Last Game Before Christmas.

[Elgrande]

Totally agree CM. I just hope that all those who get an official break stay away from the super stores who force families apart over Christmas by opening for no real reason! For year Boxing day fixtures were 3pm kick offs and they were great. Got you out of the house, meet up with mates for a seasonal jar and then home for cold meats, mash and pickles. The inlaws could visit without friction and the many hundreds of thousands who don't have big families, small children etc could have a bit of fun.

[Garawa]

The worst bit about Christmas is seeing all those people looking utterly dejected having stood in a queue since 4am on Boxing Day to buy something, anything in a sale that was probably that price before Christmas, most of the good stuff having gone weeks before.

I won't be there Boxing Day but will follow online. We have family over both days and the kids will open those presents then and I wouldn't miss it for the world when normally everything gets switched around for football even if I am at home for an away game. Last Boxing Day game (largely due to work commitments) was Portsmouth 11 years ago - I have never been so frozen in my life standing on the town end terrace. I had that big guy from Pop Idol (or whatever mind-numbing c**p programme it was) behind me pushing me off and several 80 foot people in front and it was so packed I couldn't even move to keep warm let alone find another spot! Never saw a bit of the game. 14 years ago I had to work Boxing Day (the worst day to work and should be banned) and I came down with glandular fever although didn't know it at the time. I spent an hour slouched over the counter whilst the customers laughed at my "hangover" before being sent home.

It really doesn't hurt for families to have 2 days together with nowhere to go and if doing a job like working at a power station or something at least the high pressure frenzy on the run-up helps to negate having to work it. Those on their own still have things to do without being desperate to go shopping! I was a bit sneaky though, all Christmas temps I took on were given the job on the premise of working Boxing Day. We got a fair bit of sickness that day so I made sure they had very few hours after that (contract for 8 hours but flex for 30) and if they wanted to stay on they lost that chance!

[Poshgill]

I don't think the stores open on Boxing Day for 'no real reason' Elg. They open because that is what the public want. You only have to see how busy the shops are to understand that the majority of the public actually LIKE the shops being open on Boxing day. Now, personally, you would'nt get me within 10 miles of a shop then, but there is certainly a lot of people that like that sort of thing. So, it is incorrect to say that stores force families apart. If no one went shopping, then the stoires wouldn't open and they would not be economic. Ironically enough, I was discussing this point with some train drivers on Saturday. Southeastern Trains want to run a train service to Stratford for the big shopping centre. In fact Westfield are paying for the drivers wages. The drivers are split on this. With half saying that if they work, then it will only be a question of time before it is compulsory to work Boxing Day. My point is that all the time this can be covered with volunteer staff then they should be allowed to work. We are, despite the Tories best efforts, still a Public service. There are more than enough people willing to work Christmas. Not everyone sees it as a jolly good time. There are many that dread Christmas, so if they want to work, then why not?

Our society has changed considerably since the halcyon days of a the little woman cooking Boxing day lunch, followed by a pint with the boys and then off to the male dominated match (no women, but kids (preferably boys) tolerated) before it is back home for tea and jolly funny Morecambe & Wise on the TV. And bloody thank god for that too! I love my Boxing day game, bit only if it fits in with the family plans.

[sotongill]

Working for a retail company , i'll echo what Posh said - we open because the public want that . Same as Sunday trading - i remember when we voluntarily shut on Sunday for a month back in the mid eighties , we had people banging on the doors demanding to be allowed to come in .

Boxng Day won't be a massive turnover day , but we'll get a lot of leads on Kitchens/Bathrooms/Bedrooms , as well as people taking the opportunity to pick up decorating stuff as they have a further week off work and want to get some jobs done around the house . Like~Posh , it wouldn't be me though , but i have worked it .

[Elgrande]

What is it about our lack of culture and family ties that we are practically the only country in Europe that opens shops etc on bank holidays and Sundays? There is no real need, just a manufactured desire for constant retail. People buy presents instead of spending time with family especially older relatives. No one has time to sit and enjoy family and friends, but have the time to constantly buy un-necessary fripperies. Germany, France, Spain pre 2008 (and still), Italy, Holland etc seem to be able to survive without doing it why can't we? You see families all at the supermarket and DIY shops together wondering why the kids are getting stressed and then they go to some below average chain eatery for a mass produced 30 minute lunch!

[Poshgill]

Agree with you entirely Elg, but you only have to look around in Tesco's to see that the Psyche of the nation is geared-up to retail. FFS the shops are only shut for one day and people are buying food as if the Myans prediction is coming true. 10 loaves of bread, enough milk to float a ship etc etc

Christmas has been slowly devalued over the last few decades. We will never get it back to how it was. I know I'm going to sound like the miserable old git that I am, I really think it starts with how spoilt the kids are. My friend has an 18 month old child and yet him and his wife have spent an absolute fortune on presents for the kid. Why? What does that teach the child. Well, it teaches her that anything she wants she can have. Now, I'm not saying that kids of today should be like my generation, when we were grateful to get a tangerine, six shiny pennies and a bag of toffee's, but there has to be a compromise.

Having said that, I know full well that when I am lucky enough to have grand kids, I will probably indulge them just as much.

Well, all I can say is, at ;least I am off work after today and not back until 2nd January. 1st time in 29 years of the railway have I had the whole Christmas period off.

I think I am going to get incredibly plastered!

[CadburyMan]

We got on pretty well many years ago when we didn't have Sunday opening didn't we?
We got on pretty well without 24hr opening didn't we?
We got on pretty well when the pubs used to shut at 11pm didn't we? (if you can't drink enough by that time then you're not really trying)

[brb]

I am generally against Sunday trading and working on days such as Christmas and Boxing Day. I suppose it is because I am of the age where when I was younger the shops were closed and you hardly saw a car on the road during those days.

Not a religious thing on my part but I just feel it is the one time that families were able to bond. However, I am has guilty as many of participating in the weekly shop on a Sunday as you do not get time during the week or Saturday match days. So a bit hypocritical of me.

I accept we are in a different time with views of new generations and changing views of older ones. I do not accept that no one has to work on these particular days in question if they so choose. Employers today set the conditions before you are employed and when employed also look at flexibility in maintaining your future continued employment in a current difficult climate.

We may all enjoy the benefits of today's convenience and may even reap the monetary rewards if employed as such but at what cost to the mental stresses and strains of everything moving at a fast pace and any erosion this causes to family and social values.

I know we have new laws that protect us but most of them are so given the tenth degree by HR departments that sole purpose is to ensure employers can push the boundaries within the law.

Been there, done it and eventually left it all behind for happier slower paced life style.