Of gratitude, podcasts and bling

I was just reading one of those articles that pop up at this time of year with celebrities telling us all the things they’re grateful for, which naturally got me thinking. Mostly right now I’m just grateful that it’s not last Christmas. I think we need a word to express a strong desire not  to revisit the past, a relief that it’s gone – the opposite of nostalgia. I bet Susie Dent, our national language expert at large, would know the right word. Which brings me to one of the things I’m grateful for: podcasts.

I listen to lots of podcasts and I will eventually devote a blog to my favourites, but in the meantime Something Rhymes with Purple  with Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth is a terrific podcast exploring the origins of English words. Susie Dent is enormously knowledgeable, driven by a great passion for all languages, especially German, which she loves. Not many people are open to the charms of the German language, but I am on her side. I know it can appear clumsy when words are seemingly jammed together to form something else, but in fact these new words often create something subtle and expressive. Weltschmerz, for instance, literally means “worldpain”, but in fact neatly describes a sense of world-weariness, melancholy and general malaise. A word for our times perhaps. Gyles Brandreth is the amiable and enthusiastic co-host, famous in Britain for his name-dropping anecdotes and jumpers. He also (remarkably) writes a book a year. I’d settle for one in a lifetime.

It’s no use, now I’ve started talking about podcasts I can’t seem to stop. Gyles Brandreth and his industrious book-writing made me think how grateful I am for books and that led to the one I have put aside to read in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Did i say that out loud?  is by Fi Glover and Jane Garvey, the presenters of my favourite podcast, Fortunately. They are so popular that they now do live shows and I have twice had tickets to see them, but been prevented, once by a Covid scare in our house and once by stormy weather. However, a friend of mine did manage to see them live and got a signed copy of their book for me. Now that is friendship.

The thought of friendship has finally got me back on track. When celebrities are asked at Christmas time what they’re grateful for, they don’t meander on about podcasts and the German language, they say things like family, friendship and good health. And naturally I am very grateful for all those things, especially at Christmas. I also love a bit of seasonal bling and am leaving you with this wonderful image. Happy Christmas.