It’s usually about this time of year that I start wishing I was in Australia or southern Thailand or California.........but basically somewhere hot and sunny! I flew into Los Angeles once – back in the days when you could smoke on planes. Can you believe that?! I actually had a cigarette on the flight between London and LA  -  or probably quite a few because it’s a long flight and there wasn’t as much entertainment as there is now.

I also remember smoking on the London Underground (“the Tube”) which is probably even more unbelievable! I can vividly remember sitting in a carriage full of people puffing away and stubbing out my fag end on the wooden floor.....oh the good old days!

“But what about California?” I hear you ask. Well I was very excited to be there as you can imagine. I’d bought a round-the-world plane ticket in order to visit my brother and his family in New Zealand with stops in America, Australia and Asia as part of the deal. As soon as we landed in LA I hopped in a taxi and headed for Venice Beach – the place where I knew all the cool cats like The Doors had hung out and had their minds blown baby yeah!

I wasn’t disappointed. There were roller skating acid heads in silver baking foil whizzing along the sea front, beautiful blonde beach babes playing the guitar and all kinds of classic American-type characters/weirdos – just like I’d seen on the TV. It was great!

Yes sir – it sure would be great to be jumping on another plane right now and heading west into the sunset. I guess I’m California dreaming, on such a winter’s day.......

There’s no time to worry about the collapse of the Euro (or the Eurozone) and the dire economic (or is it financial?) consequences for the rest of Europe – and indeed the whole world (if we are to believe some “experts” in the media). Don’t panic about the fact that Italy and Greece have got rid of their elected leaders and installed bankers as their new prime ministers without a single vote being cast – wasn’t it the bankers who got us into this economic crisis/credit crunch in the first place? So much for democracy then......

Have no fear about Iran developing a nuclear bomb or shooting down unmanned USA spy planes or the fact that Pakistan (with the world’s fastest growing arsenal of nuclear weapons) could fall into the hands of extremist religious nutcases because........

.........its (nearly) Christmas!!

“Ding dong merrily on high

In heaven the bells are ringing

Ding dong merrily the sky

Is full of angels singing!”

Yes friends! It’s a time for singing Christmas carols, putting up decorations, eating enough excessively rich food to put a hippopotamus in hospital and spending all your hard-earned cash on presents for kids who play with their new toys for about five minutes before getting bored and moving on to the next one.

Ok, I admit, this is a rather cynical blog - so next week I’ll write about the whole English Christmas experience from how I remember it as a kid. It’ll be beautiful, trust me! In the meantime I’ll leave you with a classic Xmas song – check out the fashions from 1973! It’s Slade with “Merry Christmas Everybody!”

Independence day, St. Marcin day, giant croissants filled with white poppy seed and a flyover in the rynek by the Polish Air Force. These are just some of the events that have happened recently which make me realise I'm living in a different country. One of my students gave me a Rogalin cake during our lesson and said that she would probably eat about 4 during the day.....and why not!? What a spectacular treat it is! The queues outside every bakery in town testify to the enormous popularity of this once-in-a-year delicacy. (Well, that's not entirely true.....I know a couple of places where you can buy them virtually the whole year round but let's not spoil a beautiful tradition.....). Autumn in Poznan means walking around Lake Rusalka marvelling at the various shades of golden leaves, being invited to premiere art gallery exhibitions (thanks Gosia) and going to concerts in one of the many music venues this city has to offer. Do I miss home? No, not really. There's so much to do and see here that an englishman abroad feels lucky to just experience it every day.

One thing I did miss was the 5th of November back home which is a celebration of when Guy Fawkes (and a number of other conspirators) plotted to blow up the houses of parliament. Oh what a great idea! Shame it didn't happen. Everybody makes a huge bonfire and has a firework display to "Remember, remember the 5th of november!"

Yes I’ll admit it. I’m a man - and a human being - and I need love and would like to see peace on earth as much as the next man. I once had a pet mouse called Neville, whom I was very fond of, but since then love has been a bit thin on the ground. Sure I’ve had a few romances but as soon as they find out that I’m a compulsive pyromaniac with multiple, deranged personalities and appalling personal hygiene my girlfriends tend to move on....

But anyway...

With the 10^th anniversary of the passing of legendary Beatle George Harrison (and a new movie biography by Martin Scorcese due for release soon) it seems like a good time to examine some of the things that he believed in - and love and peace came pretty high up his list of beliefs!

With wars still raging in many places across the planet it’s a shame that simple, hopeful messages such as the one in this weeks’ featured video aren’t taken a bit more seriously, isn’t it?

Or am I just being hopelessly naive?

Yes of course I am – but it’s a nice tune and for 3 minutes 27 seconds I can forget about the troubles of the world and the fact that I accidentally enlisted in the Marine Corps one drunken night back home in England during the summer. But that’s another story...

ps. Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra) is on vocals with Eric Clapton on one of the guitars....

pps. Check out another George classic :  “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. It’s worth watching for the Prince guitar solo which comes in about halfway through...

Miła piosenka na wakacje. Jeśli ktoś ma ochotę zanucić to śmiało, oto lyrics:

We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
we've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you.