On the cards...

It really is a time of year for cards.

Firstly the plastic kind which are subject to all kinds of abuse and I confess I've called upon my flexible friend a couple of times already this season.

Secondly, greeting cards which are a controversial subject for me. I have always believed that the purpose of Christmas cards is to send someone your seasonal greetings by post where you wouldn't be able to tell them personally. For years I spent far too long sat at home writing endless stacks of cards with "Best Wishes, Seany", "All the Best, Seany", "Merry Christmas, Seany"; firstly to friends, then acquaintances, then people I occasionally see around the office or in the pub and finally, people I barely knew at all but "felt bad missing them out". Then because I've sent one, the recipients feel obliged to return the gesture and before you know where you are, Hallmark cards have reported record profits again.

In the pub it seems that most people are happier to receive festive cheer in a glass rather than an envelope and I'm inclined to agree with them.

At work we just make a donation of the equivalent value of a couple of boxes of cards to a local charity and it seems to make a lot more sense to me to put the money to use where someone has a genuine need for it. Surely that's what Christmas is really about.

If you want to see something really impressive to do with cards, see what this guy does with them.

Or perhaps this has all been a distraction from the fact that I've missed the last airmail posting date again...