As 2023 draws (almost) to its close, a Christmas break will offer some respite for many.
A chance to enjoy time with family and friends, and eat copious quantities of food, would be a welcome thing for all of us.
And everyone celebrating Christmas seems to have their own quirky traditions, so I hope your minds have all begun turning to those by the time you read this (among mine is replacing the angel on my parents’ tree with a crude Father Christmas, made from a toilet roll, that I crafted aged three).
Yet I also know that there will be people, in our town and beyond, who find Christmas a difficult time. We feel grief for loved ones we’ve lost. Sometimes we reflect on the difficult challenges of the year just past, or the year to come. Or we feel isolated and miss the company of others.
A Christmas message would be insincere without acknowledging that the festive season can like this too, and I hope that all of us will show our neighbourly spirit to anyone we know who might be struggling.
As Christmas activities have been building upstream, I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting with many residents in recent weeks. It’s been wonderful to see Reading in a more celebratory mood than some of the Decembers of recent past, and I truly hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.
