Comedic “Things you like” (i.e things that please you in a lighthearted way)

[32475]

The brief but satisfying smell of gunpowder in the nostrils straight after pulling a Christmas cracker

 

[Ediswan]

The brief but satisfying smell of gunpowder in the nostrils straight after pulling a Christmas cracker

Silver fulminate.

 

[Busaholic]

The brief but satisfying smell of gunpowder in the nostrils straight after pulling a Christmas cracker

Or after delivering a consignment to the Palace of Westminster?

 

[32475]

Silver fulminate.

Thanks for putting me right!

 

[Ediswan]

Thanks for putting me right!

Thank Google. I knew it could not be gunpowder, had to look up what it is actually is.

 

[32475]

That satisfying extra centre core bit you get in a Terry’s chocolate orange

 

[Paul Jones 88]

Opening that old cabinet at the back of the drawing room that I haven't bothered with for years and finding two long forgotten bottles of scotch.

 

[32475]

Opening that old cabinet at the back of the drawing room that I haven't bothered with for years and finding two long forgotten bottles of scotch.

The very matter of having a Drawing Room is pleasing enough in itself. Somehow it’s so much more refined than a lounge. Mrs 32475 and I go for the middle ground option of a sitting room.

 

[birchesgreen]

Opening that old cabinet at the back of the drawing room that I haven't bothered with for years and finding two long forgotten bottles of scotch.

My mum also found a forgotten bottle of scotch at the back of a cupboard last year. I especially like that she gave it to me.

 

[nw1]

EDIT: Sorry! I misread the thread title, this should have been in the 'things that annoy you' thread! Moderators: please move if you see this.

A seasonal one.

The way that the UK starts Christmas too early these days, around November 15th when it's still autumn and the brown leaves are still on the trees.... but then *immediately* terminates Christmas on Boxing Day and Christmas songs of all sorts are banned on the radio. Some people even take down decorations shortly after Boxing Day.

This is a different approach to many Continental countries which keep Christmas going to New Year, as we used to do in the early 80s.

The period between Dec 27 and Jan 6 doesn't exactly have a lot else going for it besides the festive season, so why terminate the festivities early when there isn't exactly a lot else to get excited about?

In short the modern UK Christmas is too early. Rather than Nov 15-Dec 26, it should be something like Dec 10-Jan 6.

 

[birchesgreen]

A seasonal one.

The way that the UK starts Christmas too early these days, around November 15th when it's still autumn and the brown leaves are still on the trees.... but then *immediately* terminates Christmas on Boxing Day and Christmas songs of all sorts are banned on the radio. Some people even take down decorations shortly after Boxing Day.

I suspect a lot of this is commerce driven, need to get the january sales and Easter stuff set up!

Isn't today the 9th day of Christmas, my true love bought to me toast not ladies dancing though.

 

[nw1]

I suspect a lot of this is commerce driven, need to get the january sales and Easter stuff set up!

Nah, Easter starts on November 29th. Or at least it did in 2014 when the first Creme Eggs appeared that year. That beat the earliest previous date I remember, December 7th in 1987.

Mind you I'm all for thinking about spring and Easter as soon as Twelfth Night passes. The British winter has little else going for it.

Isn't today the 9th day of Christmas, my true love bought to me toast not ladies dancing though.

There's a bit of an anomaly, they talk about the 12 days of Christmas but by my count, Dec 25 - Jan 6 is actually 13? So are the 'days of Christmas' exclusive of Christmas Day itself?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Nah, Easter starts on November 29th. Or at least it did in 2014 when the first Creme Eggs appeared that year. That beat the earliest previous date I remember, December 7th in 1987.

I must pull you up on the Creme Eggs thing. Cadbury's Creme Eggs were never an "Easter Only" thing- much like Kinder Surprise they used to be available all year round (though maybe not on the shelves during December to make room for the festive ranges). Certainly as a kid I never considered Creme Eggs in the same category as larger Easter Eggs that you could only get between January and whenever Easter fell that year.

