This is a time to wish all of our friends a very happy Christmas.

I hope you have had a good year - if there were problems, then I trust 2011 will be better.  Ruth and I had a relatively quiet one photo taking trips to Austria, Ireland and France - and my mother's 100th birthday.

I hope that the holiday, coming as a long weekend will give you the opportunity to enjoy your home, family and a super abundance of provisions.  I hope too, that you can enjoy the relationships of life too, whether in your family or for others.  I have much admiration for those who take the time to look after those less fortunate at this time of year, whether at home or abroad.

Above all - I am saying this to myself as much as anybody.  Don't use it just to catch up with the many items of work on that 'todo' list. (Hopefully the bad limitations of the bad weather has given some opportunit already!)  There may be some projects that you have put off and you may need to get done.  But maybe some are not that necessary anyway.   Running a web business is very time consuming.

And if your pastime - like photography - involves a lot of computer work - don't spend all the holiday in front of a screen or at a keyboard!

Different people have different views of Christmas.  I know some fellow Christians who will not have anything to do with it.  Let's face it:  it was just various pagan feats to which the biblical stories of the birth of Christ and the visit of the wise men (3???), two totally separate events were attached.

But if it reminds many of the Creator of the Universe who chose to come into the world to free people then it is a wonderful thing.

We are all slaves to something and generally don't realise it.  It might even be work (Yes I know what that is!).  Generally it comes down to 'I'll do it my way!'  And my way is not God's way.  The bible has a word for 'My way'.  It is sin.

The fact that One who could have come in as the greatest, most forceful leader that the world has ever known and coerced people into behaving 'properly' chose to be born in a stable, shows that my way and God's are totally different.  The fact that He chose to die a criminal's death to atone for our sins is even more astounding.

I say 'fact':  to a Christian there is no doubt as to the truth of what I have written.  People will say "You believe a myth".  No, I have accepted God's word and would love all my friends (and my customers are my friends) to enjoy what my wife, Ruth, and I do.

But whether you believe what I have written or not, I wish you a very a good Christmas and health and prosperity in 2011.  There will as always be plenty of photographs to take and print, whether you are a professional photographer or just enjoy photography.

Ruth and I wish you every happiness.