The festive season is upon us. I don't know why I'm saying that as though this comes as a huge shock since it happens every year. Every year we spend much of the lead up to Christmas pushing and shoving around various high street shops trying to track down the latest must-have toys, whilst simultaneously hoping that inspiration will strike us and tell us what to buy for that one relative who, whilst being perfectly nice and inoffensive, is an absolute git to buy for. Every year we run through a list of wonderful gifts in order to avoid resorting to Boots three for twos and Bodyshop gift boxes. The problem is that the relative in question either has everything already or absolutely detests technology. To them, a tablet is a headache remedy that is taken with water and tastes like arse. You'd get them a book but the only thing they read is the "Radio Times" or maybe "Readers' Digest." Bugger it, they will probably adore white musk scented toenail exfoliater.
I've just returned from one such trip into my local town centre. I decided that best policy would be to make my shopping trip on a day when most other people would be working but failed to factor in the fact that it was so close to Christmas. So, amidst the familiar sounds of Cliff Richard and George Michael, I got in my last bit of Christmas shopping before heading home on public transport. Whilst sitting on the bus I began my regular festive ruminations....
After considering the whole meaning/ point of Christmas questions my mind wondered to the John Lewis advert. For those who aren't familiar with John Lewis or their latest vomit inducing ad, allow me to elucidate: John Lewis is a British chain of department stores that stock everything from ladieswear to random over-priced tat. Their overly sentimental festive ad campaigns have become something of a Christmas institution; rather like the Coco-Cola ads and the awful ballad type songs that are churned out by X-Factor hopefuls. Last year we had one boy and his penguin; this year we have the man on the moon:
This advert seems to be making a rather salient point about the festive season and loneliness, particularly with regards to the elderly. I mean, here we have an elderly gentleman who seems to crave human interaction and a young girl who wants to reach out and befriend him. Oh it does tug on the old heart strings, particularly because, as much as many of us complain about the prospect of having to spend days having enforced fun with relatives we would probably rather avoid, very few of us would actually want to be alone at this time of year. Even the most hardened among us would feel a little twinge of loneliness if we had nobody to spend our holidays with. Aside from anything else, Christmas is billed as a time for families and if yours are no longer around or desiring of your company, that has to hurt. Year after year we are implored by various charities and the media (I knew they were capable of being "nice" once in a while) to consider those who may be alone. It would seem that the John Lewis ad may have succeeded in doing just this as Age UK have reported an increase in people expressing interest in becoming volunteers. Bravo. Bravo. Even I can't snear at that. So what if John Lewis is a company trying to bring attention to their brand in order to get us to purchase more cack that our loved ones probably neither want nor need? Perhaps more elderly people will have a much more fulfilling 2016 because of a simple Christmas ad.
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