It’s the first full week of work after the holidays. Hopefully you’re feeling refreshed and excited for the year ahead, thanks to two weeks of uninterrupted festive bliss.
It’s also likely that over the festive period you consumed some form of content. Maybe you watched your favourite movie, listened to a great album, or read a really good book. Lauren, a member of our editorial team and avid content consumer, chatted to the team about what they fed their minds over Christmas.
Divisional Director, Alex read Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. “This was a recommendation from my sister, who I trust on all things literature, and I absolutely loved it. Thematically, it put me in mind of Good Material by Dolly Alderton, another wonderful book from the point of view of a man navigating relationships, hardship, feelings of unease about their place in the world and how they relate to those around them, especially the women in their lives (which I find so interesting as I usually consume art that is solely from the point of view of women).
“However, it was the prose that really took my breath away. I just love how Sally Rooney writes. It makes me feel like I’m really in someone’s head – thoughts float and linger, then they rush in, and just as quickly rush out. Another thing I loved about it, and I realised it was the reason I loved Normal People, too, is that Sally Rooney writes full people with their own, full lives. She writes completely self-centred, introspective, self-concerned characters that interact with each other, not a bunch of characters that are reacting to the central character and only serving as mirrors to guide the said character to some sort of personal breakthrough. It was wonderful.”
Director, John, shared: “My Christmas involved listening to a lot of books on Audible and watching documentaries. I’m exciting like that. I listened to The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (thanks for the great reco, Lauren), Triggers by Glen Matlock and Under a Rock by Chris Stein. All recommended. I watched docs about Christopher Reeve, Paul Simon and Madonna. We really are living in a material world. And I am a material girl.”
Movie lover and Account Executive, Zoe, added: “Nerd alert: I got a colour by numbers book and a sudoku book for Christmas, so I was pretty occupied over the holidays. I did take a break from being a low-key grandma to watch Netflix’s Carry On and it did not disappoint. It’s basically Gen Z’s Die Hard but swap out Bruce Willis for Taron Egerton and the Nakatomi Plaza for a chaotic LA airport. I can imagine it will be the next "is it really a Christmas movie?" debate in years to come...”
Gavin and Stacey super-fan and Social Media Manager, Hannah, “along with about 99% of the UK population, sat down on Christmas Day to watch the long-awaited Gavin & Stacey finale. As a massive Gavin & Stacey fan, the excitement was real. I settled in with my Pringles, Coke Zero, and a box of Ferrero Rocher in front of the fire, ready for what I knew would be an emotional farewell to some of my all-time favourite TV characters (special shoutout to Pam—an icon, GBNF).
“The Gavin & Stacey finale was, without a doubt, the highlight of my Christmas viewing. It struck the perfect balance of heartwarming nostalgia and laugh-out-loud comedy, bringing together the iconic Shipman and West families for one last hurrah. Every moment felt like pure gold—with the perfect mix of hilarious and tear-jerking moments. I found myself laughing, crying, and gasping all in the same breath (the John Lewis scene, IYKYK).
“The show delivered everything we wanted and more, cementing its place as one of the greatest British comedies ever made. As Nessa would say, “Truth be told… that was cracking.”
“P.S. If you’ve never seen it (Lauren, I’m looking at you), you’re seriously missing out.”
Junior Account Executive Mark shared: “My Christmas involved a mix of everything. After watching Say Nothing on Disney, I decided to pick up the book as well. I haven’t finished it, and with another 300 pages to go I can’t imagine that will happen anytime soon! I also watched The Day of the Jackal (after John said it was one the best endings to a series he has ever seen) and binged series 1-3 of Gavin and Stacey after the finale on Christmas Day!”
Lauren, Account Executive (and writer of this blog, hi) said: “I’m about to really out myself here… I started and finished both Magnolia Parks and Daisy Haites by Jessa Hastings, and I have ZERO regrets. Everyone told me to read this series, and I was convinced it wasn’t for me, but boy was I wrong. Think Gossip Girl, but set in London and in book form.
“The series follows a group of upper-class friends living in London. The first book centres on Magnolia Parks and her relationship with her first love, BJ. At times, I wanted to throw this book out the window because of how toxic and harmful their relationship was, and I kind of hated them both – but I couldn’t put it down!
“The second book takes place over the same timeline but follows different characters with some overlap into Magnolia and BJ’s ‘world’, which I thought I’d hate, but I loved. You see the same timeframe lived out by two different women – this time, Daisy Haites – and the very poor decisions they each make. I ate it up. I just finished the third book last night and will continue to read the rest of the series throughout January.”
Senior Account Executive Alana’s “reading and viewing habits were largely dictated by a five-year-old, but I enjoyed every minute. Some of the books we got through over Christmas were some Julia Donaldson favourites, the ‘Little People Big Dreams’ books about Muhammad Ali and Marie Curie and the Beano Annual!
“We had cosy family movie nights as well, with Goosebumps (1 & 2), The Goonies and The Super Mario Bros. Movie making the cut alongside a trip to the cinema to see Paddington in Peru. It was very fun, though I cried at the end because I cry at everything! I did manage to honour our annual tradition of watching Die Hard on Christmas Eve, which I always love, but I’m still yet to see Wicked and have been trying to finish reading Dracula since October… for shame.”
Ella, Senior Account Executive, dished: “Over Christmas, I finished Gillian Anderson’s Want. I say Gillian Anderson, but it’s really written by the thousands of women around the world who submitted their writing for inclusion. The book, acting as a confession box, is a collection of women’s fantasies, written and submitted anonymously by women of all ages, sexual orientation and religion. The letters are also broken down into different genres of fantasy, and even further by salary bracket, number of children if any, and relationship status – making for the most interesting read.
“The book explores countless women’s fantasies, highlighting different perceptions of love, motherhood, womanhood, respect, pleasure and MUCH more. It was such an addictive, eye-opening read, and I would recommend!”
Communications Manager Amy “stuck to low effort, high reward this festive season with Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings, Max Porter’s All of this Unreal Time and Claire Keegan’s Foster. I’d read them all again immediately if I wasn’t so scared of re-reading…
“Oh, and I watched Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, of course. Loved it.”
There you have it. That’s all the content we consumed over Christmas! If my calculations are correct (and they probably aren’t – I studied English, not Maths…) then collectively we watched about 30 hours of movies and TV, read 2,283 pages and listened to over 26 hours in audiobooks.
I’d say that’s a Christmas well spent.
