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23rd December 2022

A few random things to fit in on the penultimate day:

As usual, the Swedish Royal family have a much better Christmas than ours. Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, and their parents Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are going behind the scenes of the ballet Cinderella, and charming us with their brilliant family dynamic.



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Every year people work out the "Twelve Days of Christmas" inflation index, looking at the total cost of all the gifts mentioned on the 12th day. This year it has gone up by 10.5%.

Even the Three Kings would have been hit by 2022's record inflation. Their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh have kept their value in the commodity markets, reports Waitrose. Gold is around £1500 an ounce, up 40% on last year, and is used in phone technology as well as for jewellry. Incense costs £300 a kilo, harvested from the sap of the boswellia tree. And myrrh, from thorny commiphora trees, is £400 a kilo.

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If you were horrified by the M&S Panettonut, or by Christmas Pudding flavour crisps (They. Are. Real.) then you may not like this next photo. It's a Nando's seasonal special:




Plus some extra present ideas - you've still got 24 hours to buy them!

1) Aesop hand cream - as recommended by Cantabkitty and Biltawulf, 2 of the finest tweeters you will find
2) Margaret Howell calendar of classic Isokon furniture. Only £15 and the profits go to Open City, a charity making cityspaces more accessible and equitable.



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