 |
| The dream... |
I’ve been knocked out by the worst cold I’ve had in ages and it’s forced me to sit passively watching the world go by. Christmas always worries me anyway; too many memories of trying to make it special on a very limited budget when my daughters were growing up, but more than ever it seems that so many seasonal messages are all about buying that festive feeling. All that debt for the fragrance, the clothes, the car, the food, the little bits of coloured plastic that promise to change your family’s life only for the magic and sparkle to disappear with the discarded wrapping. I’m not suggesting we wear hair shirts on Christmas Day - I enjoy a treat as much as the next person - but I do think this is the time of year when the pressure to make dreams come true makes it easy to lose sight of reality and of what’s really important.
Another fantasy that’s dismayed me this week (don’t worry, my cold seems to be going so expect normal service to be resumed) is the hype around the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. The cover photo of a young woman weighed down by outsized gold wings, her bottom barely covered, might have cheered up some readers of this week’s Telegraph magazine, but it makes me want to weep. When far too many women are shackled by their own societies, how is trussing up a model and sending her down a catwalk buckling under the weight of a 40lb frame a good thing? Really, is this what women’s liberation amounted to?
And I suppose you could say, that as a novelist I’m guilty of peddling dreams too, because, yes, I do have to promote my books from time to time. However, I’m not promising to make my readers lives better, but only to tell them a story with a happy ending about female protagonists who discover that joy comes from within and that self-belief takes you higher than an 8 ft pair of gold wings.
 |
| ... and the reality. |
Comments
Oh I would love to see your fantasy hat, Clare - I do hope you your novel brings plenty of occasions for celebrations when you can wear it. (And thank you!).
I'll have to, Sally, or I'll completely forget how to walk in them! Thank you.
I love red shoes, Kate, so yep, bring 'em on - we can wear our shoes and Clare can wear her hat! xx
I think your sentiments on the Victoria's Secret show is spot on. We do tend to become very materialistic around the holidays. It's all about spending money and not remembering why we celebrate. We really do need to appreciate what we have. Competing with others and trying to fit into a mold that we're told we should ascribe to is tough.
I think it's wonderful you've raised two lovely daughters with the resources you had. You did the best for them and they benefited from that. After all, love is the best gift of all and it's both free and priceless.
Chanpreet, I was feeling quite guilty about the shoes I've never worn but people's comments here have made me realise that there's a few of us hoping for a bit of glamour from time to time. You are so right about love; it is free and priceless - and it doesn't run out. All best to you and yours.
Hello Sheryl, lovely to see you here! Thank you for your comments and good wishes. cx
Your glam slippers are lovely. Do give them a time out every so often just for the fun of the elevation. Truly, you could wear them with jeans to give an edge to both. (I've got several pairs of glam heels in my closet that I last wore sometime in the last century. I just like to take a look at them every so often. My feet thank me for just looking.)
Dreams are good. I think that there's a difference between dreams and delusion.
I view commercialized, transactionalized Christmas season from the sidelines. I much prefer to make most of my gifts and enjoy seeing friends, eating way too much sweet, rich items, and perhaps having a glass too much of something intoxicating. And enjoying beautiful decorations and the scent of greenery, and doing some baking of my own.
Some of the music is good to hear, too.
xo