 

[DelW]

Nah, Easter starts on November 29th. Or at least it did in 2014 when the first Creme Eggs appeared that year. That beat the earliest previous date I remember, December 7th in 1987.

Mind you I'm all for thinking about spring and Easter as soon as Twelfth Night passes. The British winter has little else going for it.

I was in "The Works" (discount book / games shop) yesterday, and at least two display bays had been cleared out, with Easter promotions being put up in them.

There's a bit of an anomaly, they talk about the 12 days of Christmas but by my count, Dec 25 - Jan 6 is actually 13? So are the 'days of Christmas' exclusive of Christmas Day itself?

According to Google's calendar, Twelfth Night is on the 5th of January.

 

[nw1]

I was in "The Works" (discount book / games shop) yesterday, and at least two display bays had been cleared out, with Easter promotions being put up in them.

According to Google's calendar, Twelfth Night is on the 5th of January.

I was always told as a child it was Jan 6 so have grown up assuming this. But yes, the maths doesn't work out.

I must pull you up on the Creme Eggs thing. Cadbury's Creme Eggs were never an "Easter Only" thing- much like Kinder Surprise they used to be available all year round (though maybe not on the shelves during December to make room for the festive ranges). Certainly as a kid I never considered Creme Eggs in the same category as larger Easter Eggs that you could only get between January and whenever Easter fell that year.

Though IMX they have only been available for a small part of the year - usually December to April. I am fairly sure they disappear in the summer and autumn, anyhow. I have this distinct memory from 1987 (mentioned above) of noting their availability for the first time in a while in early December, and AFAIK it's followed the same pattern since. Though recently they also offer 'Screme Eggs' for the Halloween season, aka the whole of Sep and Oct.

I do realise that the habit of eating them is however not restricted to round Easter. I associate them as a winter thing as much as Easter, which corresponds to the winter/spring avaiability that I've always experienced.

 

[daveo]

Nah, Easter starts on November 29th. Or at least it did in 2014 when the first Creme Eggs appeared that year. That beat the earliest previous date I remember, December 7th in 1987.

Mind you I'm all for thinking about spring and Easter as soon as Twelfth Night passes. The British winter has little else going for it.


There's a bit of an anomaly, they talk about the 12 days of Christmas but by my count, Dec 25 - Jan 6 is actually 13? So are the 'days of Christmas' exclusive of Christmas Day itself?

January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany. So Christmas ends on January 5th (Twelfth Night).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I was always told as a child it was Jan 6 so have grown up assuming this. But yes, the maths doesn't work out.



Though IMX they have only been available for a small part of the year - usually December to April. I am fairly sure they disappear in the summer and autumn, anyhow. I have this distinct memory from 1987 (mentioned above) of noting their availability for the first time in a while in early December, and AFAIK it's followed the same pattern since. Though recently they also offer 'Screme Eggs' for the Halloween season, aka the whole of Sep and Oct.

I do realise that the habit of eating them is however not restricted to round Easter. I associate them as a winter thing as much as Easter, which corresponds to the winter/spring avaiability that I've always experienced.

The newsagents where as a teen I spent three years being chronically underpaid for delivering newspapers, had Creme Eggs on the counter all year round. As did most corner shops/convenience stores. The bigger shops/supermarkets would give them more of a push from new year to Easter with point-of-sale displays and the like, but in my experience they certainly weren't an easter-specific thing.

It could well be that Cadburys (and latterly Kraft) weren't happy about this for some reason, as they have been harder to find in the summertime in recent years. That's probably also why they've tried to do a "Creme-Egg Bar" on a few occasions, but to me those never had the same appeal.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It could well be that Cadburys (and latterly Kraft) weren't happy about this for some reason, as they have been harder to find in the summertime in recent years.

That's probably also why they've tried to do a "Creme-Egg Bar" on a few occasions, but to me those never had the same appeal.

Many Cadbury's items never been quite the same, ever since Kraft/Mondelez International took over and "improved / re-formulated" the product offering.

 

[52290]

January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany. So Christmas ends on January 5th (Twelfth Night).

