Well, one city and one small island, to be precise, and two images to demonstrate the stark contrast between Christmas activities at opposite ends of the British Isles.
The first photograph shows some of the thousand brave souls who turned out for the traditional Boxing Day swim at Cobo Bay in Guernsey, while the second, a Breughel-like snow scene, features tobogganers at Stormont on the outskirts of Belfast on the same day.
My own Boxing Day was far less daring, as Jane and I, along with friends, sat down to eat, drink and be merry to celebrate the fact that, as 2020 draws to a close, Guernsey has only seven active cases of Covid-19 and islanders have therefore been able to enjoy this festive season with few restrictions.
TOBOGGANING
The seat feels quite precarious
but once I’m down, that feeling goes.
So odd to be this close to snow,
chilling the fingertips, the nose:
a child’s sensation, I suppose ...
most adults are incurious.
A snowy paradise, indeed,
this afternoon on Stormont hill
where children’s voices, wild and shrill,
applaud a crazy vaudeville
of adults launched, against their will,
downhill, on icy blades, at speed.
This granddad hugs his grandson tight
then edges forward with his heels
on modern blades of stainless steel.
The child, as agile as an eel,
wriggles. I feel, amidst his squeals,
toboggan shift, the sleigh take flight.
A longing for a lifetime lost,
assails me in the rushing wind.
The grandson to my parka pinned,
as once my daughter, angel-skinned,
clung to me then, our bodies twinned,
rocketing downward through the frost.
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