OK, so my colleagues are already singing random Christmas carols; the lights are already flickering in more than just the odd shop window and miscellaneous red/green/silver decorations are sprouting faster than gulbiena! It's only December 1!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised... London four weeks ago already had its fair portion of decorations, Christmas tunes etc on the go... I guess it is never too soon to get the Christmas shopping (and Christmas spending) going.

In a matter of weeks (perhaps days, EEK) radio stations will be over-ridden with tunes to the likes of Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart, Snow is Falling bla bla bla. Humbug. Where's Scrooge when one really needs him? Then again, I had better keep my anti-Christmas merriment to myself, lest the ghost of Christmas-who-knows-which were to come and have a go at me.

I guess I should warm up to the festive season sooner or later. Perhaps I should install a fireplace in my little home – I wonder whether that would help? I reckon I might come around to putting up that odd decoration here and there. I just have to be convinced of it.

Christmas is bit like a virus – and before anyone pounces on me, all I mean is that it creeps up on you, whether you like it or not. You inevitably find yourself humming away at that odd carol every now and then, or admiring some pretty decorations. And before you know it, you've caught the bug. It lasts a few weeks, so if the symptoms tally with your own, you might be on pudding, chocs and fuzzy tunes till the end of the year.

The Christmas shopping is another factor that sets the mood I reckon, together with the cold weather (whenever it appears) and the taking out of my beloved coats from deep within the closet.

So really, if I have to think about it properly, Christmas is not all that bad. And I say this with a smile on my face. If it brings my loved ones back home, if it brings the family together and good food on the table, then there are more than a couple of things worth looking forward to.