The Nativity - live

The house is being buffeted by wind and rain and flying objects (not birds, but other detritus).  The mountains have retreated into the thick grey cloud, roads are turning into streams and we are waiting for the snow.  This didn't stop anyone from having a good time at the Christmas market yesterday evening, however.  Around here, these markets are two a penny.  Any village worth its salt has one - people come from far and wide to peruse the wares being flogged by locals and more eminent vendors alike.  It struck me last night that such markets can be quite hazardous.  You nudge your way through crowds of people, half of whom have a mug of boiling hot alcohol in their hand and a lit cigarette in the other.  For some reason, the cigarettes are always on a level with small children's eyes.  The only light comes from flickering fires and candles.  Hungry revellers fight their way to sausages spitting fat and squabble over the mustard.  If you are lucky, there will be a 'live' nativity scene.  Perhaps you are not familiar with this concept.  School children are recruited for the various roles (Mary, Joseph, Shepherd No. 1 etc) and wear their robes over winter clothes, making them all look a tad obese.  There are always real animals, that normally behave far better than the kids.  Yesterday's example had a very well mannered donkey.  I think it must have been on valium, stuck as it was in a small enclosure with four shepherds goading each other with flaming sticks.  Bored angels ran to and fro, Joseph had gone AWOL, Mary sat sadly next to the manger, her glasses steamed up from the night air.  Sheep picked desultorily at the hay around Baby Jesus.  A couple of goats locked horns and head-butted. Nobody said anything.  Parents dressed in Bavarian clothes stood at the fence and admired their offspring.  We watched for five minutes, just to see if the donkey caught fire, but it didn't, so we moved on.

Back to Friday evening and the company Christmas party.  Our 'turn' went down a treat.  Sad to say, it will not be appearing on youtube (as far as I know).  I played Prince Charming in a potted version of Cinderella.  Then we sang a silly little song, one verse each; I got to go first, naturally.  I was more terrified than I'd ever been, more, even, than when I had to play O little town of Bethlehem at a nativity play on the piano and my fingers were shaking. The rest of the evening was not too bad though, on the whole.  There were vast amounts of food and fine wines and beer and cocktails.  People I hardly knew came up to me, slinging an arm over my shoulder and slurring professions of love for the English language.  (They must have been rat-arsed.)  I was one of the first to leave at half-past midnight.  As I got into my car two hundred yards away, I could still hear roaring and raucous singing and see people leaping about.  With relief, I made my way home through the dark, rainy night.