Nine lessons and carols at King's College Chapel on Christmas Eve

There is something quintessentially English about listening to Carols from Kings on Christmas Eve amongst the debris of wrapping paper, sellotape that has stuck to you, the furniture, and then itself and an empty glass of Baileys on the windowsill waiting to be refilled.  The winter solstice has just passed, Advent is coming to a close and Christmas Day will begin a twelve day celebration.  That might be of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem just over two thousand years ago or supplicating oneself at the altar of hedonism, depending on your ‘spiritual’ point of view.  But whilst some may be down the pub on Christmas Eve getting off their faces on booze as the clock ticks towards Midnight, I choose to have a quieter more reflective time, gazing into the crystal-ball type draw of the lights on the tree and thinking about the year past and the year to come.  Christmas Eve, to me, is one of the most special nights of the year.

Tomorrow will be even more special because with rucksack packed and cheese sandwiches in hand, I will brave the inclement forecast to stake my place for a seat in the chapel.  The traditional Carols at Kings has been running since 1918 and the competition for seats on Christmas Eve is fierce, the gates open at 07:30 and if you are not there by nine o’clock then the chances are you won’t get in when the doors open at one thirty in the afternoon.  The service still doesn’t begin until three but I am hoping it will be like queuing for a kind of festive nirvana.   But all hampered a bit this year by the forecast of torrential rain and wind.  After six hours on a camping stool in water proofs and a hat, I don’t expect I will get any points for personal presentation and glamour. But all the same, it will, I suspect, be worth it.  I'll let you know.