Diary: our Christmas decorations

Our yearly review of Christmas decorations, inside and outside the house.

The Christmas tree, the mantelpiece and the hearth vie for your attention

The white lights are next door's illuminations, but they harmonise, yes?

I believe Clare is looking for a transit of one of the Iridium satellites

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I've just reread John Banville's "The Infinities" which I reviewed back in 2009. Banville always benefits from a second pass - this time I had a feeling the novel offered some homage to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" but failed to find any deep connection.

I've been listening to Joni Mitchell's "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" (1975), usually described as 'experimental'. It's the album which precedes 'Hejira'. The tracks are diverse and some appeal more than others. I wouldn't say I 'get it' at the moment but I am prepared to give it time. It has a potentially rewarding complexity I no longer find in work from (for example) Jimi Hendrix or Deep Purple (I know I'm comparing apples with oranges here).

My sympathies this evening are with the London Zoo Aardvark which so tragically died in the cafe fire today. No doubt it too had plans for Christmas but I am reminded of Mike Tyson's justifiably-famous aphorism: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

Or in this case, incinerated.