In the church the last day of the Christmas season is February 2nd (Candlemas). It is also the first day of spring in the Celtic calendar.

 

[nw1]

In the church the last day of the Christmas season is February 2nd (Candlemas). It is also the first day of spring in the Celtic calendar.

I remember a vicar once telling me that.

It's a shame we can't extend the festivities to February 2nd to be honest, it would certainly shorten winter.

And Feb 2nd as spring.. well the evenings are a lot lighter then (about an hour lighter than Dec 21st), and it can occasionally be warm and sunny, so while it sounds early, it's no more early than March 21 (some people's definition of the start of spring) is late. By March 21 the daffodils have been out for several weeks usually. March 1 is IMO the most sensible date.

 

[DelW]

And Feb 2nd as spring.. well the evenings are a lot lighter then (about an hour lighter than Dec 21st), and it can occasionally be warm and sunny, so while it sounds early, it's no more early than March 21 (some people's definition of the start of spring) is late. By March 21 the daffodils have been out for several weeks usually. March 1 is IMO the most sensible date.

(Pedantry alert) Earliest sunset is actually around Dec 12th - the 21st just has the shortest gap between sunrise and sunset, as the latest sunrise isn't until the end of December. So evenings have already been getting lighter for about three weeks now, although the change is still small.
None of which affects your point of course .

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Afternoons have been getting lighter (slightly!) for a week or so now - earliest sunset was around the 12th. But mornings will still get darker until the latest sunrise around the end of this month.
The 21st has the shortest gap between sunrise and sunset, but not the latest or earliest respectively.

Think it varies around the country. In Manchester, the earliest sunset in 2021 was on 14th December at 3:50:30 p.m. but the shortest day was 21st/22nd December (both 7 hours, 27 mins, 44 secs) and the latest sunrise was 29th/30th December at 8:26:32 a.m.

Guess it's stuff like this that part explains why it was necessary to standardize railway time in the 1840s.

 

[52290]

I remember a vicar once telling me that.

It's a shame we can't extend the festivities to February 2nd to be honest, it would certainly shorten winter.

And Feb 2nd as spring.. well the evenings are a lot lighter then (about an hour lighter than Dec 21st), and it can occasionally be warm and sunny, so while it sounds early, it's no more early than March 21 (some people's definition of the start of spring) is late. By March 21 the daffodils have been out for several weeks usually. March 1 is IMO the most sensible date.

Feb 2nd was chosen because it was halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Other dates in the Celtic calendar are 1st day of Summer May 1st, Autumn 1st August and Winter 31st October.All are halfway between an Equinox and a Solstice, this was important in Agrarian society.

 

[nw1]

Feb 2nd was chosen because it was halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Other dates in the Celtic calendar are 1st day of Summer May 1st, Autumn 1st August and Winter 31st October.All are halfway between an Equinox and a Solstice, this was important in Agrarian society.

Indeed - the Celtic winter very closely approximates to the time of year when the sun sets before 1700, so definitely clearly defines the darkest three months.

 

[32475]

After 11 years living where I do that I can actually see trains from my garden as I found out only yesterday. I have to stand in a very particular spot and it’s only at this time of year when there are no leaves on the trees.

 

[birchesgreen]

One "benefit" of the first lockdown and the quieter roads was that i could hear, for the first time in living in this house for 20 years, the horn of a train passing on the line about a mile or so away.

 

[py_megapixel]

When a letter/parcel you are expecting arrives earlier than you thought it would (assuming said letter/parcel is one you wanted to receive to begin with!)

 

[MotCO]

When a letter/parcel you are expecting arrives earlier than you thought it would (assuming said letter/parcel is one you wanted to receive to begin with!)

And not a bill!

 

[py_megapixel]

And not a bill!

Well, I'm not sure anyone really wants to receive a bill... though receiving a bill promptly is probably better than receiving a debt collection letter in a few months, or whatever...

 

[dgl]

Recieving a letter from HMRC to tell you that they owe you money, or due to my seasonal employment/PAYE getting a payslip where the tax paid this time is a decent minus figure! (usually over £500)