It’s getting a bit nippy, reader. Civil Society Towers’ radiators have been wheezing this week as they struggled to defrost a roomful of ungrateful media professionals.
The cockles of Diary’s heart are being warmed, however, by the official arrival of Christmas 2025! While some of you may argue that Little Saint Nick’s big day is more than a month away, Carnaby Street’s lights are up, supermarkets’ turkey and stuffing sandwiches are on sale and charities’ festive campaigns are underway.
Before all that though, Diary’s eye was caught by a Telegraph headline earlier this week: “Binman punches naked charity cyclist he mistook for pervert”. The article does not specify for which charity the cyclist was raising money but it does say they were taking part in a World Naked Bike Ride event.
The assailant’s conviction has caused a stir, with the Daily Mail today reporting that some people including Reform MP Lee Anderson are now calling for “flashers on bikes” to be banned. “Nothing surprises me anymore in this country,” said Anderson, before adding: “Our streets have become a freak show.”
Whatever your position is, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Anderson won’t be taking part in any future events.
Travelling Christmas pants
You may remember ShelterBox’s Christmas advert last year in which Judi Dench received a pair of skimpy knickers for Christmas and quipped that “red is not my colour”.
Well, this year the charity has roped in another national treasure for its ad, with Imelda Staunton opening Dench’s rejected undies and dismissing them herself as being “a bit big”.
Diary cannot wait to see who gets the travelling Christmas pants next year – Celia Imrie has to be in contention, possibly farting her rejection if the country hasn’t moved on from her Celebrity Traitors appearance by then.
The return of the boring calendar
Also returning for a second year is Access Self Storage’s Most Boring Calendar Ever, which is raising money for Cancer Research UK.
For those who missed it, last year’s calendar was magnificently drab as it featured 12 images of the company’s empty storage units from across the UK.
This year, Diary would contest, the calendar has been zhuzhed up as each storage unit now features a seasonal object such as a Christmas tree in “Mr December” (Brentford’s 50 square foot unit).
The lonely objects add an eerie quality to the pictures so perhaps it should be renamed the Second Most Boring Calendar Ever.
