In a mere hundred years' time...

First Born emailed me the other day, asking why this Friday was going to be 'Wear your Rush t-shirt to work day'? As I was up to my oxters in a particularly knotty problem, I didn't reply immediately, and then promptly forgot about it. Oops.

A few days later, I was sat in a restaurant with Second Born (Our Lass being AWOL on yet another festive social occasion), and I remembered FB's question. SB just gave me a look (the one reserved for the merely unworthy rather than the full-on Queen of Scathe eye roll) and said "It's the 21st of December... as in 21/12... or even... 2112."

Doh!

How. Stupid. Am. I?

Cue sheepish text message to First Born.

For the uninitiated or just plain young, Rush are a Canadian rock band from w-a-a-y back, who are still going strong and selling out venues around the world. One of their most celebrated albums is 2112 from 1973, which inadvertantly launched the Starman logo, featuring a naked man and a five-pointed star. This isn't the time and the place for an in-depth discussion of the various pagan or Vetruvian Man connotations of this symbolism.

However... oddly enough, yesterday, during our monthly gathering at the local nature reserve, all manner of rustic and festive decorations were being hand-crafted to be sold as Christmas decorations. There were bunches of Holly, bouquets of sumptuous evergreen cuttings, Christmas wreaths and Stars of David woven from Willow and Dogwood. Not to be outdone, with half an eye on the more pagan roots of the Midwinter solstice (and with the thoughts of 2112 still fresh in my mind), I managed to fashion this festive decoration for Tense Towers.

Have a Happy Winter Solstice, er... Saturnalia... no, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti... I mean, Yule... look, please add your festival of choice and/or delete as applicable.

Catchy felicitation, eh?