It Being January.

Warning: Downbeat.

I find January the most tedious month of the year. The days are still short, the nights are still long, the light is still low, the landscape is still bare, the gaiety of Christmas colour is all removed, and the house rarely produces much in the way of relief from its incessant chill. February might still be winter, but at least the colourful crocuses and primroses come along to brave the blast and offer a modicum of optimism. January is the epitome of drabness.

So how do I occupy these long dark evenings? Well, at this particular point in this particular January I find myself devoid of amusements. No DVDs, no reading matter, and nothing of even minor note to write to the blog. Household jobs are beyond consideration because every part of the house except my office (I would love to call it my study, but that would seem far too grand for an unassuming soul like me) is unremittingly cold. I have a TV, of course, but the programmes are too reflective of the culture to persuade me to want to watch them.

And so I sit in this office and play trivial card games on a computer growing old, crotchety, and intolerant of all but tightly rationed amounts of streaming. And when I grow tired of that I find something to research online. Tonight it was the British comedy actor Will Hay whose films are among my favourites. I have a mug of tea at around eight o’clock, and a mug of coffee (usually with a slice of toast) between ten and ten thirty. And then I persuade myself to write something like this blog post in order to wallow in the belief (of sorts) that I’ve spent at least part of the long winter’s night doing something productive. I hope somebody out there was mildly amused. Soon be time to attempt some tightly rationed streaming, courtesy of YouTube.

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But just as I was finishing writing the above, I remembered something which caught my eye today:

We have a retail chain in the UK called Poundland. I suppose you could categorise their stores as the base level of the discount store phenomenon – a bit like the old American five and dimes. As I was passing one of their stores today I saw a big notice on the wall just inside the entrance. It said:

Make sure you grab a basket or trolley

You’re going to need it!

Now, is that a prime example of corporate wishful thinking or merely an unusually crass attempt at manipulating the mindset of the masses? (Or could it be, perhaps, an altruistic attempt to brighten a cold, damp January day for people like me who think too much? If it’s still there in June I’ll go for the first two options.)