Mustn't Grumble
So not even half way through November, and the Christmas lights are on here in Birmingham. Which seems pointless. Who are they for? Who are they for, considering that December has not even been reached. Come December 1st and no problem, on they go. Make a little ceremony of it perhaps.

I appreciate that all of the shops are preparing for the merchantile season, and that I have been busy ordering on-line for the last two weeks. Then again, I have to prepare for a month early and that is my choice.

Now the lead in time for Christmas commercialism is not as bad as in previous years, when we had television advertising begining in September. The thing is, everyone knows that Christmas is coming, it happens every year. Nobody wants it rammed down their throats.

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So we are in a meeting this week and the following phrase is uttered:

"...But that's a complete 'mare of a situation."

I had to think about what the person was saying. I could not work out why he was talking about a female horse and what she had to do with the situation. Perplexed, I leaned over and asked him, and he was equally puzzled. Then he replied, "Oh. I meant nightmare. Have you never heard that before?"

"No," I said. "Usually when I talk about mares I mean female horses." I did not add what I was thinking, "I do not shorten a word unnecessarily to cause confusion."

My tolerance for this kind of thing seems to be shrinking. Where is this going? Are we going to lose the word "nightmare"? And what are we going to call a female horse? Probably a female horse. Or indeed a lunar plain?