It is that time when one year is fizzling out and another beckons, we hope with promise. But the last days of December become a haze of over-eating, and boozy sluggishness where your thoughts can wander - if you are lucky enough to be off work - as only the naff choices remain in the box of Quality Street. How does British TV get away with serving up mediocre fare every year: Will the Sound of Music be shown every festive season until the day I die? The pathetically predictable television schedules almost seem chosen to trigger mental hibernation - you give in and before you know it you have watched repeats of repeats for days. READ MORE: "I paid £98 for a windowless room and Sachas Hotel and it was not what I expected at all" READ MORE: Read today's top Manchester Evening News stories What day is it anyway? After the count down to Christmas, everything post Boxing Day merges into a blur during the Twixmas period and you lose the rigid working structure of the week. Can I take the Christmas tree down? Already occupying a corner of the living room for nearly four weeks the baubles and tinsel start to lose their glow - ripping it down and putting the decorations back in the boxes and in the loft is the first step towards the new next season - and nothing is so beautiful as spring. Next year we escape: For once, no rush, no syncronised cooking, industrial amounts of washing up, and driving on motorways - but an early getaway to a warmer climate - or a bracing coastline like Northumbria. Should I take a peep at the sales? The temptation can be great - that smart Paul Smith jacket you got for £60 instead of £300 on Boxing Day 2018 set the bar.
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