charity cards

It is time for the great unveiling - the 2005 Christmas card. I used sealing wax with a stamp of the Chinese symbol for 'Peace'. How they managed with that stuff in the old days I don't know. It just isn't as easy as you may think. The wax melts very slowly and you have to be accurate with your aim on the paper. Then the light goes out (it doesn't burn as easily as a candle) before you have produced enough wax (you need a lot more than you think for a stamped seal). Then, if you're not careful, it drips on the paper as you're taking it away - what a faff! Only a select few received my masterpiece - sorry if you got a 'normal' card - it really doesn't mean that I don't hold you in great affection!

Why do we send so many Christmas cards anyway? What is the point of sending a "to all at No. 15 from Jim, Jane and family (No. 24)" when you don't ever have any social involvement with them - and don't even know all the names? Let's be honest here - you don't even like them! You always thought that they were a bit ignorant - a view that was confirmed when you went door-to-door with the 'Help The Aged' envelopes and they told you that they don't give to charity.

Talking of charity, I always check to see if the incoming card has helped to raise money for a good cause. I think it's such a shame that so many non-charity cards are still bought. I expect that the people who buy the purely commercial Christmas cards will argue that the charity cards don't give them the choice that they want - or that the quality isn't as good (snobs!) so I have devised the perfect solution which I am going to offer to the charities. I know it will be a big success, both here and internationally, and I will probably achieve an intellectual celebrity status (alongside people like Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Clive Sinclair) although I have determined to decline any invitation to join the next Big Brother Celebrity Special or anything that involves eating insects in the Australian jungle.

When I was making my own cards last year I felt as though I was cheating the charities from the revenue. So I made a donation for each card that I made. I did it again this year and then I had my brilliant idea. Here's the scoop.

The charities continue to sell their cards as normal but they also sell self-adhesive stickers (postage stamp size) which can be stuck onto the back of the non-charity card thereby making a contribution (25p per stamp?) at least the equal of the revenue from the charity card - which is probably very little after the cost of manufacture is taken into account. So, you can still go and get that 'quality' card from Marks & Spencer or PoshCards-R-Us AND turn it into a charity card. How neat is that? In case you're still not convinced, here is a mockup of a sample stamp. Remember - you saw it here first.

bored?
So, you're stuck for something to do during your extended Christmas holiday? Here's a link to a Sudoku download (100 puzzles in pdf format - varying difficulty)
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnunet/downloads/2144124/100-sudoku-puzzles
Thanks to Computer Active magazine for that - I'm actually going to buy a copy one day - perhaps when they produce a special podosphere edition.

Happy Christmas