The Laboratory

And look! We're up to date. Just in time for the end of term. Which used to mean a "brown lunch" for Adam with his friends from the Drama department, Tony and Jason. But that was 15 years ago, they've moved on, and so has the brown stodge. We have a healthy end of term spread with lots of variety and colour. Not in any way like this: Wishing all of our teaching friends a happy holiday! Enjoy your 17 days off!

We're into the final stretch, and there's so much more we want to share with you. Especially some fun Christmas food - so much food! In Aldi we puzzled over this name. Who's Tommy K? But then we remembered a few years ago and the whole Platty Jubes thing meaning Platinum Jubilee. So ... Tommy K! And though it isn't as good as the usual Festive Pie, Adam did try the McDonalds x Terry's "Chocolate Orange Pie" And Adam's first visit EVER to a Toby Carvery, with his Maths department chums. It was amazing - as many as 5 meats, and as much vegetables and trimmings as you liked! And if you have the app, you can get 25% off, so it's a full roast dinner for £8. EIGHT! One of Adam's colleagues admitted that they had been to Toby once a week for a whole year. It is really a thing. You should try it out! Finally, we found another terrible cracker joke. Is it a joke? We can't tell.

As well as going to the Scandi fairs with Adam's sister Gail, we also visited Maison Diptyque on New Bond Street, a very exclusive candle and fragrance shop. Why? Because it had an installation by Lucy Sparrow. She's an English artist who creates decorations and objects out of felt. And it really was a display of wonder! Imagine stepping into a delicatessen brimming with festive treats, wine, chocolates and cakes, all made out of felt. There were also iconic Diptyque designs to be discovered – fragrances and candles reimagined in felt, right down to the flame.​ Even the cash register is made of felt! Completely hand-crafted by Lucy Sparrow over the span of more than a year, these artworks took over 2,500 hours to make. Not cheap to buy, but amazing to look at. And it's open until 7th January 2025. Do pay a visit upstairs, at the front of the store. Who knows what you will find! https://www.diptyqueparis.com/en_uk/c/maison-diptyque-london-lucy-sparrow.html

Not having a terrestrial TV aerial means we've missed out on most of the Christmas adverts this year. Unless they pop up on ITV X, or we seek them out on Youtube. John Lewis didn't even seem to get talked about this year. There's a great long read from the FT all about how Sainsbury's (and others) have been planning their Christmas adverts since January. Use the gift link here:  https://on.ft.com/4gFilgm And here's the Sainsbury's ad in question. Judge for yourself if it hits the mark: We've got to share Adam's favourite Christmas ad which has featured on the Advent Calendar many times!

Delayed again but this time by a terrible cold - now getting better! We were sent an exciting email today about the location of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest! Yes, Switzerland won in 2024, and they have chosen Basel to be the home of the show. We've been to Basel quite a few times, usually to visit the Vitra Design Museum just over the border in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Basel is very interesting, it is a tri-point which means it is where 3 countries meet. At the airport you can either leave into France or Switzerland, don't go through the wrong door! We were also excited by the Eurovision Christmas merch: If you are excited too, you can get your Christmas jumper from  https://shop.eurovision.tv/product-category/new-products

One of the problems with Christmas crackers is that the novelties inside are usually useless plastic, and don't make it much further than the kitchen bin. There are some lovely companies out there making environmentally friendly cracker contents, and we'd love to hear your recommendations in the comments below. If you have a big gang round (6 or 8 people or more), we've seen some crackers that are actually great for collaborative fun. Firstly, xylophone crackers! Each cracker features a vibrant rainbow xylophone design and inside, a miniature xylophone, sheet music, a raffia tie, a hat, a spirited snap, and a joke. Using the sheet music enables you to play tunes together. If you're not feeling music but want to learn a new skill, why not try these balloon modelling crackers? Same idea, comes with a balloon pump (because who wants to be out of breath on Christmas Day?) and instructions on making dogs, giraffes, or just make up your own for fun! It even comes with some go...