It’s not even Christmas yet and I’ve already received a mail-out about Valentine’s Day gifts – “ties with hearts on them, and even a tie that carries a secret romantic message.”
Somehow I don’t think my beloved would thank me for buying him this:

At risk of sounding a bit like the “hell in a handcart” lot (see below), don’t these people ever tire of trying to push tasteless, commercial tat down our throats?
The shallowness and consumerism of Christmas (and by extension all other festivals) is grating on me even more than usual this year, after spending a month in a country (India) where many people have nothing – yet seem so much happier than people here.