I know it’s an annual trope, but Christmas (and Christmas waste) really did seem to start earlier this year.

The shops switched to their Christmas ranges and started piping shmaltzy Christmas music,

even before the lights were switched on.

 

Amid concerns about continued supply chain “issues,”

we are urged to stock up early:

to fill our kitchen cupboards and freezers with far more food and drink than we can possibly eat;

to make sure our Loved Ones don’t miss out on ANY of their Festive Favorites;

to avoid the faux pas of running out of vegan pigs-in-blankets;

and

to support our National Economy

as it battles bravely

against the twin forces of Brexit and Covid-19,

hanging on in there in the High Street

like it was still in fashion.

 

We dined on Waitrose Christmas Chestnuts,

free from our local Waste Reduction Facility,

use-by (helpfully) mid-October.

 

I thought it was only the shops

that had entered into the Christmas spirit

so very early.

But then, on my way between Waitrose (for wine) and Waste Reduction (for bread),

I saw this tree,

festively festooned,

even though it was only the 20th of November.