Mike Gould

The facade of our house, lit up by the necklace of lights which I risked life and limb to erect (ok - I got a rose thorn in the thumb), is like any other festively-decorated home merely a frontage for the realities of family life which have their ups and downs. But that, in a way, is the purpose of decoration - to draw us for a moment out of the everyday into a few seconds of wonder. I grant that my single set of cheap lights is not going to challenge that of a New York depar

The Dickens Effect As we approach Christmas, it becomes an annual habit to think about loneliness and isolation - to look beyond the comforts of our own homes and consider how others will celebrate (if that's the right word) the festive season. It's the Charles Dickens in us, briefly enraged and ready to 'strike a blow'. That many of us, myself included, do not give the same consideration to others once the days lighten and the temperatures rise, is indicative of a looking-a