The season of pearls and swine - 8 Dec 2008

The festive season is a time when we find ourselves particularly stressed and strapped for cash, worrying whether the two turkeys, side of lamb and hunk of gammon is going to be enough to feed the 10 people coming for lunch, while the kids whine about some new gaming console ("But you got one last year..." - "Yes, but it's outdated and doesn't play this..."), when all we actually want to know is whether that 52" LCD TV has dropped below the R20k mark. But few things make me feel more grossly over-privileged than a couple of cashiers at the checkout counter baulking over my R300+ grocery bill while muttering "...so few items...". And who can blame them, considering that nothing in my basket, bar a loaf of bread and some milk, is of the staple food variety and I've just forked out about half (if not more) of their weekly pay for coffee. So, should the big day come and we're parked under the glowing fibre optic tree amongst wads of ripped wrapping paper, grumbling that we didn't get exactly the shade of iPod we wanted, or sitting at the dining table wondering if we can waddle over to grab the last roast potato just to spite cousin Ned, just stop a minute and be thankful for everything we do have... Appreciate the ugly knitted jersey Gran gave you, and the fact that there actually is enough turkey to tide you over for the next week, no matter how ill the thought makes you now. And if you still can't bear the thought of Uncle Al's gammon curry surprise or the idea of parading around in a shocking pink and lime green sweater, why not make someone else's day and donate the lot to the less fortunate? After all, as the old adage goes, it's better to give than to receive...