IвЂ™m left feeling that thereвЂ™s very little hope.

IвЂ™m left feeling that love isnвЂ™t gonna win this in the end Like weвЂ™re clinging to the tail-end of the rope. Or the famously great Britain saying no to refugees.ДЄnd IвЂ™m left feeling like thereвЂ™s nothing we can do now Or fascists taking power or Teachers giving up TheyвЂ™ll bleed you dry, theyвЂ™ll bleed you til you drop.ДЄnd different sects who wish each other deadДЄnd all of it the fault not of the people at the topД«ut at the bottom, like the Daily Mail said.Д®very day it seems thereвЂ™s something else nowД®ither Trump or Ice Shelves melting to the seas (Tell us) those folk at the bottom are the problem We stand and watch as hospitals just simply disappear.Д«ut worst of all weвЂ™ve turned on one another WeвЂ™re electing cheats and frauds and liars and robbers WeвЂ™re dropping bombs on people in the desertДЄnd when they run we tell them donвЂ™t come here

I know IвЂ™m not alone in thinking this muchДЄnd thereвЂ™s folk whoвЂ™ve phrased it with more eloquenceД«ut seeing what weвЂ™re doing to this planet and each other IвЂ™ve a very low opinion of people at the momentДЇor whilst person by person we seem just fineДЄs a species weвЂ™ve earnt nothing but contempt. If it made you cry (as it almost did me, reading it out loud), then IвЂ™m both sorry and not sorry x Oh and just to say, I bloody love being on Countdown and all the lovely things that have been said to me over this week have been enormously happy-making, so THANK YOU X ItвЂ™s imperfect, but I thought IвЂ™d share it with you anyway. Since writing this for Countdown (which I think we filmed in October), there has been a charity Carol concert that I was meant to be performing at, which at the last minute I couldnвЂ™t attend. They will not shut up for a spell while I watch Doctor Who!Д¬hristmas! Christmas Christmas! FalalaвЂ™s and Whoop de doos Whilst your sugar-rushing children scream their heads off like a freighterДЄnd despite this being your house and these people вЂњlovingвЂќ you Their fat backsides into your house and sit down at your feastДЄnd never once say thank you and fart like rising yeastДЄnd drink your scotch and fall asleep and treat you like a waiter Once the shoppingвЂ™s been unloaded and the presents are all wrappedДЄnd the whole house has been washed and cleaned and polished, mopped and straightedДЄnd your hyperactive children have been chemically sedatedДЄnd the stockings have been strung up and the red wineвЂ™s all been mulledДЄnd the sprout stems have cut crosses and your sense of joyвЂ™s been dulledДЄnd the next day youвЂ™re awoken by your kids at 5amДЄnd thereвЂ™s really no convincing them to go to bed againДЄnd thereвЂ™s wrapping paper everywhere, and then you start the boozeДЄnd you try to tidy up again before your inlaws cruise The thousand photos that youвЂ™ll take! The jolly time youвЂ™ll capture!ДЄnd then when Christmas Eve rolls round, itвЂ™s your time to relax Oh Christmas Christmas Christmas! Oh Happiness! Oh Rapture! Which if you walk on barefoot, to your eyes brings Christmas tears! Whose branches will be bare by Christmas Eve most probablyД«ut you smother it in tinsel and you cover it in baublesДЄnd your neighbours say itвЂ™s lovely even though it looks godawful.ДЄnd the carpet in your front room holds dropped needles up like spears When the big dayвЂ™s just a fortnight hence itвЂ™s time to get a tree Send cards to all the people youвЂ™ve not seen sayinвЂ™ youвЂ™ve missed вЂem. With about four weeks to go, youвЂ™ve still got time to make a list anвЂ™ Oh Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! Send Instagrams! Send Tweets!Д«urn the candles! Burn the brandy! Burn the credit card receipts! ThereвЂ™re no reasons your kids shouldnвЂ™t get the things they want! Not any! Their body weight in haribo, a playstation from SonyДЄnd coz itвЂ™s SantaвЂ™s buying them, well, no-one pays a penny They want an iPad, want some shoes, a bicycle, a pony Than what to them will be brought by old Santa and his Elfs They fill their christmas list with stuff theyвЂ™ll hate by late December.Д«y then your children have begun to think of little else You must ensure this Christmas is the best youвЂ™ve ever had!ДЄnd if with children you are blessed itвЂ™s early in November The advertising companies become a little bolderД¬hristmas! Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! Scream the ads Then sometime in October when the nights are turning colder

You just popped in for suncream, but you leave with Christmas Crackers. YouвЂ™re wearing shorts and sunnies as you glide past the shelfstackers This ode explains why everyone loves it to smithereens!Д¬hristmas starts in August during Summer holidaysДЇor that is when the supermarkets put out their displays. Oh Angels Wings! Oh Happy things! ItвЂ™s nearly Christmas Day!ДЇor those of you uncertain of what Christmas really means ItвЂ™s Christmas time! Oh woopdedoo! Oh joy! Kalloo kalay!

Rufus hound