You know, Alipetecampbell, I think a lot of good could be done by simply not allowing houses to be built unless they're designed by a qualified architect and signed off by a qualified engineer, and built to minimum standards that ensure proper passive climate control (insulation, glazing, orientation etc.) and social linkage issues - let's ban the food desert and the nappy valley. Developers have a vested interest in building cheap, and those rubbish houses sell because (a) there's not much else on the market and (b) superficially they look okay. You'd argue that what I'm proposing would raise housing costs, but let's stop making billionaires of developers, let's stop councils from charging silly money for planning fees (eminently doable if housing is professionally designed) and, as I have said above, use less land for more housing AND more greenspace too, and the cuts in cost these measures would create could go towards making all houses better.

I'm from a European background ... Italian and Catholic. Christmas means celebrating the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. I hold onto generations of passed down tradition ... We celebrate December 6th as St. Nicholas Day (European Father Christmas) ... this is the day that all the house & garden decorations go up! We celebrate January 6th as The Epiphany (this is the 12th day of Christmas - when the Kings went back home) ... this is the day that all decorations get packed away. That's one month of relevant religious dates/events ... just enough time to truly appreciate celebrating the birth of Jesus with family and friends - whether gift giving or not - and "ooh-ing and ahh-ing" over the home Christmas decorations without getting bored with them.

Mince pies, pudding, christmas cake are old fashioned, cold weather inherited traditions in my personal opinion, so when I started my own family I threw out these particular 'old' ways and invented our new family traditions. If anyone comes to my house during christmas and I know they love these things, I buy individual puddings etc just for them. Its just puzzling to me why the new settlers didn't embrace our island culture and extreme heat, my grandmother had no electricity but they would light up the old fuel stove and she would slavingly cook for 15 or more - Wow that is commitment! LOL - and here I am, a real individual but I've had to adapt as I am gluten intolerant and I have MS - so there you go - I think the universe is trying to tell me something LOL...

I have two tortured willow trees...(sometimes I wish I didn't since they grow fast and get all tangled up in themselves...and everything else) BUT... if I harvest some of the more interestingly 'tortured' young branches, denude them of their leaves and young bark, I have the frameworks for Christmas wreaths and other interesting decorations. The young little branches, once stripped of their outer soft bark and when dry, can be painted and decorated with glitter or whatever and stood in floor vases. This year, rather than a Christmas tree, having a large mixed pot of coloured, decorated and natural tortured willow branches...and maybe a few wreaths here and there, maybe some of the sentimental tree decos that come out every year and...since this is a cat friendly house...lots of curly ribbons hanging down from the tortured willow 'tree' with the odd fluffy little toy to intrigue. I prefer to bring nature into the house for Christmas. In pagan times at Yule...branches from Fir trees were brought inside and hung with apples and oranges Use was made of dried pine cones and home made candles were an everyday thing only some special ones were made for Yuletide...and that harks back to the cold climate countries...hence the sleigh bells and snow etc. For Australia I prefer to use our native trees and leaves for adornment also for the fragrance these waft around the house. I lovely big frondy lot of gum tree leaves all tied and arranged well and sat in a metal bucket can be a lovely natural touch more in keeping with am Aussie Christmas. Personally I think the commercialisation of tree and home decorations has become rather....'ratty-looking'..fake green pine branches, gaudy baubles etc. Well in advance we go collecting dried seed pods, pine cones and any other nature-products for Christmas decos...all natural and really beautiful!