be a need for them.
This year, Crisis is running an anti-homeless campaign. I was faintly aware of it blurring past while fast-forwarding through some TV adverts, but when my colleague at work switched radio stations I heard the full version and was immediately intrigued by the donation being asked for.
Likely, any random number would have got my attention (£18.37 or £21.64, just to pick two at, um, random) but in fact it’s £29.06 which (less the pound sign) is my birthday! In terms of targeted advertising it could only have been bettered by a voiceover saying, “Stop speeding through the bloody ads, this is important!”
I’m fortunate enough never to have answered “no” to the question, “Did Father Christmas come?”; and to have never been hungry at Christmas. (Quite the opposite – even a trim, sylph-waisted figure like me gets into that groove where you keep automatically putting food in your mouth, like a Pez dispenser stuck in reverse.) And I’m lucky enough never to have been homeless.
Maybe we’re more inclined to give at this time of year. During the run up to Christmas anyway, when we spend 24 days wishing the best to everyone (before hunkering down and wanting the real world to leave us alone for a few days). Maybe it’s better to give than to receive.
Or maybe, as Mike Smash and Dave Nice have been telling us for almost 30 years – Christmas IS charity.
Andrew Curnow's Ramblings 